In recent years, we have seen several instances of political violence targeting both sides of the political spectrum.
The most recent apparent example of political violence came in the form of the attack on Paul Pelosi last Friday.
But this year has also seen the attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the assault of New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin.
The same day President Joe Biden delivered a speech warning about threats to American democracy, a historian on MSNBC issued a bizarrely grave warning about what he views the stakes of the election are.
Historian Michael Beschloss went on air and warned that the country could be a week away from devolving into an authoritarian regime where your children are arrested and killed if Democrats lose.
That’s not some extrapolation.
“A historian 50 years from now, if historians are allowed to write in this country and if there are still free publishing houses and a free press, which I’m not certain of, but if that is true, a historian will say what was at stake tonight and this week whether we will be a democracy in the future,” Beschloss said.
He added, “Whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed. We’re on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system, and it could be a week away.”
Watch the video below:
Reacting to Biden's speech, a presidential historian tells MSNBC that we "could be six days away from losing our rule of law" and that we "are on the edge of a brutal authoritarian system" where children will be "arrested and conceivably killed." pic.twitter.com/zJXe7Odrbl
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 3, 2022
Somebody has been watching too much MSNBC and internalized the darkest talking points about Republicans. Talk about ratcheting up tensions.
We just saw stories suggesting that Republican attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) contributed to the climate that led a crazy person — who is in the country illegally from Canada and claimed to be Jesus — to break into her house and brutally attack an 82-year-old man.
Liberals like to claim that the issue of political violence is almost entirely an issue among conservatives. They apparently ignore the incidents involving Kavanaugh, Zeldin, or House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) getting shot in 2017.
If you’re going on air to claim American democracy and your voice in the democratic process could be lost if one party loses, that is one thing. Hopefully, that in and of itself would not lead unstable people to become violent.
But if you’re going on air and claiming Americans’ children could be arrested and killed if Republicans win, how do you not think that could lead unstable people to resort to violence? Especially when Biden claimed during his speech Republicans are already suppressing the vote.
By that logic, the deck is stacked, and the game is rigged. You better go hug your children and kiss them goodbye while there’s still time.
Beschloss’ comment is beyond the pale of normal political discourse and rhetoric. And it is certainly not responsible language four days before a major election.
