By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman was shot in June. There is no room in this nation for politically inspired violence. It must be condemned.
Political violence did not stop when Rep. Hortman was murdered in a politically motivated assassination. Her alleged killer was a right-wing fanatic, Vance Boelter, disguised as a police officer. He shot her, her husband and their dog to death. Boelter was captured and is under arrest.
Instead of condemning right wing extremism, some MAGA oriented people falsely tried to blame the left. Somehow they implicated Minn. Governor Walz, a Democrat having nothing to do with the incident. Be aware that there was and still is clear evidence that Boelter is an extremely conservative evangelical Christian minister and longtime Trump supporter . Further, it was also alleged by arresting authorities that Boelter’s right wing extremist Hit List included numerous other Democratic lawmakers, as well as abortion providers and pro-choice activists.
Following are just a few weird quotes coming out of all this:
“This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.” and “Nightmare on Waltz Street”– U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in an X post.
“Democrats know they are now seen as the party of political violence, so their propaganda agents are trying to shift the blame.’’ – Right wing social media influencer Mike Cernovich.
“(Boelter) decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them.”— U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.).
“(…if the killing) ends up being done by an ultra-liberal activist … watch for many on the left to be silent or even justify it.” — Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
“The far left is murderously violent.” — Elon Musk
At the time of the Minnesota shooting, President Trump was strangely silent. He never even called Walz to express his condolences. Instead, he stated- “Why would I call him? …I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”
The president’s Sept. 10 speech to the nation addressing the recent Charlie Kirk murder was not intended to bring our nation together, or to heal our wounds. Hortman was not mentioned, although he did decry the 2017 Congressional baseball field attack by a left winger which wounded House Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.
Further, he failed to acknowledge that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband (Paul) was assaulted in their California home by a hammer wielding right wing fanatic. Or to regret the arson attack at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house in Pennsylvania by a right-winger. Or to acknowledge the unsuccessful kidnapping attempt against Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by a right-wing militia group.
I will not even mention President Trump’s long history of making innumerable violent statements regarding his opponents. It has been extensively documented elsewhere. However, if we really want this plague of politically induced violence to stop, leadership must come from the top. Trump has proven time and again that he is simply not that leader.
The solution to political violence must be non-partisan, focused on what Governor Cox of Utah stated, addressing the youth of America: “You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage… is the only option. But…your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now.”
Democratic leaders are speaking out. When will Congressional Republicans in the Senate and House begin to bring statesmanship to the fore and help bring our country together by speaking out on political violence? We need your voices to curtail this trauma in our land.
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