Isaac Asimov, an entertaining writer, wrote, “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” He was right. Where politics, patience, and respect end, violence begins. As incompetence, impatience, and self-righteous disrespect proliferate, political violence grows. We need to stop it now.
On the first anniversary – July 13 – of the first assassination attempt on President Trump, thinking about the pitch toward violence is warranted. The second was September 15. We should thank God both failed, then look closer at trends.
One of the most disturbing trends in modern politics is accelerating political violence, which started after the 2016 election, recklessly fanned by political figures, especially Democrats.
While Democrats point to unruly acts of a few on January 6, 2021, Democrat-inspired acts of political violence dwarf anything on the other side. That said, political violence is anti-American.
Recent examples include riots in 2020 that destroyed 200 cities, pre- and post-Dobbs (overturning Roe v. Wade) violence, including pitches by Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Schumer (D-NY). They respectively pushed “venting anger” and “paying back” Supreme Court Justices, nearly costing one his life. They intended to leverage violence to chill speech – and acceptance of the decision.
Likewise, in June 2017, Congressional Republicans playing baseball were nearly massacred by a leftist, four shot, with critical injuries. Thousands of local threats on political leaders happen annually.
Putting aside national incidents, fatal and near-fatal, pause to absorb the numbers. Two months before the first attempt on Trump, one study reported “a concentration of threats” against public figures that “began to spike in 2017, corresponding with a general increase in polarization following the 2016 presidential election.” See, Rising Threats to Public Officials: A Review of 10 Years of Federal Data – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
President Trump won that election, shattering Democrat expectations. This appears to have been an inflection point, opening an era of political violence. Federal charges for violent political acts nearly doubled from 2013-16 to 2017-22, as local threats proliferated.
Threats on those in or running for office exploded. Democrat leaders pushed “blood to grab the attention of the press and public,” more recently, cries to abandon non-violent means. See, Bill O’Brien: Dangerous words, deadly consequences: Why Democrats must reject violent rhetoric | Op-eds | unionleader.com
Make no mistake: This is classic Marxism, “justice comes through the barrel of a gun,” and so profoundly anti-American, anti-Constitutional, would be the end of representative democracy.
Numbers are eye-popping. In 2024, the FBI made 180 arrests for threatening a public official. Others report 600 threats against public officials last year, a 14 percent jump from 2023. Then, last year, Capitol Police investigated 9,400 threats against members of Congress. See, Threats against public officials persist after Trump assassination attempt.
This is new. As are explicit threats on local political officials, school boards, to governors, and anti-Semitic attacks across the country. Time reports anti-Semitic attacks “skyrocketed by 361 percent.” That specter is especially dark, but aligns with societies deteriorating into violence.
Taken together, these trends – and others showing threats to mayors, governors, and opinion leaders – are bad. They suggest a growing sickness in the body politic – that needs fixing.
So, how do we fix shifting cargo, a listing of the ship, get those pushing violence to stop, and those able to persuade toward common ground to do so? How do we re-stabilize society?
The result of rising violence is fear and withdrawal, good people backing away from public engagement. But survival of a republic depends on civic engagement, risk-taking taking and respect.
America – and Maine itself, where I have seen near violence in public settings – is at a critical decision point. We either remember our past, retrain each other in civic dialogue, or lose it all.
Perhaps the wisest words come from our own past. Founders warned about factional violence, as did Abraham Lincoln – who fell to political violence at the end of a horribly violent civil war.
Modern thinkers, those who warn us to be our best selves, are also on that wave. Wrote Azimov: Beware the “cult of ignorance…nurtured by the false notion that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge,’” and beware where that leads.
Strong differences of opinion, what that French writer Alex de Tocqueville called “the uncomfortable face-to-face,” are what made America great. Done right, sorting out our differences until we find the truth requires competence, patience, and respect. We need to restore those soon.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).
I trace our current situation back to the sixties when cowardly university administrators allowed marxist protesters to ‘do their thing’ , issuing non negotiable demands and occupying campus buildings. This policy emboldened lefties everywhere. Just as this couldve been dealt with in 68 so it is today. Vandals, arsonists and assaulters need to be arrested and sentenced to hard time. Only then will this wave subside.
Knock it off. Political violence created this country (Revolutionary War, remember. 250th anniversary began this year.) Then there’s the 19th century duels of which the Hamilton-Burr affair is the most infamous. Then there’s the Civil War where the Democrat controlled states seceded and then attacked the U. S. Following that debacle, the Democrats created the KKK to intimidate voters to either not vote or to vote their way. I could go on, but what’s the point. There’s been political violence since the beginning and it won’t stop until something serious happens to the perpetrators. Frankly, I don’t see that happening any time soon.
As the Conservative Party, we need to quit being so passive and accepting this crap and fight Fire with Fire. We can no longer lay down and accept their ways. Sometimes an Eye for an Eye is the Answer!!
The irony, no the hypocrisy of politicians who incite violence as a way to endear themselves to the violent outspoken. Lawmakers are supposed to represent the people, not become their mob leaders. Those on record for this hate have never been held accountable and until they are, there won’t be any line they won’t cross. Politicians should be held to higher standards or permanently removed.
Violence is the liberals’ temper tantrum when they don’t get their way.
All true yet we we give the Charlottesville tiki-torch marchers and the D.C. January 6th “tourists” a pass.
How come ?
Start enforcing the “No incitement” laws against the Dems.
Major political leaders like Palousy , Schifty , Maxine and their ilk need to stop ginning up their crazies then throwing up their hands in horror at what they unleash… or worse ignore it as “peaceful protest”. The rest of us need to press for more arrests and prosecutions related to public violence instead of just shrugging it off.
RBC, you pack a lot of information in your article. The Democrats are using as much negative rhetoric as possible against the population in hopes of regaining control of the US Congress so they can oust the current leadership and continue their destruction of this Republic so their agenda can be completed. There are people out there still fighting the right cause, but many are just plain lazy to do anything. When they have lost their freedoms, it will be too late.
Asimov was wrong, violence is the FIRST resort of the incompetent! And these days it is the ONLY resort of the Left!
The only way to stop political violence is to declare the Democrat party a domestic terrorist organization and ban them from existence. They are the root of political violence. They breed it and they encourage it.
You stop political violence, by enforcing the law. Really very simple. If everyone else needs a permit to gather. So do you. You can not obstruct the public, destroy or cause violence against anyone or anything. Enforce the law and it goes away.
I Agree 100%! Conservative Americans need to fight Back!
Trump needs to lead by example ! The two politicians were murdered in Minnesota last month & Trump said he did not call the Democratic Governor of Minnesota cuz he said it would be a waste of time cuz he did not like the blue state Gov. That is setting a bad example to all Americans.
You’d have to deport every single Democrat to do that.
BLAME IT ALL ON ONE WORD – LIBERALISM.
LIBERALISM, as defined by almost every dictionary, the various factual books of Common Sense, and multiple volumes of respected medical journals as: A mental disorder. An almost incurable and most serious mental disease that affects the part of the brain that controls Common Sense, Rational Thinking and Reasoning, and Anger Management Control.
One can easily see this by watching almost ANY Democrat on TV, in news stories, or when simply trying to have a rational conversation with them about politics or religion. Should you politely disagree with them or heaven forbid, attempt to debate them, they quickly and literally morph into a depressed, angry, even raging, and often times violent ‘creature’. They lose ALL sense of reasoning or rational thinking. You will become their enemy and often times, they will unfriend you, call you vile names, and even threaten you and or your family.
Sadly they can’t help it. It is simply brain damage. It is seldom caused from a birth defect, but rather from being raised in a home by deranged, indoctrinating, and failed parenting. Tragically, cutting off all escape paths, this ‘evil’ indoctrination continues for the next 13-30 years in the Department of Marxism and Indoctrination Education colleges and universities across the nation.
This is a terrible and life-ruining disease that tens of millions suffer from, creating lives of anger, deep depression, unhappiness, violence, and pure misery. Tragic indeed.
The Asimov quote seems to be true. Most democrats don’t seem to have competent thoughts. The few who do just go along with the others to present a united front, which is quite useless in presenting an agenda. We’ve been in this violent stage for over 50 years and it’s escalating. We can hope it will burn out, but it doesn’t seem to.
Trump displayed a little political violence today, when he fired the Attorney just because she was the daughter of James Comey & was involved with Epstein case. That is wrong to fire somebody because you do not like her relatives & is not a MAGA person. But then again Trump said today that he did not want any support from any MAGA person that wanted more release of Epstein files & he called it a hoax and fake news and ?
Trump needs to set an example to unite Americans & not divide people as MAGA or dumb people. Trump pardoned +1500 people that attacked Capitol on Jan 6 & so far this term has used his power to get vengence on anyone who does not agree with him and including lots of people in the judicial system. Trump had Bondi fire almost all of the people that investigated Jan 6 destruction of Capitol. Trump is teaching bullying and that is inciting a lot of people to follow his peace thru strength format. What ever happened to art of the deal?
I’m disappointed in the partisan bent here. No condemnation of the most recent political violence in Minnesota with the assassination of a Democratic lawmaker and the killing of her husband. And the “unruly acts” on January 6, 2021 involved more than a “few” or we wouldn’t have had over 140 police officers injured.
I feel we are in a civil war. Not like our first one. This is different but nontheless a Civil war.
The Clintons still exist. They’ve left a trail of suspicious deaths from Arkansas to D.C. Ever watched the original Clinton Chronicles (YouTube)? Remember Vince Foster found in a D.C. park, suicide, with the gun planted by the wrong hand for him to do that? They are also very wealthy and have motives…
Nope, we can’t have lowlife politicians in danger. If they get hurt how are we going to continue to collude with Israel in the genocide of Palestinians?
That is strange seeing all those dead Palestinian children being bulldozed into hastily dug trenches by the Zionist crazies in Israel while it seems President Trump “loves” children perhaps too much,