Yesterday, in North Carolina a GOP office was firebombed and a message was delivered to the GOP, as reported by CNN:
A GOP office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, was firebombed over the weekend, with a swastika and the words “Nazi Republicans get out of town or else” spray painted on an adjacent building, according to local officials.
The Democratic response?
Early Sunday evening the Clinton campaign tweeted a note of sympathy.
“The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.”
The North Carolina Republican Party tweeted its appreciation in response.
“Thank you for your thoughts & prayers, Sec. @HillaryClinton.”
And then Steve Benen contributes this information:
Local Democrats, meanwhile, created an online fundraising campaign to help local Republicans rebuild following Saturdaynight’s attack. Dems hoped to raise $10,000 as part of the drive – a goal they met in only 40 minutes.
“Until an investigation is undertaken, we cannot know who did this or why. No matter the result, this is not how Americans resolve their differences. We talk, we argue, sometimes we march, and most of all we vote. We do not resort to violence by individuals or by mobs,” the Democratic message read. “So, let’s all pitch in, no matter what your party affiliation, and get that office open again quickly.”
On both sides, this is the response of mature adults who understand the importance of a civil election, and that we’re all Americans; our shared values are far more important than our differences, so long as we have a shared understanding of how the political process works.
In Arizona, repulsive threats against The Arizona Republic, a newspaper that always endorses Republicans, began when the paper endorsed Clinton for President. In response, the editor, Mi-Ai Parrish, wrote a beautiful response to those hate-filled unAmericans. Here’s just a small part of this one newspaper’s understanding of their important part in the political process:
To those who said we should be shut down, burned down, who said they hoped we would cease to exist under a new presidential administration, I give you Nicole. She is our editor who directs the news staff, independent of our endorsements. After your threats, Nicole put on her press badge and walked with her reporters and photographers into the latest Donald Trump rally in Prescott Valley, Ariz. She stood as Trump encouraged his followers to heckle and boo and bully journalists. Then she came back to the newsroom to ensure our coverage was fair. Nicole knows free speech requires an open debate.
And the Trump reaction at the rally leads to the final part of this post: the failure of Trump to understand how our political system works. For him, the ways of the private sector are all that’s important – bluster, threaten, take to court. Nevermind what sort of impact that any particular action will have on the overall system, that’s someone else’s problem, but how can I spin this for me?
Except once you’re in the public sphere, it IS your problem. If he calls for violence to rain down on his opponents, he has opened himself up for violence himself. That’s the prophecy of the North Carolina firebombing.
And that HAS TO STOP. Political systems where opponents are assassinated as a matter of course are those symbolizing countries that are failing – economic systems dying, the masses turning to alcohol to forget their problems.
That’s what will happen if we forget our shared faith, implicit as it may be, in our political system. It may be corrupt from time to time, but that can be fixed through legal processes. But once we start shooting each other, then we’re in deep shit.
And Trump doesn’t get this. All he can see is the lollipop – and if he can’t have it, he’ll stamp his feet and declare the other side cheated. From another report by CNN:
Donald Trump and his surrogates amplified their argument over the weekend that the election is “rigged,” leaving the Republican nominee more isolated as top members of the GOP — including his own running mate — declared their faith in the political system.
Trump opened Sunday with a series of tweets sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the election.
“The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary – but also at many polling places – SAD”
To his credit, Trump’s VP candidate Pence differed with Trump:
But Trump’s own vice presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, disagreed during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” saying he will accept the Election Day results.
“We will absolutely accept the result of the election,” he said. “Look, the American people will speak in an election that will culminate on November the 8…”
Perhaps he understands that Trump goes too far. But he’s already the VP candidate and can’t really resign the position, so he’s caught in a dark place – very bad policy on one side, rabid supporters who find boundaries to be loathesome, rather than a positive.
Trump needs to step back and retract these words. Forcefully.
