Democracy Dies in Darkness
Opinion It’s Republicans who are vulnerable on crime, not Democrats
Plus: Protests over the war in Gaza cannot be compared to the political upheaval of 1968.
The Democratic Party is not the one whose presidential candidate faces 88 criminal charges (and has been held in contempt twice). Democrats didn’t mount a violent insurrection (which Republicans falsely called “legitimate political discourse”) resulting in multiple deaths, dozens of injured law enforcement officers and charges against more than 1,200 people. And Democrats did not sink a tough, bipartisan border security bill.
By Jennifer Rubin Columnist
May 10, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/...and-order/
President Biden and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) with police officers at Wilmington International Airport on May 2 in North Carolina. (Alex Brandon/AP)
What caught my eye
It’s not 1968: “Democrats fear chaos of 1968 convention as they prepare to renominate Joe Biden in Chicago,” warns USA Today. “Growing campus unrest sparks Democratic fears over Chicago convention,” the Hill insists. Unsurprisingly, such stories are weak on examples of actual Democratic officeholders expressing concern.
This version of “Democrats in disarray” coverage must be catnip for reporters playing amateur historian. Chicago? Check! Student demonstrations? Check! It’s 1968 all over again. Er ... not necessarily.
Unlike the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that consumed the nation in 1968, the protests over the war in Gaza have not extended much beyond college campuses, where a combination of students, anarchists and overtly pro-Hamas activists have ginned up disruptions.
The Post reported that a grand total of about 2,000 people have been arrested nationwide. Small squads of protesters can disrupt speeches, ruin a graduation or clog traffic, but the numbers — and the cause — do not by any measure compare to the antiwar protests that drew hundreds of thousands in the late 1960s. Whatever property damage protesters have caused pales in comparison with the rioting in nearly every major city after King’s murder.
Simply put, the performative displays on college campuses have not drawn mass support. Despite near-nonstop coverage, the Israel-Gaza war ranks far down on the list of voter concerns.
The Post highlighted a YouGov poll showing a plurality of respondents disapprove of the protests with one-fourth unsure how they feel. Even on college campuses, the demonstrations have not gained traction. Axios reported a recent Generation Lab poll showing “Students ranked the conflict in the Middle East as the least important issue facing them out of nine options. ... The survey found that three times as many college students blame Hamas for the current situation in Gaza than they do President Biden.”
Furthermore, “A large majority (81%) of students support holding protesters accountable, agreeing with the notion that those who destroyed property or vandalized or illegally occupied buildings should be held responsible.”
That is not to say there will be no protests at the party conventions this summer. To the contrary, they are expected. Both parties over the years have learned to make ample arrangements to confine protests to designated pens. Convention cities regularly feature a well-orchestrated and overabundant assortment of state and federal law enforcement personnel.
As in prior conventions, there could well be arrests in Chicago, but don’t expect to see wild riots, smoke-filled streets and massive property damage, as occurred in Chicago in 1968. (Moreover, there is no Mayor Richard Daley bent on unleashing abusive police on unarmed protesters.) “Prepare, but don’t panic” would be a wise approach for the Democratic National Convention.
Democrats can claim the law-and-order issue:
Beyond the convention, Democrats can go on offense when it comes to crime. The Democratic Party is not the one whose presidential candidate faces 88 criminal charges (and has been held in contempt twice). Democrats didn’t mount a violent insurrection (which Republicans falsely called “legitimate political discourse”) resulting in multiple deaths, dozens of injured law enforcement officers and charges against more than 1,200 people. And Democrats did not sink a tough, bipartisan border security bill.
Republicans, having fanned violence, demonized the FBI, insulted prosecutors and impugned judges, have the law-and-order problem. (Some of them also opposed awarding gold medals to officers who protected them on Jan. 6, 2021.)
Former president Donald Trump wants to pardon the violent felons implicated in Jan. 6. Trump also openly contemplates military action against civilians, mass roundups of immigrants and weaponization of the Justice Department against his enemies. They’ve become the anti-rule of law party.
Meanwhile, Biden has reminded voters that on his watch there has been a massive decline in crime, especially violent crime. Biden consistently denounced violence — at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, on Jan. 6 and on campuses. At a recent White House press briefing, he said:
Violent protest is not protected; peaceful protest is. It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law.
Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest.
Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.
Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education.
By contrast, the Biden Justice Department dutifully has prosecuted Biden’s son Hunter Biden, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.). You cannot conceive of a Trump Justice Department enforcing the law against its own people.
In short, Democrats should embrace the “law and order” label, especially if Trump gets convicted of multiple felonies.
Opinion It’s Republicans who are vulnerable on crime, not Democrats
Plus: Protests over the war in Gaza cannot be compared to the political upheaval of 1968.
The Democratic Party is not the one whose presidential candidate faces 88 criminal charges (and has been held in contempt twice). Democrats didn’t mount a violent insurrection (which Republicans falsely called “legitimate political discourse”) resulting in multiple deaths, dozens of injured law enforcement officers and charges against more than 1,200 people. And Democrats did not sink a tough, bipartisan border security bill.
By Jennifer Rubin Columnist
May 10, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/...and-order/
President Biden and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) with police officers at Wilmington International Airport on May 2 in North Carolina. (Alex Brandon/AP)
What caught my eye
It’s not 1968: “Democrats fear chaos of 1968 convention as they prepare to renominate Joe Biden in Chicago,” warns USA Today. “Growing campus unrest sparks Democratic fears over Chicago convention,” the Hill insists. Unsurprisingly, such stories are weak on examples of actual Democratic officeholders expressing concern.
This version of “Democrats in disarray” coverage must be catnip for reporters playing amateur historian. Chicago? Check! Student demonstrations? Check! It’s 1968 all over again. Er ... not necessarily.
Unlike the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that consumed the nation in 1968, the protests over the war in Gaza have not extended much beyond college campuses, where a combination of students, anarchists and overtly pro-Hamas activists have ginned up disruptions.
The Post reported that a grand total of about 2,000 people have been arrested nationwide. Small squads of protesters can disrupt speeches, ruin a graduation or clog traffic, but the numbers — and the cause — do not by any measure compare to the antiwar protests that drew hundreds of thousands in the late 1960s. Whatever property damage protesters have caused pales in comparison with the rioting in nearly every major city after King’s murder.
Simply put, the performative displays on college campuses have not drawn mass support. Despite near-nonstop coverage, the Israel-Gaza war ranks far down on the list of voter concerns.
The Post highlighted a YouGov poll showing a plurality of respondents disapprove of the protests with one-fourth unsure how they feel. Even on college campuses, the demonstrations have not gained traction. Axios reported a recent Generation Lab poll showing “Students ranked the conflict in the Middle East as the least important issue facing them out of nine options. ... The survey found that three times as many college students blame Hamas for the current situation in Gaza than they do President Biden.”
Furthermore, “A large majority (81%) of students support holding protesters accountable, agreeing with the notion that those who destroyed property or vandalized or illegally occupied buildings should be held responsible.”
That is not to say there will be no protests at the party conventions this summer. To the contrary, they are expected. Both parties over the years have learned to make ample arrangements to confine protests to designated pens. Convention cities regularly feature a well-orchestrated and overabundant assortment of state and federal law enforcement personnel.
As in prior conventions, there could well be arrests in Chicago, but don’t expect to see wild riots, smoke-filled streets and massive property damage, as occurred in Chicago in 1968. (Moreover, there is no Mayor Richard Daley bent on unleashing abusive police on unarmed protesters.) “Prepare, but don’t panic” would be a wise approach for the Democratic National Convention.
Democrats can claim the law-and-order issue:
Beyond the convention, Democrats can go on offense when it comes to crime. The Democratic Party is not the one whose presidential candidate faces 88 criminal charges (and has been held in contempt twice). Democrats didn’t mount a violent insurrection (which Republicans falsely called “legitimate political discourse”) resulting in multiple deaths, dozens of injured law enforcement officers and charges against more than 1,200 people. And Democrats did not sink a tough, bipartisan border security bill.
Republicans, having fanned violence, demonized the FBI, insulted prosecutors and impugned judges, have the law-and-order problem. (Some of them also opposed awarding gold medals to officers who protected them on Jan. 6, 2021.)
Former president Donald Trump wants to pardon the violent felons implicated in Jan. 6. Trump also openly contemplates military action against civilians, mass roundups of immigrants and weaponization of the Justice Department against his enemies. They’ve become the anti-rule of law party.
Meanwhile, Biden has reminded voters that on his watch there has been a massive decline in crime, especially violent crime. Biden consistently denounced violence — at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, on Jan. 6 and on campuses. At a recent White House press briefing, he said:
Violent protest is not protected; peaceful protest is. It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law.
Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest.
Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.
Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education.
By contrast, the Biden Justice Department dutifully has prosecuted Biden’s son Hunter Biden, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.). You cannot conceive of a Trump Justice Department enforcing the law against its own people.
In short, Democrats should embrace the “law and order” label, especially if Trump gets convicted of multiple felonies.
