From WSJopinion: The January 6 riot was a dreadful day. But the real story is the explosion of political violence on all sides--and the committee is missing the forest for the trees, writes KimStrassel
The Center for Strategic and International Studies maintains a database of domestic terrorism, which it defines as the use or threat of violence by nonstate actors to achieve political goals. It reports a significant rise in such incidents at metropolitan demonstrations in 2020 and 2021—“a major break from historical trends”—and notes that government, military and law enforcement are increasingly the targets.
The White House and Democrats are refusing to confront this problem, because it isn’t politically convenient. Jan. 6 was their opportunity to paint the entire GOP as a party of insurrectionists—never mind that the videos of the riot feature a class of raving militants that is alien to most conservatives. With inflation eroding their political fortunes, Democrats are doubling down on this midterm strategy, with Mr. Biden labeling his opponents “ultra-MAGA Republicans.
This is how you end up with prime-time Jan. 6 hearings that ignore the broader violence and instead feed a cramped, partisan narrative. Or a White House that still won’t condemn protests outside justices’ homes. Or a Democratic House that had to be shamed into voting for a bill for more security for the justices and their families . Or a media that described the 2020 riots and fires as “peaceful protests” and that has barely mentioned the attacks on pregnancy centers.
This is also how you end up with more violence. This week Mr. Biden raged about “the ultra-MAGA agenda attacking families and our freedoms.” The Jan. 6 committee is insisting Republicans writ large were engaged in an “attempted coup.” Sen.
The bigger story of Jan. 6 is that numerous brave Republicans refused to swallow or promote crazy claims, and institutions held. We are going to need a lot more of Washington to follow suit to have any hope of stemming the tide of political violence.Review & Outlook: Protests outside the Supreme Court Justices' homes began in early May, and on Jun. 8, 2022 a man was arrested after telling police he planned to kill Brett Kavanaugh.
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