Riot Credit, Riot Blame

Some Democrats say "Burn it Down!"

Other Democrats say "It's not us. It's right wing agitators."

Either way, there is plenty of evidence for the Trump campaign to use.

Click: Masked White vandal being confronted

Donald Trump knows which way he wants to sell it. He tweeted:
 "It's ANTIFA and the radical left. Don't lay the blame on others!"

Some Democratic officeholders argue that the rioters aren't local and aren't  Democrats.  Minnesota governor Tim Walz said the riots were white supremacist domestic terrorists imported into Minnesota to discredit Black protest.

Biden-oriented centrists warn that the riots damage the cause of justice. They recognize the moral and political hazard of rioting, looting, and arson.

Videos like this one circulate in social media. The  masked white man is not a protester; he is a vandal, and maybe a political provocateur. Hidden by an umbrella and full face mask he is carrying a hammer to break windows. 

Click:"Don't talk to us about looters. YOU are the looters."

That position is not universal, and within the political left some insist that the violence is the only proper response to deeply imbedded racial injustice. They justify violence as "the language of the unheard." They may represent a small percentage of the Democratic left, but they are a visible and articulate group within it.  Within Facebook, they speak frankly and pass around meme, slogans, and videos. Burn it down, they say.

This Democratic segment is important because they presumably represent some number of Biden skeptics and who will vote Green and tip a close election to the Republican, as happened in 2000 and 2016. It is a powerful threat.

Democratic leaders squirm at scolding from this quarter. If angry Blacks, feminists, Latinix,  homosexuals are accusing you, you must be guilty of racism, misogyny, xenophobia, or homophobia, at least in the eyes of parts of your political coalition. They don't get condemned sharply, so they become part of the Democratic message.

Tamika Mallory, the former Chair of the Women's March said  "I don't give a damn if they burn down Target, because Target should be on the streets with us, calling for the justice that our people deserve. . . . America looted Black people. America looted the Native Americans when they first came here, so learning is what you do. We learned it from you."

     

That gives Trump campaign what he needs:  Look at those crazy socialists and those angry Black rioters and this furious black woman scolding and blaming white people, calling you racist, and justifying violence. I will protect you from them, and Biden will cave to them.

The problem for Biden is that voices like hers claim moral superiority. If you aren't rioting, you must be a collaborator with injustice. If Biden speaks of law, order, and peace, some people will call him racist. If he doesn't, it proves Trumps point. It boxes him in.

Thad Guyer is an attorney who represents whistleblowing employees. Four years ago he warned that Trump was getting support from voters worried about the failure to enforce immigration laws. He predicted Trump's election. Now he is warning that Democrats are handing Trump another law and order issue and failing to denounce extreme voices in their own camp.

Guest Post by Thad Guyer

"Democrats Claim Credit for Burning Cities"

Most terrorist attacks by organizations are promptly followed by the responsible group "claiming credit" in order to focus attention on the grievances that "justify" the mayhem.   The most successful terrorist attacks are those with staying power in the media amplifying the injustice in cause and effect. We are all too familiar with both the violence and this media dynamic.

Democrats are claiming credit for the race riots and cities ablaze. The broadcast and podcast platforms of the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and especially NPR have been hosting dozens of social justice spokespersons, including rioters themselves, explaining to us the righteous causes of the rioters, arsonists and even looters.  The predominant theme is that the violence and burning streets are necessary to call attention to the police brutality and "systemic racism", and that only with this cataclysmic drama will black people's "voices, pain and anger be heard". Commentators, podcasters and columnists promote a synchronized message that the violence is not just in response to the murder of George Floyd, but a response to race based inequality in economics, health care and education.  Commentators have tied the violence to the well documented disparate Covid-19 death rates among blacks.  "A riot is the language of the unheard", Martin Luther King's powerful words are quoted again and again, out of context, with extended excerpts of the speech being replayed on television, radio and internet.  

Democrats make supportive statements that the riots, violence, arson and looting are understandable. This unabashed "ends justifies the means" logic is text book for terrorist groups worldwide. Bomb the Tel Aviv ice cream ship to bring relief to the suffering Palestinians. Crash planes into the towers and Pentagon to end the attacks on the women and children of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Burn the consulate and kill the ambassador in the name of justice for Libyans civilians killed by U.S. airstrikes. 

The Left fringe of our party, and our militia known as Antifa, have embraced similar violence for similar causes in the name of the oppressed. Our liberal media is our PR department, they are glued to us. Unfortunately for our ever dimming prospects of unseating Trump, an immutable core value of "democracy" is that domestic violence is illegal and illegitimate. A fundamental tenant of "civil disobedience" is that is must remain non-violent. MLK explained that while "riot is the language of the unheard", it must be rejected on principle and practicality. It does not work for mass social justice movements. It does not work for political causes. 

In claiming credit for the burning cities, and embracing the rioters, broadly mislabeled "protestors",  we will all but guarantee the reelection of Donald Trump.