Sadly, it's difficult to feel optimistic that things will get better and say that this tragic week in American history is a culmination of sorts as opposed to a next step in the escalating of anger and hatred in this country. This statement is profoundly more sad when you consider that yesterday we witnessed in horror of the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
It's almost paralyzing to write because processing the events of this week are so overwhelming, and today's interviews on "Meet The Press" offered no comfort.
In a joint interview with the respective chairs of the House Congressional Committees, Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Steve Stivers (R-OH) responsible for getting candidates in their parties elected, the dialogue strode the edge of civility as Mr. Stivers initiated an attack on his Democratic counterpart for defending what he said were Democratic candidates who have made bigoted statements. He did have to go there, especially today, but he did. Also, Mr. Stivers defended an ad running in Minnesota that demonizes George Soros, to which he simply said that ad was factually accurate but when you watch the ad, the tone clearly implies insidious motives.
https://youtu.be/hU00BW-trLo
That Mr. Stivers could defend this ad against a Holocaust survivor in the wake of a bomb threat and a heinous mass shooting hate crime in which 11 people were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh is beyond the pale.
As The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter explained, no one wants to take responsibility, and 'everyone' is to blame. She went on to say that as a candidate, it's a zero-sum game to win the election, but once the person is in elected office the presidency in particular, you have to be a unifying force. But President Trump has no interest in unifying the country, especially not now with 9 days to go before the midterm elections. Elections that will dictate the trajectory of the rest of his first term.
The week started with a bomb being mailed to billionaire George Soros, then escalated to a total of 13 bombs being mailed to prominent Democratic politicians, prominent Trump critics and CNN. This act of domestic terrorism propelled the ATF, FBI, NYPD and NYFD along with U.S. Post Office Security into high alert. Two of the bomb targets were two former first couples, Mr. and Mrs. Obama and Mr. and Mrs. Clinton. When asked if he would call the former presidents to offer support, Mr. Trump said he would pass. And even given the bomb threats (before Saturday's shooting), Mr. Trump was also asked if he should tone down his divisive rhetoric, to which he answered he could actually 'tone it up,' as NBC's Kristen Welker reported.
Fox News and right-wing talk radio, specifically Rush Limbaugh, forwarded false flag theories, that these bomb threats were perpetrated by liberals. To digress for a moment, Rush Limbaugh is a blowhard and the reason for that description is because 15 hours a week attacking some people and making others angry, but never offers any solutions. With no solutions, you're just part of the problem.
Also, let's also point out the in Kentucky this week, two African-Americans were shot dead at a Kroger's supermarket in a racially motivated attack. The perpetrator's initial target was an African-American community church with the goal to kill more people. (https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/26/us/kentucky-kroger-shooting/index.html).
Jonathan Greenblatt, president of the Anti-Defamation League said that in 2017, there has a 57 percent rise in anti-Semitic acts, and through social media bigoted, racist and anti-Semitic language has increased exponentially just about putting it into the mainstream.
Dissertations and books discussing how we've gotten to this place as a society are in infinite supply, to be sure, but let's face it, though President Trump is a symptom of this digression, he's done nothing to combat the downward spiral. Many make the argument like conservative commentator Charlie Sykes, cited today, who called the president the 'arsonist in chief.' Alas, as Resurgent editor-in-chief Erick Erickson said, the president isn't going to change, which means the leadership has to come from someplace else. But where?
There's one president and he's the authority, as Joshua Jackson clearly put it. This means that he has to be the president for all the American people, and his after-the-fact perfunctory statements just don't cut it. These statements are especially galling considering that after the president offers a form of 'thoughts and prayers' he goes right back to attacks opponents as un-American and as some form of evil, along with his consistent demonizing of the 'other,' (see all his statements on immigration).
As long as the president sows divisive rhetoric refusing to take the mantle of trying to heal our differences, tragic and truly sad weeks like this will continue to plague this country.
Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News; Joshua Jackson, NPR; Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report; Erick Erickson, The Resurgent
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