Spare Us the Hypocrisy

Everyone I know and have read about, on the left and the right, has condemned the protesters turned rioters turned invaders of the Capitol Building last week. Losing five lives, including a police officer, was horrific. Seems like everyone agrees on that. 

Some protesters who entered the Capitol -or were let in by the Capitol police-have been arrested. Pictures of others in the building are being circulated by law enforcement. Good. I hope they prosecute all of them. 

No one, to my knowledge, has set up a fund to pay their bail.

Of course, the loudest critics of the president are Democrats (and Never Trumpers). They are accusing the president of inciting the “mob” at the rally that preceded the march to the Capitol and that the rioters committed an insurrection. They demand that Vice President Pence remove President Trump from office under the 25thAmendment or the president face impeachment- only days from the end of his term in office.

It seems pretty clear to me that the president was encouraging his followers at the rally to march to the Capitol to show the politicians and the country that they supported the president’s efforts to contest the election results, believing there was widespread fraud in several states. It is also clear to me he was not encouraging them to enter the building illegally, damage the building and attack any people in the building. The parts of his speech I saw were similar in tone and content to speeches he gave at rallies throughout his election campaign. After his rallies during the campaign, his followers did not burn cars, smash building windows, destroy small businesses or engage in looting. 

After the George Floyd murder, demonstrations erupted across the country, many peaceful, many not. And they continued throughout the summer into the fall. In Minneapolis, mobs burned down a police station after the mayor ordered the police to stand down and abandon the building. 

In Seattle, protestors tried to barricade exits of a police station and then tried to set the building on fire with police officers inside. Another protest in Seattle started out peacefully but became violent when protesters carrying baseball bats joined the march to a police precinct. They vandalized buildings along the march route. At the precinct police confronted the protesters and 12 police officers were injured, many by fireworks set off by the protesters. 

In Portland, federal officers withstood weeks and weeks of nightly attacks by anarchists in and around a federal courthouse and other buildings. Protestors converged on a building that houses the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices, setting fires in the street and breaking windows.

These and other “mostly peaceful” protests occurred across the country, resulting in the deaths of 26 people (I’ve heard the number 30 mentioned in other articles). This article summarizes the multiple incidents of violent protests in other cities across the country last summer.

How did Democrats respond to the violence, deaths and property damage the rioters caused last summer? Senator Kamala Harris asked the public to contribute to a fund that was to pay the bail for any protesters arrested at protests in Minneapolis. So did Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Of course, in AOC’s view, even before George Floyd’s killing, marginalized people have no choice but to riot.

Similarly, in 2018, Nancy Pelosi wondered why there weren’t “uprisings” against the Trump administration over the family separation policy at the Mexican border (a policy that began in the Obama-Biden administration). 

This article takes portions of President Trump’s January 6th speech and compares them to comments of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (“…there needs to be unrest in the streets for as long as there’s unrest in our lives.”) and incoming Vice President Harris (on Stephen Colbert’s show:  “And everyone beware, because they’re [violent protests] not gonna stop….They’re not gonna let up. And they should not. And we should not.”

Read the entire article. 

Last June Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution condemning the violence and property destruction happening across the country. The resolution supported peaceful protesters and also condemned George Floyd’s killing.

House Democrats unanimously blocked the resolution.

Let’s not forget the media. Remember Chris Cuomo on CNN: “Please show me where it says protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful.” Check out these two headlines from the same reporter at Vox. And don’t forget that CNN classic, the “fiery but mostly peaceful protests” in Kenosha WI.

To reiterate: the protesters who invaded the Capitol Building should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. What they did was wrong. But the protests that evolved into riots, deaths and property destruction after George Floyd’s death were wrong too. The outrage that Democratic politicians and their media allies are now expressing towards President Trump might carry a little more weight if those same politicians and media types had exhibited the same degree of indignation over the 26 people killed in last year’s riots (btw, here are their names).

Lastly, if President Trump’s speech is responsible for the criminal acts perpetrated on January 6th, are the comments of any Democrats related above responsible for the deaths and destruction caused by Antifa and Black Lives Matter agitators this past year?

18 thoughts on “Spare Us the Hypocrisy”

  1. This impeachment was clearly political. It will only divide the country. When Republicans control the House, they will impeach the Democratic President and VP for their language. That said, Biden and his prior recorded Ukraine threat appear to be coming up for a vote:) Anyone who consults with an Al Sharpton is not only simple minded but more likely corrupt.

  2. Very well said Pete. This impeachment is a total sham/disgrace. Pompous ass hypocrites!
    Add to this CNN anchor Jake Tapper questioning the patriotism of Rep. Brian Mast, an Army veteran and double amputee, who opposed impeachment…utterly despicable and disgraceful!!!

  3. Your attempt to absolve Trump of responsibility for inciting the violence is disingenuous, in light of everything he has said and done before and after the election. His baseless accusations of voter fraud and vast democrat conspiracy for months fueled this tragedy, and not one iota of evidence has been presented to support his disgusting claims. Shouting “hang Pence” and setting up a gallows is hardly peaceful, and the numbers of insurrectionists inside would have been greater except for the inefficiency of the crowd to get inside.
    As a lawyer and former prosecutor, at some point you must have sworn to uphold the laws of the land. It is dismaying that you find no fault with Trump and his feckless crew attempting to steal an honest election by disenfranchising millions of mostly Black voters in Michigan, PA, and Georgia. That you see nothing wrong with his attempt to get elected officials and his own Vice President to break the laws which safeguard the people’s votes so he could retain power, in effect becoming a dictator. Even more dismaying is that you, an apparently intelligent person, believe that the election was stolen, that the wacko Q anon marchers last week were only righting a wrong. Are you not able discern the rational from the dangerous nonsense?
    The comparison to violence at other protests is hardly valid. While that violence is also wrong, those protests were fueled by real events, not fabricated conspiracy theories, and most were peaceful. You have very little understanding of what it means to grow up Black in America. Visit the Memorial for Peace and Justice in Alabama and learn about the 1000’s of Blacks who were lynched in this country. Read about the Tulsa race massacre in 1921. Put “The Color of Money” by M. Baradaran on your night stand and read it. And of course we have Tamir Rice, George Floyd, et al.
    By the way, when can we expect the check from Mexico for the border wall? You do remember that promise, don’t you?

    1. I did not realize until a few days ago that there was a large contingent of protesters who never attended the president’s speech at the rally. They went directly to Capitol Hill. They never heard the speech. In fact, attacks against the Capitol Police and their barricades began before the president finished his speech. Therefore, the president’s speech, and those of the other speakers, did not incite the protesters who became rioters and then invaders.
      Moreover, I saw protesters with kevlar helmets and protective vests. Do you think they stopped and got those after hearing the president’s speech? There were people who went to the Capitol prepared to fight. This was pre-planned.
      But you say the president’s conduct and statements in the past few weeks contesting the election also incited the riots. Look, I believe now that at some point the president and his legal team should have stopped their lawsuits contesting the results when they could not demonstrate widespread fraud. As an attorney, I was stunned to hear some of the wild allegations of systemic fraud for which, it turns out, they had no proof whatsoever. What attorney does that? Sidney Powell and Lin Wood were legal heroes (at least to conservatives) a few months ago. And now?
      Notwithstanding the above, to then say that claims of fraud, which were never proved, incited the rioters is a step too far for me. I think that saying “they stole the election” does not translate into “go attack the police and storm the building.” That’s the way Trump talks. That’s how he talked at his campaign rallies. But he has no history of inciting violence at his rallies, nor did his supporters leave a trail of burning cars and looted stores in their wake, as Antifa and BLM supporters repeatedly did across the country last summer. Do the QAnon wackos and the Proud Boys take orders from President Trump? I don’t know, but I doubt it. Do Antifa and BLM rioters take orders from Democrats? Same answer.
      And remember, pipe bombs were planted at both the DNC and RNC headquarters.
      Besides, the whole point of my post was that Democratic politicians made much more incendiary comments during the riots last summer than the president did prior to January 6th. They have done so since the president took office. With no consequences for them.
      You say I have very little understanding of what blacks go through growing up in America (I am aware of the number of lynchings in the South and the Tulsa riots; I don’t know the book). That may be true. Of course, I don’t know about being murdered either. But I can sympathize with the family of David Dorn, the retired St. Louis Police black officer who was murdered by a black looter in June. As a matter of fact, check out the 25 other people who died in the riots. How many blacks were there?
      I guess we won’t be seeing the check from Mexico. But, hey, at least he kept his promises to move the embassy to Jerusalem (which the last three presidents promised but never did), fight illegal immigration, support the military, support Israel and peace in the Middle East, keep the country out of war, cut regulations, reduce taxes and get out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords.
      Thanks for commenting on the post.

      1. Thanks for your reply. A few thoughts:
        1. I don’t know the significance of moving the embassy to Jerusalem, other than it curries favor with ultra right wing Isreali’s and further inflames an unstable situation.
        2. Kidnapping children from parents of asylum seekers is an immoral way to prevent illegal immigration. Due to poor record keeping on both ends, hundreds of these children may never be reunited with their parents. I would expect that kind of policy from a totalitarian country, not America.
        3. Support the military? Denigrating the sacrifices made by selfless men such as McCain and others, calling them losers and other insulting names, hardly qualifies as support. And don’t forget how Trump took money earmarked for improvements on military bases in order to fund a monument to himself, i.e. the border wall.
        4. The huge tax cut which benefited corporations has resulted in the largest deficit and national debt in history, perhaps the history of the world. It’s burden will be borne by your children and mine, and their children. Economists have a saying: deficits are taxes deferred. We are not going to grow our way out of this mess. Have you noticed now that the Democrats are in power, the Republicans have found the religion of fiscal responsibility? It didn’t seem to matter to them 3 years ago.
        4. What don’t you like about the Paris climate accord? If you are correct that global warming not bad, that worst that results from being a party to the pact is that whole new technologies will have been developed, perhaps eliminating the need completely for fossil fuels, and possibly benefiting society in other ways. Is there any benefit at present to using fossil fuels? However if you we stay out of it, and your assumption of global warming is wrong, then we and our children are going to face catastrophic environmental problems.
        Thanks

        1. My thoughts on your thoughts:
          1. It further demonstrates America’s support for the only democracy in the region. “Unstable situation?” Israel recently signed normalization agreements with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. That is historic, thanks to the president.
          2. The Obama-Biden administration built the “cages.” It’s an unfortunate situation, but our borders need to be secure. Let’s see how the Biden administration handles the situation when the latest caravan reaches our southern border.
          3. I never understand why he says some of the things he does. I pay more attention to what he does. He gets great receptions when he visits military bases, the service academies, etc. More importantly, he didn’t start any new wars. He just kept another promise this week when he withdrew soldiers from Somalia.
          4. The economy was humming before the pandemic. I agree that the national debt is a looming problem. But hasn’t it always been for the past few years in different administrations? I don’t pretend to know how to handle that other than reduce spending.
          5. Paying billions of dollars to other countries per an agreement that doesn’t bind the signatories doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. I guess President Obama knew there were issues with the accord. After all, the UN and the State Department say it’s a treaty; he termed it an executive order because he knew the Senate wouldn’t ratify it. US carbon emissions have declined since 2000. I think we’re doing okay without the Paris agreement.
          Thanks

  4. The hypocrisy continues….
    I love you Pete and applaud your tremendous efforts BUT it’s time to turn off the TV….
    It’s time for us believers in the Constitution to reject the left wing rhetoric and take sction ( intelligent positive action) to preserve our great nation….
    We need to get the press back, the education system back and our God- given rights back….
    80 million of us can make a difference….
    Thanks again Pete for your great effort in this regard….
    Trying to stay positive….
    JB

  5. Pingback: Riot? Definitely. Incitement to Insurrection? Not Really – ClearEyesWriter

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