Lindsey Graham should stop the loose talk

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham recently opined that should President Trump be indicted and made to stand trial, there would be “rioting in the streets.”  Was that a prediction?  Is that true?

Whatever it was, it was a needlessly controversial and provocative statement.  Loose talk.  It is already being misinterpreted for political reasons by Democrats and their media buddies – suggesting that it is a subtle call to arms.  That is political hyperbole – arguably even a false flag call to arms.  You get the impression that even as they condemn the remark, Democrats hope both the indictment and the rioting will take place – giving vindication to their claims of pending right-wing violence.

Graham’s maladroit statement gives credence to the claims that there is a sizeable culture of political violence at the ready – waiting for a triggering event.  Who and where are these folks that are ready to talk to the street with violence in their hearts?

The left has been having trouble finding vindication for their claims.  At the time of the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot, they had predicted a wave of disruptions in cities across the nation to coincide with the events on Capitol Hill.  But there were none.

The riot on Capitol Hill was bad – and folks on every side have called for the rioters to be arrested and prosecuted – and that has been happening.  In fact, it has been the greatest law enforcement response to any riot in American history – and one may reasonably wonder why.

You will recall that there were predictions of nationwide disruptions on the anniversary of the January 6^th riot.  They never occurred.  On that anniversary, we were again warned that another violent mob would reassemble on the lawn outside the Capitol Building.  This time Speaker Pelosi prepared with a call to the National Guard and fencing around the building.

The mob turned out to be approximately 200 demonstrators, who had a permit to assemble.  They heard speeches and left peacefully.  All the while, they were outnumbered by guardsmen, police, and reporters.  No violence.

In fact, there has been very little political violence since the Capitol Hill riot.  Nothing compared to the Days of Rage that characterized the 1960s.  Nothing compared to the periodic rioting, looting, arson, injury, and death that has occurred in our major cities for the past 150 years.  Nothing compared to the average street crimes.  Nothing compared to the number of mass shootings.  Yes, there were incidents ON BOTH SIDES.  (The media and the FBI seem disinterested in attempts to kill a Supreme Court justice and all those attacks on pro-life organizations and personnel.

And yet, the FBI suggests that “right-wing violence” is of major concern.  Of course, we now know that the record of contemporary right-wing violence has been inflated by folks inside the FBI – most notably by Timothy Thibault, who was recently fired from his position after a whistleblower called him out for that and his claiming the Hunter laptop story was a Russian disinformation deal and for inflating the claims of right-wing violence.

The problem I have with Graham’s statement is that it seems to support the idea that folks on the right are preparing for street violence.  That does not seem to be the case.

Even worse, those on the loony left – including a lot of those talking heads on the telly – are suggesting that there is an underground effort to violently overthrow the government and place President Trump back in power.  That is how absurd the rhetoric from the left has gotten.

And to be perfectly honest, Graham’s language could … I say “could” – be taken by some mentally unbalanced nutcase to be inspirational.   But even that does not indicate a widespread movement to overthrow the American democracy.  One would expect that sort of nutcase commentary to come from some … well, nutcase … on the fringe of the culture.  But noooo.  It is coming from virtually every panelist on MSNBC and CNN.  The nutcases have become the voice of the left.  The tail is wagging the dog.

Yes, there could be some protesting an indictment of Trump, but I sincerely believe it would be nothing more – and even less – than those protests and demonstrations against Trump in the past few years.

I have not yet heard of a retraction or clarification from Graham.  I wish he would … emphatically.  Because that would put reality ahead of politically driven fantasy.  Come on, Lindsey.  Set the record straight.  

So, there ‘tis.