Revolution interrupted.  That's how the left views the Trump presidency: as an anomaly, something to be resisted at every turn, even by violent means, until progressives can get the revolution back on track.  They see Trump as a threat to their vision of America as an egalitarian, universalist, godless, centralized state, and they believe that extreme rhetoric and action is justified in opposing him.

The attack on Rep. Scalise and other Republicans is profoundly disturbing because it was a direct assault on our democratic process.  The shooter intended to kill GOP lawmakers so as to shift the balance of power to the left.  It was a crude effort – "kill the enemy so as to have one's own way" – but it was not unexpected.  It was, in effect, merely a physical manifestation of the violent rhetoric that has become commonplace on the left.

Now there are calls on both sides for a return to civility.  That "civility" won't last beyond the Scalise news cycle.  It is already breaking down as the left media blame the attack on "guns" or on the "Trump extremism" that "incited" the attack.  The angry words will escalate as the democratically elected Trump administration proceeds with its agenda.

The recent attack is especially disturbing because it recalls the late-stage violence of so many other democratic states, from Republican Rome to Lenin's overthrow of the short-lived democratic Russian state to the rise of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.  The progression from angry words to violent acts is always a critical point in the decline of democratic governance.  It comes about when one party refuses to acknowledge the rule of law and employs extreme tactics in pursuit of power.  Clearly, America is now at that dangerous point of no return.

A majority of Americans, even those who voted for Hillary Clinton, view Trump quite differently than do extremists on the left.  Trump was elected by a sizable majority of electoral votes.  Regardless of their party preferences, 84% of Americans acknowledge Trump as their elected president and accept that he and his party have the right to lead the country as specified in the Constitution.

The loud voices of hate – the young and often violent protestors, the media extremists, the townhall hooligans – constitute a small fraction of the electorate, but their violence is intended to crush democracy and replace it with the rule of a small leftist faction.  The left has rejected democracy in favor of Chávez-style socialism under which thuggery is an accepted political tactic.  Once they have seized power, they intend to hold it forever.

It is crucial to understand that the recent attack was not the act of a deranged lone wolf.  It was not at all different, in motivation, from countless rhetorical assaults on the GOP and on mainstream America.  The shooter, James Hodgkinson, may have believed that he could change the balance of power in Washington by killing Republican lawmakers.  While they may not resort to physical violence, leftists in the media share a similar level of hate and are willing to employ any tactic short of violence.  How else does one explain the rabid, expletive-strewn attacks on the Trump presidency, the dramatization of violence, the "comic" fantasy of beheading?

"Direct action," so-called, is the opposite of the rule of law.  When members of the Obama administration engaged in unmasking of classified material following the election, as they appear to have done, that action undermines democratic process.  It displays commitment to an unprecedented level of political warfare, and it reflects a disregard for the Constitution and for democratic rule itself.  Its purpose is not at all different from that of James Hodgkinson, despite its different means, and it sets the tone for extremists like Hodgkinson who may not distinguish between violent rhetoric and violent acts.

So far, the response of Obama and his supporters to the baseball field attacks, and to the Trump presidency in general, has been anything but respectful of democratic process.  It has been a concerted effort to undermine the president, something not seen even in the Bush years.  The slash-and-burn tactics of the left threaten to polarize the country to the point of no return.  There can be little doubt that violent rhetoric and thuggery will continue to be employed by the left as long as conservatives are in power.  The left refuses to accept the results of a democratic election.

When Republican legislators return to their home districts, they now face unruly townhall protests that involve extreme "shouting down" and intimidation of Republican representatives and supporters – one more example of the left's progression toward physical violence.  "Indivisible," the group said to be behind many of the protests, reportedly was founded by Obama activists.  Other groups, including "The Town Hall Project," have apparent links to George Soros's Open Society and other Soros organizations.  MoveOn.org has created ResistanceRecess.com, a website that promotes activist tactics at GOP townhalls.  Soros's Action Network is apparently involved in townhall activist organizing as well.

This kind of organized thuggery is not grassroots protest.  It is highly funded political action designed to destabilize and polarize.  It is rooted in a European model of autocratic politics, not in American democracy.  It is an effort to sweep our democracy aside and replace it with centralized rule by a political elite.

As President Trump has said, the next eight years are America's last chance.  We will either dispel the extremists and return the country to what it should be under the Constitution or cede power to the left and see the revolution completed in our lifetime.

Now is not the time for complacency.  America has elected a defender of the rule of law just when she needs one most.  Now let us stand behind him so that eight years from now we can say, "Revolution ended."

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).