Democrats’ cycle of violence escalates
First it was fistfights, thrown chairs, and John Law called in at the Nevada State Democratic Convention over the weekend. Cue the sanctimonious calls for Bernie Sanders to call off his supporters, treating him as if he were Donald Trump, and therefore responsible for every misdeed of his supporters. But Wendell Pierce, Hillary Clinton supporter and famous actor from The Wire, was arrested for attacking a Bernie supporter in an Atlanta hotel. And claims of death threats from the Sanders side appeared.
Now we have Bernie Sanders himself claiming that shots were fired into a campaign office and that apartment complex housing staffers and offices were ransacked. Daniel Halper in The Weekly Standard:
Bernie Sanders revealed Tuesday that shots were fired into his Nevada campaign office and that an "apartment housing complex my campaign staff lived in was broken into and ransacked." The Democratic presidential candidate did not explicitly blame his rival, Hillary Clinton, for the actions.
Sanders made the statement in response to "criticisms made against my campaign organization." Here's the Sanders's full statement:
"It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics. The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors.
"The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change – people who are willing to take on Wall Street, corporate greed and a fossil fuel industry which is destroying this planet. Or the party can choose to maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy.
"Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization. Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a 'penchant for violence.' That is nonsense. Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high-crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence. Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals. But, when we speak of violence, I should add here that months ago, during the Nevada campaign, shots were fired into my campaign office in Nevada and apartment housing complex my campaign staff lived in was broken into and ransacked.
Can this marriage be saved? More importantly, why should it?
This blows away the media meme that Trump supporters are violent, so expect the media to do its best to ignore this shocking cycle of violence.