You’ve likely seen the video of Nancy Pelosi ostensibly choking back tears as she warns that violence is on the way, just as in 1970s San Francisco–one of the oddest analogies we’ve seen in a long time. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the video here:
I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the late ’70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes. “This kind of rhetoric is just, is really frightening and it created a climate in which we, violence took place and … I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made.”
No, she wasn’t talking about union thugs, the only people who have actually committed political violence during the current administration. (I suppose you could also count two abortion-related murders, one of an abortionist and one of an anti-abortion protester.) She was trying to smear and demonize conservatives and others who have rebelled against the Democrats’ radical agenda: government-run health care, bailouts, trillion dollar deficits, and so on.
This is nothing new; it’s a continuation of the strategy the Democrats have been following ever since President Obama’s health care speech to Congress, if not before. I assume they don’t actually think they can intimidate their political opponents–us–into shutting up. Presumably they intend for uncommitted voters to support their agenda because they are repulsed by the supposedly bad manners of the agenda’s opponents.
But that strategy hasn’t worked. Support for Obamacare surged a bit after his speech, but has now fallen back to its July levels. Obama’s approval rating has followed the same curve, and Pelosi herself continues to be deeply unpopular. I’m not sure whether many people have been repelled by conservatives’ manners, as the Left intends, but I’m quite certain that a lot of people have been put off by the Democrats’ inability to make coherent arguments in support of their plan(s).
Nevertheless, the Dems can’t seem to come up with another strategy. Actually arguing the merits of the issues is, evidently, beyond the pale.
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