Assassination of Democratic Lawmakers in America Predictable
The recipe for battle and tragedy
Opinion:
The assassination of Democrat lawmakers in America is regrettably predictable.
Democratic House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband, Mark, 58, were both shot and killed at their home in Brooklyn Park in what Gov. Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination.”
Another couple were also attacked: Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot 5-6 times at their home in Champlin. Walz says they are expected to survive.
Authorities have identified the man responsible and a manhunt is underway.
Political violence has been escalating in the USA and while there are always people who will harm others in the name of ideology, the environment seems proned for it.
Trump has called Kamala Harris the “devil”, called Democrats “the enemy from within”. He’s withdrawn security protection from senior Democrat leaders as well as former Trump security officials who had criticised him before the last election. And called the violent January 6 insurrection a “day of love,” pardoning most of them and saying they should be financially compensated.
The headlines on the Minnesota attacks see most news outlets unwilling to use the words “assassination”.
But the coverage on it is also revealing —
In multiple articles, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News presents an image of a killer associated with the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests. They link the murdered House Speaker Melissa Hortmann, to her opposing Democrats to vote against “benefits for illegal aliens” and then use this tragedy to attack a grieving Governer Tim Walz as “a weak, emasculated leader”.
When I read Fox, and see how they covered it, I get the impression the killer is associated with the anti-Trump protests.
I hear from former football players who tell me,
“We need to start calling this what it is. These people have lost their minds. I am heartbroken to see one of the most amazing states in America completely turned around under Gov. Tim Walz. Minnesota is confused.”
It appears this ex-football player has no clue as to details, and is sounding off in a fit of anti-Democrat rage - a fit that is given eminent headlines and his ill considered thoughts then passed on to others.
But when I read Reuters’ coverage, it reveals the killer left behind a detailed manifesto.
In it, there are the names of more than 70 abortion providers, pro-abortion rights advocates, and lawmakers in Minnesota and other states.
ABC News said the list included dozens of Minnesota Democrats including Walz, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Senator Tina Smith and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
In other words - the assassination specifically targets Democrats and pro-abortion figures.
I would never have realised this if I only consumed Fox. Perhaps I would have blamed Walz too.
Ditto Daily Mail, which is owned by some British peer billionaire who appears to set himself up to “minimise” taxes.
Fox News is extremely influential - it easily dominates the American media landscape as the #1 news channel - well ahead of MSNBC and CNN.
Daily Mail makes up the top 5 “news” sources in Britain and enjoys an astounding 225 million monthly visitors worldwide.
A lot of what is wrong with America is borne from the seeds of misinformation, the seeds of dehumanising opponents, of politicising tragedies with out of context information, and rage baiting with unrelated cause and effect.
From Daily Mail to Fox News to Sky News to local corporate media to populist politicians - the formula is both unsettling yet effective.
I recall a US Ambassador’s words last year:
When I walk away from the experience, one of the things that is most alarming to me is just how easy it is to control people.
It doesn’t take secret police. It doesn’t take guns. It doesn’t take gulags.
The reality is that if you have the ability to overwhelm the media ecosystem with lies, you make the cost of engaging in public debate so high that it becomes an existential one.
And in case, it needs to be said, yes it’s happening here, and has been for a while too.
Sincere condolences to both families.
Just yesterday I read a USA substack item encouraging participation in the "No King" peaceful protests. It provided a map showing every centre where the "No King" rallies were to be held - the country was covered from coast to coast. Together with this was a link to the Human Rights Campaign site which provided advice for protesters - https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety?utm Reading through the advice was mind boggling - it is pretty comprehensive and I imagine just reading it would be quite fear invoking - eg let someone know where and when you are going/get home; record what happens; how to respond to arrest; how to deal with tear gas; etc Now, following the news of these political assassinations, a memo has been circulating advising against attending the "No King" rallies. I guess there will be those who are torn between the need for personal safety and protest.
I hadn't seen that rave by Simian - oops, Simeon. He could do with studying some history. Churchill may be seen by many as a great wartime leader but his interference also caused unnecessary deaths (eg the Greek Campaign and Crete). He was also something of an imperialist racist! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Winston_Churchill