By Ed Brodow
ClashDaily Guest Contributor
Violent behavior has become one of the hallmarks of the American Left. On the one hand, we have the Nazi-like Antifa mobs that attack conservatives with sticks and chains, and on the other, Rep. Maxine Waters, who attacks them with her mouth—exhorting her followers to harass Trump supporters wherever they can find them. Leftist protestors appear to be suffering from two pathological behavior patterns: freedom to disobey laws they don’t like, and refusal to assume responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
The Left wants a bigger federal government that will run every aspect of our lives. Violent protestors are used to justify increased government intervention, including martial law. This would be a means to the Left’s ideological objective: the transformation of America into an authoritarian socialist nation run by unaccountable bureaucrats.
A classic example of leftist violence raised its ugly head last week in the middle of the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings. After voting in favor of confirmation, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona was accosted in an elevator by two angry women who managed to get past security. As the women prevented the elevator from moving, one of them cornered Flake. She screamed and wildly gesticulated at the discomfited senator:
“Don’t look away from me! Look at me and tell me it doesn’t matter what happened to me. [She claimed that she was sexually assaulted.] What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court. You’re telling all women that they don’t matter. This is not tolerable!”
Watch:
The outburst continued for over a minute as Sen. Flake cowered against the sides of the elevator. It seemed more like an hour.
The angry protestor was Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a liberal advocacy group. Archila appears to be a disciple of Maxine Waters. Neither Archila nor Waters believes in due process. Archila has convicted Kavanaugh of assaulting Christine Blasey Ford despite the complete absence of evidence, and she wants Flake to do the same. Kavanaugh, who denies Ford’s accusation, is being held accountable by Archila for all the women who have ever been assaulted. He is guilty until proven innocent. Watching Archila on that elevator sends a chill up and down my spine.
Archila’s brand of out-of-control anger is the modus operandi of the Left. In typical leftist fashion, she does not tolerate the free expression of contrary viewpoints. When confronted by those viewpoints, the Left will attempt to silence them by shouting them down or by resorting to violence. What Archila did amounts to an assault upon a member of the US Senate yet no one attempted to stop her. On the contrary, Archila became a media darling when she was interviewed by Anderson Cooper on CNN.
Archila’s supporters falsely insist that her protest was peaceful. Some even call her the new Rosa Parks. Given the intensity of the physical and vocal threat, to call it anything other than violent is outrageous. Why was Archila not arrested for assault? Why isn’t Maxine Waters in jail for inciting violence? After the elevator incident, Sen. Flake changed his tune and requested a new FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh. Such capitulation in the face of intimidation will only encourage more violent behavior by Archila and her ideological comrades.
A similar pattern of leftist intimidation has emerged in Europe. The European public finally figured out what the Left is doing and a defense is being mounted. It may be too late for them. It’s time we did the same before it is too late for us. If leftist intimidation goes unchallenged, the United States in 2038 will be unrecognizable to most of us who are alive today. It will be familiar to those who have lived in Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea. America, once home of the brave and land of the free, will be a Stalinist state with power going to a few—a tyranny of the minority.
Ed Brodow is a political commentator, negotiation expert, and author of seven books including his latest, Tyranny of the Minority: How the Left is Destroying America.
