Republicans are waging a "war on local government" as they incite a violent base, according to a new analysis in The New Republic.
Matt Ford noted October comments by Attorney General Merrick Garland following a nationwide wave of unhinged testimony at local government hearings.
“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” noted Garland. “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.”
May Republicans lashed out at Garland for pointing out threats against public officials are illegal.
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"To many Republicans, this was tantamount to a declaration of war," he wrote, noting comments from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Gov Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
"The episode highlighted the degree to which right-wing politics has organized around a war on local governments, dragging members of the once-mundane bodies that oversee public schools, elections, and other basic government functions into maelstroms of threats and intimidation. With an energized base that’s willing to use violence to achieve its goals and a conservative media ecosystem that prioritizes outrage, the results could be debilitating for basic functions of American democracy," he explained.
Ford noted a Reuters investigation found "more than 200 instances of threats and intimidation aimed at school board members in just over a dozen states, representing what might be the tip of a much larger iceberg"
"What’s driving these campaigns? A key force appears to be conservative media outlets and social media networks," he wrote. "I’ve written before about how there’s a deep and sustained current in the American political right that valorizes political violence, casting their foes as would-be tyrants and arguing that the Second Amendment gives them the right to kill cops and elected officials. My worst fear is that eventually someone (or many someones) will take these threats and rhetoric to their logical conclusion, that some local school official or poll worker will suffer for it, and that there will be no going back."
Read the full analysis.
