Republicans quickly got defensive after a week in which the objects of Donald Trump's merciless derision and dehumanizing attacks became the targets of two deranged people who sought to commit carnage in service of the venom they had been fed.
Over the weekend, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida tried to equate right-wing conspiracy theories to Democratic charges that Trump helped stoke the violent instincts of those who took deadly action.
“Why is it so hard to accept that a clearly deranged man carried out deranged acts?" Rubio tweeted Saturday. "The ‘false flag’ conspiracy theories on one side & the ‘it’s Trump’s fault’ on the other shows how unhinged politics has become.”
And after a Washington journalist called out Texas Sen. John Cornyn for dishonestly suggesting Nancy Pelosi incites violence against Republicans, the GOP's No. 2 in the Senate tweeted: "You could say Ds on defensive after encouraging the mob scene at the Kavanaugh hearings, and Booker, Waters, Holder, Clinton comments."
Just no. The protesters opposing Brett Kavanaugh didn't kill anyone and they weren't moved to action by a wildly unfounded conspiracy, nor has any Democratic official repeatedly made fear and hatred the lifeblood of their coast-to-coast rallies. No, in fact, both sides don't do it.
Hillary Clinton didn't launch her presidential campaign on the premise that Mexicans are "rapists" and "drug dealers." (Trump)
Hillary Clinton didn't call for a "total and complete shutdown” of Muslim refugees entering the country. (Also Trump)
After neo-Nazis marched on Charlottesville screaming "blood and soil" and murdering a peaceful counter-protester, Democrats didn't call the Nazis "very fine people." (Still Trump)
Democrats haven't run an entire midterm election strategy on a policy-free platform of hatred for immigrants, Democratic women, Jews, and the media. (In fact, Democrats have run an almost entirely policy-driven campaign on protecting and expanding access to health care.)
The Democratic leadership PACs in the House and Senate haven't launched ads depicting a menacing "caravan of illegal immigrants ... full of gang members and criminals" heading for the border. (GOP Congressional and Senate Leadership Funds)
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee didn't sponsor ads accusing a Jewish billionaire (George Soros) of bankrolling the "prima donna athletes protesting our anthem" and "left-wing mobs paid to riot in the streets." (National Republican Campaign Committee)
The Democratic president didn't accuse the "very rude elevator screamers" protesting Brett Kavanaugh of being "paid for by Soros and others." (Trump)
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi didn't send a tweet warning her followers that "we cannot allow" three wealthy Jewish donors to "BUY this election," and then rush to delete it after some of them started receiving pipe bombs in the mail. (GOP Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy)
It wasn't a Democratic lawmaker who posted a video of someone purportedly handing out cash to Honduran migrants to "storm the US border" and then questioned who was behind it. "Soros?" (GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz)
It wasn't the Democratic president who said, without proof of any sort, that "criminals and unknown Middle Easterners" had infiltrated the migrant group of several thousand headed to the U.S. after fleeing violence in their home countries. (Trump)
It wasn't the Democratic vice president who supported his president’s baseless lie, saying it was "inconceivable" people of Middle Eastern descent hadn't joined the migrant group. (Mike Pence)
It wasn't the Democratic vice president who said the caravan was "organized by leftist groups." (Pence)
And it wasn't a Democratic president who resurrected a slur used by murderous dictators like Hitler and Stalin to denounce the media as the "enemy of the people." (Trump)
So the next time you hear both sides do it—no, no they don’t. Only one side is running on a platform of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism. Only one side is deleting tweets. Only one side is demonizing truth tellers while promoting full-blown conspiracy theories. Only one side is full on denying any culpability for their actions.
Republicans, led by Donald Trump, have been injecting venom into the political veins of this country. Now that venom is being spit back out by the demons it has unleashed, and Republicans are explaining it away through intellectually dishonest false equivalencies. That’s not leadership, that’s cowardice at an incredibly perilous moment for our country. And it must be rejected at the polls.