For Republicans on the campaign trail, the early-morning brutal attack on Paul Pelosi did not mean a break in attacking the real target of that attack, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And the appalling taste, the wink-wink at an assassination attempt on the second in line for the presidency, was not remotely restricted to Republicans generally understood as extremists.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was widely portrayed in the media as a calm, moderate kind of guy during his campaign last year, said, at a campaign stop for House candidate Yesli Vega, “There’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re going to send her back to be with him in California.”
Are we supposed to let the fact that he opened with “There’s no room for violence” obscure that Youngkin used an attempted attack on the speaker that hospitalized her husband as the hook for a ha-ha-we’re-going-to-beat-her line? Not a line that makes any sense, mind you, since there is no Republican wave imaginable that would remove Pelosi from Congress altogether.
RELATED STORY: Here's a job for the D.C. press corps: Make the people responsible for the Pelosi attack own it
As a side note, Yesli Vega, the candidate Youngkin was campaigning for, in May suggested that pregnancy might be less common in cases of rape, as part of an argument against rape exceptions in abortion bans. Like I say, Youngkin’s a real moderate kind of guy.
Youngkin wasn’t alone. Speaking at an Ohio Republican GOTV event, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel rallied the crowd with the question, “Are you ready to fire Nancy Pelosi?” This was, again, a nonsensical call to arms since McDaniel said it while standing in front of a banner for Senate nominee J.D. Vance and at an event in a House district already represented by a Republican. It’s not like she was in some swing district currently held by a Democrat, seeking to win control of the House. It was just a gratuitous shot at a woman whose husband is hospitalized after a violent assault that was aimed at her.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Emmer also targeted Pelosi specifically on Friday afternoon, tweeting a link to an article about the upcoming elections with the text, “In 11 days we are going to make history and #FirePelosi.” It is at least Emmer’s job to with the House for Republicans, but … he couldn’t take a single day off of specifically making it personal against Pelosi? Not one single day? In the name of basic decency?
But that’s the thing. Republicans have spent years building up Nancy Pelosi as the evil witch-lady whose name alone can rile up their base. Using her name is like a reflex for them, something they just can’t do without. And basic decency? That long ago left the Republican Party.
The 2022 midterms are just around the corner, and you sent us a ton of fantastic questions for this week’s episode of The Downballot.
Among the many topics we cover: which states are likely to report results slowly—and how will those results change over time; the House districts that look like key bellwethers for how the night might go, and which might offer surprises; why and how Democrats make the hard decisions on which races to triage; the top legislative chambers to keep an eye on; and plenty more!
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