Not too long ago, The Prickly Pear ran a piece, “Don’t Take the Bait”.  It suggested that the press and the Democrats were deliberately baiting conservatives to take action that would result in violence, so it could be to discredit conservatism.  It went on to recommend that conservatives swear off any kind of violent response to provocation and work through the political system. Good advice.

We have to admit, it did strike a nerve.  For some time we have been puzzled whether Democrats are really that stupid, or are their policies just designed to goad conservatives into doing something dumb like resorting to violence.  A good example is the blatant sexualization of children.

Regardless, we all should condemn violence against any political opponent, except if under physical attack.  In that case, it really has nothing to do with politics but rather the human right to protect oneself from harm, regardless of the motivation.

Forgotten, of course, is an entire summer of violence and arson the Democrats fomented over George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.  Forgotten as well are the attacks on Republican lawmakers during a softball game by a crazed Bernie Sanders supporter.

Then there was the “kidnapping” plot for Democrat Governor Whitmar which seems almost entirely provoked by FBI informants.

Forgotten as well were the riots after President Trump was elected, which were quite extensive.

Recently, a Republican canvasser working for Marco Rubio was beaten to a pulp.  It got some limited coverage.

Supreme Court Justices’ families have been terrorized, with one bona fide assassination attempt.

Senator Rand Paul has been attacked twice, once by a left-wing neighbor and then again with his wife, by a left-wing mob.

Pregnancy centers have been firebombed.  The Justice Department responds by arresting pro-life parents in their homes with armed swat teams.

The political violence of January 6th looms large for Democrats and the press.  Unlike the ignored riots of 2020, there have been extensive investigations and hearings, and endless breathless coverage on cable TV channels.  Still, though, no answer has been provided as to who was Roy Epps, an Arizona man caught on tape inflaming the crowd to invade the capitol building. Since he has never been arrested, and others who played a minor role have been, the role played by Federal agents in the riot is a legitimate question to ask.  The ever-vigilant press seems to have no interest in the story or the Democrat Congress.  Hopefully, that will change soon.

Closer to home, there was a burglary of the campaign headquarters of Katie Hobbs.  She immediately, without evidence, suggested this was from the Republican supporters of Kari Lake and the “violence” that surely follows from political speech that she does not like.  The local Arizona press agreed.

Kari Lake, wise as to the ways of media, knows that a lie can make it around the world several times before the truth ever gets its shoes on, struck back early and hard, interrupting the normal media recycling of falsehoods. Not too long afterward, the suspect was arrested and video came footage made available.  The criminal had been hanging around the property for some time and had no political motivation for his entry into Hobb’s headquarters.

Hobbs has yet to apologize for her disgraceful comments.

Sadly, even the Wall Street Journal has gotten confused.  On October 29, 2022, in a front page above the fold headline, “Attack in Pelosi’s Home Stirs Fears Over Political Violence.” Digging inside the main editorial page we find, “The home invasion and assault on Paul Pelosi on Friday is another sickening example of political violence in our increasingly disturbing culture. We’re glad to see the attack denounced by partisans on the right and left, but we wish we could say this will be the last such assault.”

But subsequent evidence suggests it was not a political assault at all.  The “ex-wife” of the accused says the father of her children has been mentally disturbed and homeless and that he shared her progressive political views. About the only thing the Wall Street Journal got right was that the details, which as they emerge, are indeed sickening,  but in a way though unrelated to political debate.

Exactly why this fellow was in the Pelosi home at 2 am in his underwear is still not clear. Was this a consensual meeting gone haywire or a burglary? Police were present when he hit Mr. Pelosi with a hammer, which does not say a lot about police protection. But it also means police were called before the attack, not after.

In the grand scheme of things,  this event was made more likely because of Democrat policies that have released a horde of drug-addled men onto our streets.

From what is known about David Depape, he does not fit the profile of your typical conservative Republican.  Quite the contrary, he has lived as a nudist, a supporter of LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, and is an active drug user.

Whatever the encounter was, the interaction between Depape and Pelosi was not as the WSJ put it, “another sickening example of political violence. ” They too, jumped way out in front of the evidence, almost too eager to accuse conservatives of violence.

Perhaps the worst offender is the Presidential Press Secretary Jean-Pierre who said flat out this was “political violence” on the Sunday news shows.

From what information we presently have,  Mr. Pelosi and the assailant were both found by police in their underwear. While Mr. Pelosi at 2 am in his own home may don underwear, it does not explain why the assailant was similarly garbed. Nor does it explain why Pelosi was able to go to the bathroom where he had the opportunity to make the 911 call that brought the police. In that call, he acknowledged he knew the home “invader” as David. It is not too often you know the burglar by his first name.

However, if you know the alleged assailant, it does not sound like forced entry. How and why did Mr. Pelosi know his name? Further, Pelosi was struck with the hammer as the two struggled after the police had arrived. So, Pelosi could not have been calling about the assault, but rather likely a disagreement developing between the two of them. What kind of disagreement was it?  Were they debating the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan? Was David upset over transitory inflation?

Madam Press Secretary says the shouting of “where’s Nancy” is  “evidence” the attack was a  Republican plot just like January 6th. That is doubtful given the background of this nudist nutcase who shared his “wife’s” progressive views. More likely than not, David wanted to know if  Nancy was home because he wanted to be with Mr. Pelosi. Seriously, whatever was going on was not a political debate that turned violent.

President Biden used the same line of argument. He says the intruder used “the same chant” as the January 6th rioters. This is beneath even Biden’s poor standing.

More details are likely to emerge, but from what is known at this time, it does not sound like “political violence” to us, but rather more like deep dysfunction within the Pelosi household.  Why should Republicans be blamed for that?

But as previously noted, the press gave a pass to months of rioting and arson, and numerous attacks on Republicans and Supreme Court Justices.  But the Wall Street Journal leaps before they have the facts about the Pelosi attack and the White House Press Secretary simply lies when the facts are available.   As you listen to the interview, she is not seriously challenged on any of her preposterous charges and conclusions.

The press has sunk lower than whale dung in the Marianas Trench. Not to be outdone are the leaders of the Democrat Party.

Both Katie Hobbs and the White House are eager to claim conservatives are guilty of political violence when it did not take place and ignore violence from Progressives when it actually does take place.

We condemn political violence of all kinds, and we do not buy into the Left’s silly promotion of the idea that speech is violence, or that silence is violence. No, violence is violence. Violence is a physical force used against an opponent, not a verbal response.  Speech is not a hammer.  A hammer is a hammer, and even so, it is only dangerous if it is used to hurt a person as opposed to driving a nail.

But being California, we await legislation to ban the use of hammers by people in their underwear.

The best response available is now a little more than a week away.  If this calumny against Republicans makes you mad and you don’t like the direction this country is taking, your chance to say so is quickly approaching or already in hand with your mail-in ballot.  Let them know what you think of how they have been leading this country and get your ballot in pronto.

Vote them all out, every Democrat you can.

We suspect Republicans will win big on November 8th. Then we get to see if the Democrats will accept the results of the democratic process, or will they instead resort to the violence they condemn? If they don’t, will the press notice?