How Democrats should respond to these bomb scares

Politics doesn't have to be this violent or divisive

Police officers.
(Image credit: Illustrated | TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

After explosive devices were mailed this week to several Democrats who President Trump frequently targets with his rank criticism, liberals will be tempted to call for louder protests or more public confrontations with Republican politicians during the closing weeks of the midterm elections. Trying to beat Trump at his own game would be satisfying in the short term, but it misses a greater opportunity in the long run to slow the national descent into conflict and madness.

The culture wars have been gradually and steadily escalating for years, even before Trump came into office. But the trend has now predictably accelerated under a president who is a disruptor and an instinctive divider. Democrats certainly don't have to look far for examples of Trump's attempts to stoke violence. Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi shared some examples in a joint statement Wednesday.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
W. James Antle III

W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.