Impromptus

The fear factor, &c.

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A militia group at the governor’s office in East Lansing, Mich., April 30, 2020 (Seth Herald / Reuters)
On violence, or the threat of violence, in our politics; the state of the GOP; heroes in Iran; the late Burt Young; and more

The headline reads, “Hardball tactics by Jim Jordan allies are backfiring with detractors in House speaker’s race.” The subheading reads, “Jordan’s supporters have made some GOP lawmakers more entrenched in their opposition to his bid for the speaker’s gavel. ‘They’re harassing our spouses,’ says Rep. Don Bacon.”

Here is an excerpt from that NBC report:

The wife of Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., has received anonymous, threatening text messages this week pressuring her to persuade her husband to support Jordan.

Another:

On Wednesday night, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said in a statement that she’d received “credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls” after she switched her vote to another Republican in the second round of voting.

In my view, the role of violence, or the threat of violence, in our politics today is insufficiently commented upon. Gabby Giffords was shot. Steve Scalise was shot. There was January 6.

I remember those gun-toters up in the gallery of the Michigan legislature. Their purpose was not self-protection; it was intimidation. Some of the lawmakers down below wore bulletproof vests. I thought, “This ought not to happen in America.”

Earlier this week, I had a piece about Mitt Romney. I will cite a pertinent paragraph:

Romney told McKay Coppins something that other Republicans have addressed, usually sotto voce. There were congressmen who wanted to vote to impeach Trump, and senators who wanted to vote to convict him, but shrank from doing so out of fear for their family’s safety.

Two more paragraphs:

Peter Meijer told Tim Alberta about a congressman who voted against certifying the 2020 election — only because he was concerned for his family’s safety. Meijer was a congressman from Michigan (Republican); Alberta is a journalist who writes for The Atlantic.

“Remember,” said Meijer, “this wasn’t a hypothetical. You were casting that vote after seeing with your own two eyes what some of these people are capable of. If they’re willing to come after you inside the U.S. Capitol, what will they do when you’re at home with your kids?”

A final paragraph:

Mitt Romney himself has spent a good deal of money on his family’s security since that day, January 6. He can afford it. The ordinary politician cannot.

Last month, Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, was asked at a press conference about threats to Romney and other politicians. “Look, guys,” he said, “I’m not usually prone to hyperbole,” but our country is “headed down a very dark path, and we’re further down that path than I think most people realize.”

He continued,

There is a very real chance over the next couple of decades of a complete failure of our democratic institutions. Of our republic. I take that very seriously. If we don’t wake up as a society, and if we don’t stop playing with fire — stop the hatred that we’re exhibiting toward our fellow Americans with whom we have some disagreements — we could end up in a very dark place.

If I had my way, everyone in America — left, right, and center — would come down on violence, and the threat of violence, like a ton of bricks.

• In the press, Republican congressmen who oppose a Jim Jordan speakership are regularly described as “moderates.” It would probably be better, I think, to describe them as “conservatives.” They are for the rule of law, for example. And they are against a “burn it down” mentality — a Bannonite mentality.


More in Republican Party

• Speaking of Steve Bannon: “How Hannity, Bannon and others on the right helped fuel GOP speaker chaos.” That is a headline over an article in the Washington Post. The subheading is: “Conservative media stars have had enormous influence over Republicans’ futile search for a leader.”

I think it would be a better day if congressmen and others told these media stars to shove it.

• Here is one GOP congressman, Ken Buck of Colorado, who has been talking pretty straight. Maybe he will buck up some others? (No pun intended.)

I am reminded of Dan Crenshaw, another Republican congressman (Texas), talking in November 2022. He was talking about the claim of a stolen election: “It was always a lie. The whole thing was always a lie. And it was a lie meant to rile people up.”

That, it did. And it’s still doing it.

• Have a look at the below, if you like. I would like to comment on it.

There are lots and lots of such people. In a way, they are victims: victims of the media they consume. Much blame falls on the media performers. It’s not nice to addle the minds of people who are ill equipped to defend themselves against lies and manipulation.

• Below is another clip — and I have a question for you: Are General Flynn et al. simply fleecing the folks? Or are the folks wholly responsible?

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Congressman Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) are both . . . eccentric, politically. That is the most charitable way to put it, I think. Each of them has siblings. RFK Jr.’s siblings have publicly distanced themselves from their brother’s views. Gosar’s have done the same.

I understand the instinct — but I still find it a little creepy. Not disloyal, exactly. But — maybe a little unnecessary? I mean, we all have family members.

• Over the years, I have written frequently about the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, given by the European Parliament. Some of the greatest people in the world have been given this prize: dissidents, political prisoners, freedom strugglers.

The parliament has just announced that the 2023 prize will be awarded posthumously: to Jina Mahsa Amini, the young woman who was murdered by “morality police” in Iran. But the prize will go to the living, too: the “Women, Life, and Freedom” movement generally.

For its part, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2023 peace prize to an Iranian political prisoner, Narges Mohammadi. I wrote about this award, this decision, in a column last week: here.

• Burt Young, the actor — best known for Rocky — has died at 83. For his obit in the New York Times, go here. Here is the obit’s subheading: “A former boxer from the streets of Queens, he became a scene stealer with his portrayals of mobsters, cops and working men with soul.”

Young studied with Lee Strasberg, the theater director who became legendary as a teacher of acting. I will quote from the Times’s obit.

In his late 20s, [Young] was laying carpets and doing other odd jobs when he became infatuated with a woman who tended bar, and who told him that she dreamed of studying acting with Mr. Strasberg. “I didn’t know who Lee Strasberg was,” he told Bright Lights [a film journal]. “I thought it was a girl.”

I love that.

• Care for a little language? Time was, people said (for example), “Please take your seats.” At some point, that changed to, “If you would take your seats, that would be great.” At some later point, “great” changed to “amazing” (at least in my experience).

A few nights ago, I was at a voice recital, and, as intermission was drawing to a close, a pleasant young woman said, “The second half is about to begin. If you would take your seats, that would be amazing.”

An elderly couple was sitting next to me. The husband said to his wife, grinningly, “Did you hear that? ‘Amazing.’ ‘That would be amazing.’”

• Hang on, now: What would you know about my mama’s empanadas?

Thanks for joining me today, my friends. Have a good weekend. (And Go Blue.)

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