Wednesday, October 23

Republicans and Democrats argue over impression of right-wing and left-wing extremism

House Republicans and Democrats lobbed political broadsides at one another on Tuesday, with all sides claiming their opponents’ ideological extremists are extra harmful than the opposite.

A subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee — the Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability panel — held a listening to titled “‘Mostly Peaceful: Countering Left-Wing Organized Violence.”

Republicans centered on the nationwide 2020 riots by teams akin to ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter following the demise of George Floyd. Democrats countered that “right-wing” extremism brought on extra deaths lately by lethal mass shooters than left-wing activists who largely destroyed property and brought on havoc for legislation enforcement.

“The left-wing lawlessness Americans experienced during the summer of 2020 was, unfortunately, only the beginning of a long season of political violence and intimidation,” stated subcommittee Chairman Dan Bishop, North Carolina Republican. “We’ve now seen this violence perpetrated against law enforcement as well as brave Americans like Riley Gaines, who dare to exercise their freedom of speech. This increasing political violence cannot remain unchecked.”

The prime Democrat on the committee, Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, stated that from an incident standpoint regarding killings between 2013 and 2022, 75% of the deaths have been attributable to right-wing extremism.

“That’s not to say that there is no left-wing extremism issue, or that there aren’t solutions that we should take or steps that we should take to address them, but it is to say that from a standpoint of violence and the risk of death to citizens here in the United States, right-wing extremism is a greater problem,” Mr. Ivey stated.

Witnesses who testified earlier than the panel have been Ms. Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum; Scott G. Erickson, former deputy chief of employees at U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Amy Spitalnick, incoming chief government officer of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Julio Rosas, senior author for Townhall Magazine.

Ms. Gaines testified about her expertise talking about her views on transgender ladies competing in ladies’s sports and the backlash she obtained when protesters on a university campus refused to permit her to depart a constructing for a number of hours.

“As I ended my presentation, protesters in the room opened the locked doors and a chaotic flood of shouting, angry protesters forced their way in,” she informed lawmakers. “They rushed at me with fists raised, most shouting and angry faces coming around me. They flicker the lights and ultimately then turned the lights off. The room filled with glares of cell phone flashlights, some in my face, and I realized I was at the mercy of the crowd and I was assaulted.”

However, Democrats on the committee referenced latest lethal incidents as examples of “right-wing extremism,” together with mas shootings at a grocery in Buffalo, New York; on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; at a shopping center in Allen, Texas and an incident in Brownsville, Texas, the place a suspect plowed into a bunch of migrants along with his automobile.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, countered that transgender people carried out 4 mass shootings prior to now 5 years.

“Colorado Springs shooter, identified as non-binary. The Denver shooter identified as trans. The Aberdeen shooter identified as trans,” she stated. “Audrey Hale, the Nashville shooter, identified as trans, but trans people only make up about one-half of 1% of the population.”

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com