Katie Meeker, Opinions & Humor Editor
Maya Sunderraj, Assistant Opinions Editor
Only 32 days before election day, Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones was caught in a high-profile scandal — leaked text messages from 2022 saw Jones musing the hypothetical deaths of former House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.
Officials on both sides of the aisle have condemned Jones’ behavior, with many calling for him to drop out of the race. Even President Donald Trump weighed in, calling Jones’ comments “SICK and DEMENTED jokes.”
While many of Virginia’s democratic officials have issued statements disapproving of Jones’ actions, most have not called for his withdrawal from the race.
The dismissal roused further criticism from the right, with conservatives using it to fuel their tale of leftist violence. This narrative has risen in prominence exponentially since the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk last month, and Jones’ text messages are the perfect supplement.
Still, this portrayal is shallow and suspicious at best. It intentionally does not wholly encompass America’s problem with violent rhetoric and political violence.
This does not mean Jones should be exonerated — his “joke” was hateful and in poor taste. But Republicans are using these incidents to construct an inaccurate image of political violence in our country that must be understood.
Take the hunt for Charlie Kirk’s assassin as an example. Before the alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was caught, Trump attributed the assassination to “a radical left group of lunatics” in a speech.
Many Republicans followed suit and directed a particular level of vitriol towards the unconfirmed suspect they assumed was liberal and transgender.
Without any evidence, Rep. Nancy Mace declared the shooter was trans, using hateful, transphobic slurs in a street interview after the incident, and wrote “bring back the death penalty” in an X post.
During a livestream on his Infowars channel, conservative influencer Alex Jones said, “This is a war, this is a war, this is a war.”
After it was revealed that Robinson came from a Mormon, Republican background, attitudes on the right shifted in his favor. Mace instead called on people to “pray for such an evil, lost individual,” a far cry from her earlier statements.
While Trump and the GOP officially declare “ANTIFA” a terrorist organization in the recent surge of high-profile political violence, they ignore the actual perpetrators and advocates of this violence — themselves.
Two of the shooters allegedly behind Trump’s assassination attempts, Ryan Routh and Thomas Matthew Crooks, were registered Republicans.
Vance Luther Boelter, the man who reportedly assassinated Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, was described as conservative.
Assassinations are not the only realm of political violence in which Republicans hold prominence. In January 2024, when an activist told Republican Rep. Andy Ogles that their taxpayer dollars are funding the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the death of children, Ogles responded, “I think we should kill them all.”
What is the point in all of this? Why do political actors condemn “political violence” yet continue to manipulate and perpetuate said language?
The answer is engagement.
It does not matter if you are the U.S. president or a political commentator, the rule still applies — provocative language and ragebait keep the eyes of both supporters and opponents focused on you. It is easier to gain attention over controversy than benevolence, and the doors to power, money and fame open when the media’s spotlight is trained on you.
Why aren’t Democrats capitalizing on incidents like the Jay Jones scandal? How can Democrats capitalize on the Republicans’ violent rhetoric similarly without falling victim to the same moral and ethical pitfalls? There might be room for the Democratic Party to evolve if it grew claws and opened itself to internal criticism.
Take the current Democratic nominee for the upcoming New York City mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani, as an example. Mamdani is notable for being nonpartisan and quick-witted in his critiques of his competition, existing infrastructure and public policy. His campaign is a striking example of what it means to break the iron mold of the Democratic Party and its preoccupation with civility politics.
The refreshing pace of this mayoral race proves one thing: we find the controversy surrounding Virginia’s upcoming election so captivating because it highlights just how desensitized American society has become to violence, ostracization and party loyalty over policy — meanwhile, Democrats prioritize keeping their hands clean of blood and bad manners.
Violence and violent rhetoric are so wildly prevalent and overwhelming in our current culture that it is normalized, even expected. So yes, while Jones was wrong, it matters more that his actions are but a drop in an ocean of harmful rhetoric and real, tangible damage.
Amidst all of this, it is hard to step back and see the big picture: Political violence is committed every day by the GOP, and America is sprinting headfirst into an era of fascism.
Those convicted over their participation in the Jan. 6 attack are pardoned — students protesting the funding of a genocide are arrested.
Black and Indigenous students grimace as they are taught a whitewashed history of America — in Washington, D.C., a nominee for United States special counsel brags about his “Nazi streak” and writes that Black holidays should be “eviscerated” over messages.
Children urinate themselves in fear under their desks as gunshots sound in the hallway outside their classroom — meanwhile, fireworks go off during Charlie Kirk’s memorial service.
Now is not the time for handwringing and impartial condemnations — Democrats must turn their anger into collective, tangible action. Civility has little place in politics; the GOP has made that perfectly clear. Therefore, it feels futile to see Democrats try to hold the moral high ground over Republicans in their attempts to gain power. It is a flimsy bandage over the gaping, bleeding wound that is the United States’ current downward spiral into fascism.
As the index of events in American politics grows jam-packed and overwhelming, Democrats have to grow a spine. They must respond to the cries for help from the people they are supposed to represent and take a definitive stand against the rampant acts of political violence and the looming threat of autocracy.