New York Times argues the Republican Party 'enables political violence,' downplays left-wing attacks

The New York Times Editorial Board appeared to suggest in a lengthy opinion piece on Saturday that political violence was an issue primarily coming from the Republican Party.

Citing a report from Democratic staff members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Times' editorial board concluded that "white supremacist and anti-government extremist individuals and groups" from the Republican Party pose the largest threat to the nation.

"While there have been recent episodes of violent left-wing extremism, for the past few years, political violence has come primarily from the right," the editor's wrote.

Although the article briefly referenced the assassination attempted against Justice Brett Kavanaugh over the summer, the editorial board ignored a majority of left-wing political violence examples such as the attacks on pregnancy centers or Black Lives Matter/Antifa riots in 2020.

Instead, the NYT argued that the Democratic Party’s only responsibility in the rise of violence were efforts to fund "on far-right fringe candidates in the primaries with the hopes of beating them in general elections" while Republicans are primarily to blame.

"The onus falls on Republicans. While voters this month rejected some of the most extreme candidates, the party is still very much under the spell of Mr. Trump and his brand of authoritarianism. Two prominent Republicans who have been outspoken about right-wing extremism and baseless lies, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, have been driven out of office. Meanwhile, the spread of conspiracy theories that have already inspired violence continues unabated from politicians and conservative media," they wrote.... (Read more)

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