{"id":5574,"date":"2025-09-14T20:06:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T03:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574"},"modified":"2025-09-14T20:07:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T03:07:32","slug":"parties-agree-that-violence-is-a-problem-but-clash-over-the-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574","title":{"rendered":"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The assassination of Charlie Kirk <\/a>has united the parties in a sense of dread that the country has arrived at a dangerous place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How it got here, however, remains very much in dispute.

President Trump wasted no time blaming the \u201cradical left\u201d for the death of Kirk, a prominent MAGA activist. And a number of congressional Republicans echoed the charge.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Democrats noted Trump\u2019s long history of normalizing political violence<\/a> and hammered Republicans for casting blame before the shooter\u2019s motives were known. Some amplified<\/a> their calls for tougher gun laws, which most Republicans oppose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several lawmakers lamented that the country has turned away from God and religion. Still others pointed to a social media culture they deem to be toxic.\u00a0

All sides, though, seem to converge around a dark view that the country is too divided, the rhetoric too venomous and the violence too frequent to sustain the American experiment unless something happens to ease partisan hostilities and bring the sides together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can do better,\u201d Rep.\u00a0Bennie Thompson\u00a0<\/a>(D-Miss.) said. \u201cWe can debate, but we don\u2019t have to get in a fight. And we also have to recognize that people are looking and listening. And for some people it doesn\u2019t take much to push \u2019em over the edge.\u201d

On Friday, officials in Utah and Washington announced they had detained a 22-year-old Utah man, Tyler Robinson, in connection with the fatal shooting, which occurred as Kirk, 31, was speaking at a large, open-air rally at Utah Valley University. But the arrest seems only to have fueled the competing narratives about the root of political violence, as conflicting \u2014\u00a0and sometimes false<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 details of the suspect\u2019s possible motivations trickled out in the press, thereby animating the finger-pointing that preceded his capture.

Kirk\u2019s tragic end has sparked new calls on Capitol Hill for a boost in security for every sitting lawmaker \u2014 an idea that quickly attracted bipartisan support in both chambers. The tougher challenge facing leaders in both parties, however, won\u2019t be legislative. It will be in locating ways to defuse the partisan tensions that have lingered since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters and gained new energy following Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m always about turning down the temperature and encouraging members to walk in the dignity of their office and treat one another with dignity and respect,\u201d Speaker Mike Johnson <\/a>(R-La.) said Thursday in the Capitol. \u201cThis is an important moment for leaders to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have their work cut out.\u00a0

On Wednesday evening, just hours after Kirk\u2019s death and immediately after the chamber held a silent prayer, there was a shouting match on the House floor as members of each side blamed the other for the rise in political violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou all caused this,\u201d Rep. Anna Paulina Luna <\/a>(R-Fla.) screamed across the aisle, where some Democrats countered with calls for gun reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ugly episode drew howls from those lawmakers in both parties who are calling to tone down the hostilities and focus on legislating, not seeking attention on social media.

\u201cIt was disgusting,\u201d said Rep. Jim Himes <\/a>(D-Conn.). \u201cYou need to decide if you\u2019re here to help govern the country and the tradition, \u2026 or whether you want to be clickbait. And if you want to be clickbait, you know, I hope your constituents see that and send you home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is also challenging Johnson\u2019s pleas for comity. Immediately following Kirk\u2019s death, the president accused Democrats of fostering the environment that made Kirk a target, then amplified that message on Friday during a sit-down with \u201cFox and Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRadicals on the right are radical because they don\u2019t want to see crime,\u201d Trump said. \u201cRadicals on the left are the problem, and they are vicious and horrible and politically savvy. They want men in women\u2019s sports, they want transgender for everyone, open borders \u2014 worst thing that happened to this country.\u201d

Democrats have rejected those criticisms out of hand, pointing to the president\u2019s long history of advocating violence \u2014 tacitly or explicitly \u2014 including his role in the Jan. 6 attack and his subsequent decision to pardon even the most violent participants of that rampage. Even some Republicans say Trump has fueled the political animus that can, at turns, lead to eruptions of violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPopulists thrive on dividing. All populists do that. And he\u2019s sort of an arch-typical populist,\u201d said Rep. Don Bacon <\/a>(R-Neb.). \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be the bright, shiny object that you hate and attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bacon is among the lawmakers who singled out another societal trend they say is driving the violence: A national turning away from religion.\u00a0

\u201cI\u2019m a spiritual guy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if [people] feel hopeless or they get depressed, they take bad, drastic actions. Increasingly, we don\u2019t even know there\u2019s a god, or a way to love, or that there\u2019s a hope and purpose in life. So that\u2019s ultimately the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats pointed to another factor they maintain has fueled political violence in America: Easy access to firearms, and the opposition from most Republicans to stricter gun laws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre we going to do something, or are we going to argue over rhetoric? That is my question about this,\u201d Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said after the Kirk shooting. \u201cWe have to pass gun safety legislation and stop this.\u201d

Second Amendment proponents have been quick to point out that the weapon allegedly used to kill Kirk, a .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle, is among the most common hunting rifles in the country, making it unlikely that any new gun law would have prevented Wednesday\u2019s tragedy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) offered a drastically different prescription for the country: He blamed social media for contributing to the polarization, radicalization and social disengagement that can lead to bursts of violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSocial media is a cancer on our society right now,\u201d Cox said Friday, as he announced Robinson\u2019s arrest. \u201cI would encourage people to log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community.\u201d

Reposted from The Hill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has united […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4292,4918,1798],"class_list":["post-5574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sino-american","tag-agree","tag-kirk","tag-parties"],"yoast_head":"\nParties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause - abovecloud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause - abovecloud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The assassination of Charlie Kirk has united […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"abovecloud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T03:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T03:07:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-11.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"934\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"504\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CrapeMyrtle888\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/\",\"name\":\"abovecloud\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-11.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-11.png\",\"width\":934,\"height\":504},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574\",\"name\":\"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause - abovecloud\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T03:06:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T03:07:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/96ebd2d6dfd45e6b12ba731340efc174\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/96ebd2d6dfd45e6b12ba731340efc174\",\"name\":\"CrapeMyrtle888\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ba8c6340f49e5053ee1d42c8f9b249987b4ccead633b2c0b701144523def435?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ba8c6340f49e5053ee1d42c8f9b249987b4ccead633b2c0b701144523def435?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CrapeMyrtle888\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause - abovecloud","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause - abovecloud","og_description":"The assassination of Charlie Kirk has united […]","og_url":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574","og_site_name":"abovecloud","article_published_time":"2025-09-15T03:06:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-15T03:07:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":934,"height":504,"url":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-11.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"CrapeMyrtle888","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"5 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/","name":"abovecloud","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-11.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-11.png","width":934,"height":504},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#webpage","url":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574","name":"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause - abovecloud","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-09-15T03:06:57+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T03:07:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/96ebd2d6dfd45e6b12ba731340efc174"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=5574#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Parties agree that violence is a problem, but clash over the cause"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/96ebd2d6dfd45e6b12ba731340efc174","name":"CrapeMyrtle888","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ba8c6340f49e5053ee1d42c8f9b249987b4ccead633b2c0b701144523def435?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ba8c6340f49e5053ee1d42c8f9b249987b4ccead633b2c0b701144523def435?s=96&d=wavatar&r=g","caption":"CrapeMyrtle888"},"url":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5574"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5576,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5574\/revisions\/5576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}