Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is banging the pots and pans to stop the political violence. He says all political leaders — starting with President Trump — need to do more to condemn political violence.
At a news conference in Chicago last week he criticized Trump for not doing more to call for peace after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He said Kirk’s death highlights growing anxiety in America over political violence.
So, the billionaire Democrat Governor is against political violence. And Donald Trump should do more to condemn political violence.
But Pritzker almost threatened armed opposition to Trump’s desire to send the National Guard into Chicago to quell the daily violence on Chicago’s streets. Now there’s some ripe hogwash for you.
Minority leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also came out strongly against political violence.
“Political violence is the enemy of democracy and we have an obligation, on all sides, to fight it at every turn,” Schumer said on the Senate floor last week. “We must condemn it whenever it arises, wherever it arises, including this heinous murder of Charlie Kirk.”
JB, Chuck: Every murder is heinous.
WORD OF THE DAY: Heinous
“Adjective meaning hateful; odious; abominable; totally reprehensible,“ according to dictionary.com. Some of the synonyms for heinous are: nefarious, villainous, atrocious, flagrant, infamous, wicked.
Every murder is heinous. (I repeat for emphasis).
The Chicago crime figures are difficult to understand. In both 2023 and 2024 figures from the Chicago Police Department show at least 515 homicides. The Chicago Tribune reported on Sept. 15 that so far this year 299 homicides have been reported. It appears that the total number of homicides this year could be down as much as 30 percent. The number, if the average of about 30 per month (one a day) continues, should be around 400 heinous crimes in Chicago by Dec. 31. Pritzker says there’s no need for federal interference, the crime stats are coming down.
But, as someone once said, figures lie and liars figure.
Is 400 murders a year in Chicago an acceptable number, JB? Are those 400 victims less important than the politicians that might be slain, Sen. Schumer?
Pritzker and Schumer call press conferences when a political assassination occurs, but they don’t offer the same indignation for the daily murders in Chicago and across America.
The victims of homicide in Chicago are overwhelmingly non political people. Are their lives less important. Are their slayings without effect on their neighborhood or their city?
Politicians, like Pritzker and Schumer, condemning political violence is akin to the deer population condemning deer hunting season. It’s pretty self-serving isn't it?
Is it impossible to think that the Democrats and their lefty loonies would possibly condemn all violence, and then begin to make changes to their acceptance of anarchy?
Again, President Trump did the right thing. Instead of trying to force law and order on Chicago, he’s moved on to Memphis where the Tennessee governor and it’s U.S. Senators encourage the help. Even the mayor has not displayed opposition to the project.
When a city tolerates high crime. It will have it.
Maybe Chicago Is Still on Trump’s Radar
At Sunday’s memorial service for Charlie Kirk, president Trump revealed that the last thing that Charlie Kirk said to him was “Save Chicago.” Kirk was raised in that city.
Trump said he was going to “Save Chicago” so Governor Prtizker might want to sing a different tune. If there’s one thing that the Democrats should be able to agree on with President Trump is that Chicago citizens deserve a safer city.
What Senator Schumer and House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries should do is demand a press conference with President Trump to offer their full and complete cooperation in curbing the senseless, heinous crime that is permeating our largest and most important cities. OK, let Pritzker join in, too.
The Bill Clinton approach that was extremely successful should be used here. Just like Clinton signed on to welfare reform to steal the Republicans’ campaign promise, the Democrats should stop trying to be different by opposing Trump’s anti-crime campaign and say “We’re all in, too. Let’s go. What do you need.”
Unfortunately, the Dims are just not bright enough to do that. They are playing “Mission Impossible” and if they don’t accept the change challenge, they will self destruct in a very short time.
Free Speech Cuts Both Ways
With a journalism background, I have long been a proponent of free speech, even when some Christian friends were adamantly opposed to people being able to say anything they want.
As a constitutional conservative, I’m a huge fan of all the rights afforded in the First Amendment.
People have the right to say what they want, even hurtful, hateful statements, but they must be willing to face the consequences of their statements.
Didn’t your mother tell you that sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you? Yes, I know words hurt your feelings, but they bring no physical damage.
Yes, words can escalate an argument and spawn physical violence. The law protects the speech, but when physical assault happens, the line has been crossed.
The alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk told his romantic interest in a text, “I had enough of his (Kirk’s) hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
What the assassin saw as hate speech from Kirk was his motivation to commit murder in broad daylight with thousands of witnesses.
He certainly had a right to label Kirk’s conservative and Christian values as hateful. And, he had the right to say it.
In America, we all have the right to be wrong.
He had the right to say it, but he had no right to use a bullet as his microphone. If he had gotten in line on the Utah Valley campus, Charlie Kirk would have given him a microphone to express his feelings.
Many people have lost their jobs for celebrating Kirk’s murder. They had every right to celebrate, but they are not protected from the consequences of their actions. Employers have rights, too. They don’t have to tolerate employees who bring disrespect onto their business or their products.
Cuts Both Ways
The free speech guaranteed in the First Amendment to our Constitution is a two-edged sword.
Political speech these days has no boundaries. It’s virtually impossible to slander or libel a politician or public figure. To be successful in proving slander or libel, they must prove malice. Proving malice apparently is a very high bar, as it rarely is proven.
In order for us to say what we want to say, we have to allow those who have a different opinion to say what they want to say.
Our free speech right is still the best benefit of a free society, but it puts a huge burden on each of us to find what is true and what is not.
What is not true is the drum beat from the left that Charlie Kirk was spewing hate. Yes, what he was saying was hated by some — those who reject God and God’s word, those same people who think we all are the result of a big bang and zillions of years of evolution.
God knew there would be times like this. And he warned about it in Isaiah Chapter 5 verse 20:
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Think about this:
A world with no respect is a very dangerous world.
Thanks for reading. Your comments would add so much to this post.
Or you could buy me a coffee here.
Thanks, Charles. I enjoyed your article. Violence should never be the first option. Once all other options are exhausted, then violence may be discussed. It is not automatic. It may be that whatever the slight wasn't serious enough to rate violence.
Politicians misuse words and statistics to meet their own greedy needs. JB Pritzker and Hamburger Chuck Schumer wouldn't know the truth if they were hit in the head with it.
Agreed "political violins" must be stopped. Way too much noise. Joking aside, I am saddened by the arguments adults are having in today's world - XX vs. XY being a fairly black and white issue, and purposefully misquoting a person, then saying that their words justified political violence in return.