Fall Election Special: Political Thuggery and Party Identities

Fall Election Special: Political Thuggery and Party Identities

(The Way We Live Now, Part Three)

On Medium.com

Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Gillum, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Source: Michael Valdon; U.S. Congress, photo via Wikimedia Commons; State of Florida, photo via Wikimedia Commons; photo via Wikimedia Commons (BY SA 4.0)

 Author’s Note: This is the third installment in a series on the current public climate of fear and intimidation that has dominated national life in the United States since the kick-off of the last presidential campaign in 2015. Part One, “The Emotional Toll of Public Bullying and Political Intimidation,” focused on the experience of the sheer power and psychological effects of bullying in general and public bullying and political intimidation in particular. Part Two, “How Political Bullying and Intimidation Work: A Practical Guide,” looked at how public bullying works as a concrete method and set of political tools and provided readers with a map through this potent minefield and a way to anticipate future acts of aggression.

Aggression and Response

With Labor Day marking the official start of Congressional and local races, in Part Three I focus on the two major political parties to explore why over the years Republicans and their right-wing supporters have freely resorted to extremely aggressive political tactics—and just as important--why Democratic Party leaders and their liberal allies have often failed to take seriously such acts of political violence and skullduggery by their opponents and respond accordingly. Part of the answer, I argue, lies in their respective practices of loyalty and identity, social composition, and conceptions of governing.