Talk is not cheap in politics

Last week’s attack on Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has renewed attention on the rising specter of political violence in America.

Debate on its root causes has been spirited, with incendiary talk from Republican leaders including former President Donald Trump ranking high among listed influences. Columnist Cathy Young argues that mental illness also plays a role, and that heated political rhetoric can push some unstable people over the edge. This rise in violence is not limited to conservatives, she says, while noting that right-wing extremists have been involved in many more attacks and fatalities.

“In a saner world, this incident would prompt some soul-searching,” Young writes. “Instead, we’re likely to get more finger-pointing.”

And so, Nancy Pelosi, remains a focus of GOP political attacks, even as her husband recovers from severe wounds inflicted with a hammer, as editorial board member Mark Chiusano observed at a GOP rally in Suffolk County Tuesday evening. Several speakers charged up the crowd with talk of “firing” Pelosi, without mentioning the attack on her husband.

Meanwhile, the home of a lot of the inflammatory rhetoric undermining our democracy – Twitter – is bracing for an overhaul courtesy of new owner Elon Musk, a development that drew the attention of cartoonist Matt Davies. And columnist Dan Janison writes that while reasoned skepticism of government authority is healthy for our democracy, knee-jerk dismissal of experts is just plain stupid.

All of which has us concluding that in politics, alas, talk is not cheap.

- Michael Dobie