Even the word “campaign” comes from war. If martial metaphors in electoral politics caused violence, every election would be a bloodbath. People who say that political rhetoric like “fight hard” and “target that district” are calls for violence are partisans acting in bad faith.
-
-
Show this threadThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Soundbites are unavoidable these days. Words in soundbites matter. Whether it's Trump saying it, or Holder.
-
Of course words matter. But martial metaphors in campaigns are as old as campaigns (even the word “campaign” comes from war). Telling a crowd to beat someone up and promising you’ll pay their legal fees is a call for violence. Drawing targets on a campaign map isn’t.
-
Scalise finds this comforting.
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.