Where Was All The Right-Wing Political Violence Democrats Warned Would Plague The Midterms?
Months before the 2022 midterm elections took place, the corporate media saturated their publications with headlines meant to frighten Americans and get voters to buy into their preferred narrative.
“Concerns of Violence grow as Election Day nears,” proclaimed NPR.
“A spiral of violence and fear is creating angst for many voters ahead of the midterm elections,” wrote NBC News.
Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” was stirring up rage-filled conservatives who were going to take out their anger on poll workers and voters, or so said the fearmongers. The riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were just the beginning of a red wave of blood and terror, they told us.
None of that happened. Instead, the left brought the 2022 midterm elections the Big Scare, driven by an overheated corporate media and a Democratic Party that used its usual media tools to help them “save democracy” by scaring the hell out of voters.
A review of news coverage from battleground states declared ripe for political violence finds few incidents of actual threats, let alone actual violence on Election Day. Observers on both sides of the aisle report last week’s elections functioned peacefully and well.
That’s not to say some election officials around the country haven’t endured hostile communications, including threatening language, since the bitter 2020 presidential election. But even the Biden administration, which did everything it could to gin up the tired insurrection narrative, noted just days before the election that “no specific credible threats” had been identified by law enforcement.
“Americans should feel safe going to the polls. It is important for Americans to do so,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Election Day eve.
As is often the case, the flack’s words did not comport with President Joe Biden’s fiery speech less than a week before the election when he urged Americans to “not allow the dark forces that thirst for power” to destroy American democracy. Those “dark forces,” of course, are his political enemies — also known as Republicans.
Spiraling
Fear porn peddlers did their job well. An ABC News/Washington Post poll not long before Election Day found a whopping 88 percent of adults were worried political divisions in the country are so raw that there’s an increased risk of politically motivated violence. Such “angst for many voters” is understandable amid screaming headlines about a “spiral of violence and fear.”
As we’ve learned from recent election cycles, polling isn’t merely used to neutrally report on public opinion; it’s often used to shape public perception. The Big Scare did just that.
“We could be six days away from losing our rule of law,” warned historian Michael Beschloss, who wondered whether “our children will be arrested and conceivably killed.”
In battleground Michigan, PBS reported that a threat of political violence loomed over several races.
“Election officials in Michigan are especially worried as the midterms approach and multiple election deniers are on the ballot,” Laura Barrón-López reported.
She interviewed Cheryl Rottmann, city clerk for Madison Heights, a suburb
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
