Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are happy to see Ben Shapiro was able to give his speech at Berkeley without incident in the auditorium and minimal unrest outside, which this year counts as very good news. They also unload on Harvard for offering convicted spy Bradley Manning, who now identifies as Chelsea Manning, a position as a visiting fellow, and only rescinding the offer after the intelligence community denounces the move. And they groan as a terrorist attack on the London tube injures 22 people and suggests terrorists there might be changing their tactics.
Berkeley
Disaster Relief Done Right, Berkeley’s War on Speech, High Heel Hysteria
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are all for a robust federal response to assist in the recovery and the rebuilding of the Texas coast, but they also don’t want to see the legislation turn into a spending spree for a bunch of unrelated projects for other parts of the country and they applaud political and policy figures for setting that priority now. They also unload on the mayor of Berkeley, California, for calling for speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter not to speak on campus because it might set off the Antifa rioters. And Alexandra explains the litany of double standards as the media and social media savage First Lady Melania Trump for wearing high heels to board Air Force One on her way to survey the devastating floods in Texas.
Why Cops Are Standing Down in Berkeley and Beyond
On Sunday, a large group of Antifa activists descended upon a small number of people the group surmised were supporters of President Trump and assaulted them viciously while Berkeley, California, police largely stood by, and policing expert Heather Mac Donald says the passivity from the cops is a result of withering demonization from politicians and the media.
The Washington Post headline described the violence as an Antifa “attack” against “peaceful right-wing protesters.” This is not the first time Berkeley police have let the violence play out. Earlier this year, extensive property damage ensued from riots connected with a scheduled University of California speech by Milo Yiannopoulos.
Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the author of the best-selling “The War Against Cops: How the New attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe.” She says the seeds for police reticence to intervene were planted in yet another episode of Berkeley unrest in December 2014, as part of a four-day protest against the police by Black Lives Matter.
“The first day of the anti-police, Black Lives Matter riot, the police actually used conventional riot tactics of skirmish lines, of not allowing protesters to get dangerously close,” said Mac Donald.
“The left-wing Berkeley council and mayor, the next day, blamed the police for the violence, rather than the people who were using Molotov cocktails and attacking businesses and police officers and other people,” added Mac Donald.
She says the police could draw only one logical conclusion from that political response.
“The Berkeley police learned their lesson and said, ‘OK, our policy is going to be to allow certainly the destruction of property and if there’s collateral damage to people, so be it. We are not going to risk again the claim that we are an occupying, fascist force,'” said Mac Donald.
“They’re so worried about a lawful act of force being captured on video and the inevitable press reaction that it was the police’s fault, that they have simply moved into a hunkered down, passive position that, given our current levels of civil hatred in this country, I think is extremely dangerous,” said Mac Donald.
She says despite the political slings and arrows, the police still have a responsibility to their communities.
“I hope…they will realize that they really owe it to the law-abiding people of this country to maintain order,” said Mac Donald. “Police use of force is never a pretty sight, but there are times – whether you are subduing a resisting suspect or trying to keep order in a public anarchy situation like we had again this weekend – where it is necessary.”
She says the tone and extent of police intervention in these situations will ultimately be up to the voters in each community.
“It’s really up to the public to decide how much policing it wants. If the public decides we would rather have crime, we’d rather have anarchy than have the police use their lawful authority, well that’s their decision to make,” said Mac Donald.
If the police continue to hold back, what will we see?
“I fear real civil violence, whether it’s race war of left-right war. Both sides at the extremes are becoming more emboldened,” said Mac Donald.
Mac Donald makes clear that the most heinous act we’ve seen to date in this escalating violence is the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville earlier this month. She says that carnage is squarely on the hands of the white supremacists.
However, she also points out that many of the instances of non-lethal are instigated by the likes of Antifa.
“The left certainly has the bit in its teeth at this point. I hope that Trump still has the moral authority to say this is simply not acceptable. He ran rightly as a law and order president. He alone among the candidates saw what was going on with the demonization of the police, with the rising crime levels, with the resistance to cops, with the 53 percent increase in gun murders of officers last year,” said Mac Donald.
So how do we get to what most Americans expect in terms of law and order? Mac Donald says it is going to be tough so long as the media casts such a negative eye on police.
“The media has just been soaked, it’s been saturated in anti-cop hostility for the last 20 years but it has certainly gotten much worse with the Black Lives Matter surge that began in August of 2014,” said Mac Donald.
She says the tragic irony is that the media are hypocrites when it comes to caring about minority deaths.
“The overwhelming victims in the rising crime increase are black. Nine hundred more black males were killed in 2015, thanks to the Black Lives Matter de-policing, than the previous year. Even though the media think of itself as so Social Justice Warrior-like, it actually doesn’t give a damn about black lives unless they’re taken by a cop,” said Mac Donald.
Agony and Heroism in Houston, Antifa’s Ugly Reality, Dem Circus Awaits in 2020
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America lay out the extent of the devastation in Southeast Texas but also salute the first responders and big-hearted citizens who are rescuing their neighbors. They also unload on Antifa, as the leftist mob attacks people in Berkeley and chants, “No Trump. No Wall. No USA at All.” And they discuss the likely circus car of endless 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls that will make the 17 GOP candidates in 2016 seems like a reasonable number.
Free Speech Loses, Rule of Law Loses, Nukes or Nonsense?
Ian Tuttle of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America shake their heads as Ann Coulter cancels her Berkeley speech after officials there make it clear they will not maintain order. They also vent after a liberal judge rules that the federal government cannot withhold funds from localities that flagrantly refuse to obey federal immigration law. And they throw up their hands as CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin is more worried about why senators have to go to the White House to discuss North Korea – than she is about the North Korea threat itself.
Dem Money Dilemma, Berkeley Buckles Again, Left’s Red Scare
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss the pressure mounting on the Democratic National Committee to spend big on every special House election, despite long odds in most of them. They also unload on University of California-Berkeley administrators for cancelling a speech by Ann Coulter over security concerns instead of cracking down on students and faculty threatening to disrupt the event. And they address the latest twist in leftist conspiracy theories, as liberals contend Rep. Jason Chaffetz decided not to seek re-election because he’s being blackmailed by Russia.
Three Martini Lunch 2/3/17
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer French security for shooting a would-be terrorist outside the Louvre. They also discuss Kellyanne Conway’s “Bowling Green Massacre” moment, her decision to slam the media when correcting her mistake, and the media for focusing more on her mistake than her point that refugees in the U.S. were trying to kill Americans. They unload on former Labor Secretary Robert Reich for suggesting, without any facts, that the Berkeley rioters were conservatives. And they offer their Superbowl predictions and preferences.
Three Martini Lunch 2/2/17
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud Pres. Trump for the quiet, dignified way he honored a fallen Navy SEAL on Wednesday. They also slam GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski for opposing Betsy DeVos to become the next Secretary of Education. And they unload on the violent leftist protesters who wrought havoc at UC-Berkeley Wednesday night.