Author’s Note: The following essay was written last September during the nationwide riots that arose after the killing of George Floyd. Not only are these scenes of leftist violence worth remembering now after Americans witnessed similar events at the Capitol this week, but they also give some indication of what to expect with a Biden presidency. The fight for America’s founding principles is far from over, and conservatives and patriots need to prepare themselves.
By now, it has become clear for people, even those on the Left, that the violence in the streets of major cities in the U.S. are not peaceful protests. They are instances of rioting and looting that have devastated town squares, brutalized police officers and bystanders, and left over thirty people dead. While some of the riots have died down, others continue to take place since Democrat mayors and governors refuse to take action or call for help.
It has also become clear by now, though most mainstream outlets don’t report on it, that these riots are not spontaneous outbursts of violence, but coordinated and organized attacks, usually by groups affiliated with Antifa or Black Lives Matter. As journalist Andy Ngo regularly reports, Antifa has essentially taken over the city of Portland. In Kenosha, the majority of rioters were bussed in from out of state. In one amusing instance, a rioter happened to be a wealthy college student from New York whom police arrested at her family’s second home. Like employees clocking into work, these radicals continue to agitate and destroy on a full-time basis.
Rationale Behind Rioting
What is still not clear, however, is the motive. Originally, the riots were a response to the killing of George Floyd and the problem of police brutality. Then it morphed into a reaction to systemic racism. And depending on who’s asked, rioters might be calling for defunding the police, making reparations for the descendants of slaves, or ending the capitalist system. Oddly enough, few of them specifically claim that they’re rioting or “protesting” because of President Trump’s rhetoric—even though Democrats reflexively blame Trump for the riots.
To confuse matters further, Democrats refuse to condemn the rioters, and often support them as Barack Obama did in his DNC speech: “To the young people who led us this summer, telling us we need to be better – in so many ways, you are this country's dreams fulfilled.” There was no mention that these rioters were ruining the dreams of small business owners and residents of the neighborhoods they attack. Democrat politicians like Mazie Hirono will lamely denounce “all violence” and leave the room before they dare mention Antifa or BLM by name.
Thus, in order to better understand the riots, it’s best to see what they succeed in doing directly: intimidating and silencing conservatives, demonizing and demoralizing police, and provoking President Trump and other Republican leaders into overreacting. In the short term, these tactics will help Democrats win the election this year. In the long term, they will be able to establish a true socialist dictatorship.
In his most recent book United States of Socialism, Dinesh D’Souza illustrates how this seemingly extreme outcome can happen even in America by telling the story of Venezuela. Like the U.S., Venezuela was a rich country with a diverse demographic and a democratic government—and, like the U.S., Venezuela had social and economic inequality, which socialists could reliably exploit. Seizing this opportunity, Hugo Chavez utilized identity politics to put together a multi-racial coalition and won the presidency by promising redistribution of wealth and punishing the wealthy elite.
Once he came into power, Chavez proceeded to rig the system in order to stay in power and eliminate opposition. As D’Souza explains: “Chavez and his cronies [rewrote] the Venezuelan constitution, dismantling provisions for the separation of powers and essentially stripping the document of its protections of economic and civil liberties.” Without any official check on his power, he then confiscated property, nationalized industries, and silenced opposition—all in the name of justice. In order to mitigate resistance among the people, he disarmed the populace in a national gun buy-back program and replaced police with armed thugs known as colectivos (“Venezuela’s answer to Antifa”) to brutalize dissenters and keep the people in fear. In a matter of two decades, Venezuela went from being one of the richest countries in the world to one of the poorest.
United States of American Socialism
It’s easy to see that the same thing could very well happen with Biden and the Democrats winning the election. Already, they have employed the same kind of identity politics, made the same promises on entitlements, and have resorted to similar forms of censorship, mass media propaganda, and agitating social unrest to bully the opposition. After they win, they will eliminate the Electoral College, end the filibuster, stack the Supreme Court, add Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. as states, loosen voter laws, grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, repeal the second amendment, defund police departments, implement hate speech laws, and mandate that Big Tech wipe away conservative media to combat “misinformation.” To satisfy supporters, they will institute a universal basic income, Medicare for all, and free college degrees—all paid for by billionaires, who will pay exorbitant tax rates and somehow make it all work. And, for good measure, Antifa and BLM will remain active and terrorize conservatives who dare to protest and speak out.
To a lesser degree, one can see a “soft despotism” in progressive states like New York and California, especially in the time of COVID-19. They demonstrate that once Democrats win, they never seem to leave despite bankrupting their communities, driving away millions of residents, and being total hypocrites who violate their own idiotic laws. Somehow, it’s simply understood that Republicans will never win again in these states. They are one-party states that have adopted the Marxist ideology in the mainstream media and universities where meaningful debate and competition of ideas are utterly denied.
Nevertheless, many Americans will object that such a wealthy, well-educated population would never adopt the tenets of socialism. However, it is the billionaires happily funding and endorsing far left organization and policies—perhaps in the hopes of establishing a corporatist system that enriches their companies further. And universities have long become centers of socialist propaganda, convincing the most privileged youth in the world that they are part of an oppressive system that must be completely overturned. Ironically, it is the elites who push for a socialist revolution, not the poor. Not satisfied with abundance and status, they also want to consolidate power and rule over the masses.
The only way to prevent this revolution is a strong conservative movement that not only promotes the principles of freedom, faith, and family, but actually wins elections and fights back. It’s not enough for conservatives to boast of talented podcasters, brilliant scholars, and politicians of sterling character; conservatives need people who win--win elections, win the arguments, win the narrative.
They only win by not being afraid. With the rise of radical leftism within the Democratic party, the threat of losing on all fronts has now become existential. It’s time for Republicans and conservatives to act before it’s too late.