“Yeah, he’s a ­ right-​­ winger all right,” Lucas said. “But you don’t get assassinated for that. At least, not yet.”

I am at the moment on my own at home.  I took the opportunity yesterday afternoon to read a 400 page book cover to cover over several hours.  Something I likely haven't done since my teens.  What an unalloyed pleasure.

Just a page turner, this one being Twisted Prey by John Sandford, published in 2018, right at the first wave of Trump I when "Nazi", "Fascist", "Autocrat", "Threat to Democracy", "Russia collusion" were all the rage.  

In light of Charlie Kirk's recent assassination, this passage was chilling.  Federal Marshal Lucas Davenport is talking with his wife Weather Karkinnen about a recent assassination attempt on Senator Porter's life.  Page 30.  

“Porter is an enormous asshole,” she said. “You might have a lengthy list of candidates.”

“He made you laugh, when we had dinner that time,” Lucas said.

“He can be charming,” Weather said. “He has a sense of humor. And he’s got great political stories. But he’s also doing his best to wipe out Medicaid. And ban abortion. And run every Mexican kid out of the country. And make sure every man, woman, and child has a handgun.”

“Yeah, he’s a ­ right-​­ winger all right,” Lucas said. “But you don’t get assassinated for that. At least, not yet.”

“No, but if somebody did assassinate him, I probably wouldn’t march on Washington in protest,” Weather said.

Here we are seven years later and Davenport is wrong.  You do get assassinated for being conservative.  And people of Karkinnen's ilk celebrate.  

Interesting to find this textual artifact that is such a place marker for a change in cultural norms for the worse.  Hopefully we can return to Classical Liberal ideals which preclude coercion and violence as an instrument of political discourse. 

Still chilling.  Seven years ago we were in a place where we were grounded enough that the absurd anger and shouting could be dismissed as a ridiculous joke; as it was.  And now . . .