Are Assassination Fears and Death Threats Forcing Politicians to Retire En Masse?

It almost seems like hunting the President, or a lesser known politician, has become a favorite pastime for some Americans. Indeed, and despite Barack Obama becoming the first black president, which was seen as representing a clear benchmark in America’s efforts to move beyond race and political partisanship, his presidency was by far marred with the most death threats, terrorist plots, and assassination attempts ever.(1)

With the one-year anniversary of the Republican Congressional Baseball Game Shooting which occurred last June, and left one Republican in critical condition and wounded several others, some representatives have now announced an early retirement. Along with fearing for their own safety, they’re also concerned for the lives of their families. In fact, a legislator’s three-year-old daughter has already been threatened.(2)

Opting For The Bullet Instead Of The Ballot
Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama was just one of several who realized that some people were no longer waiting for the next ballot box to elect their representatives, instead opting for a lethal bullet. Suggesting that Republicans like Sen. Jeff Flake and Reps. Ryan Costello, Pat Meehan, Dennis Ross and Tom Rooney, were retiring en masse because of assassination fears, he also said the same was occurring with some Democrats.

Despite “multiple rings of security,” elected officials have to actually endure daily briefings with what Bernard Shaw called the extreme form of censorship. Listening to would-be assassins who’ve pleaded guilty to making death threats or have been caught in the process of transporting weapons to gun them down is taking its toll. So too is the idea that assassination now comes with any political profession, the perquisite of kings.

“Extreme” Form Of Censorship Reaches Across The Aisle
But hardly any political figure these days is safe from murder with a touch more precision. Fueled by rage against legislators on the opposite side of the aisle, a far-right caller to The Sean Hannity Show just threatened to give a whole new meaning to a “red wave” come this November. Not only did he announce that he and others were packing guns to ensure justice was served, but he declared he and other Americans were “mad as hell.”(3)

He was evidently outraged over the DOJ report which claimed the FBI’s actions surrounding the Clinton Email Scandal had not been motivated by political bias. He had also already planned to go to war with the Deep State - or anyone else for that matter-who tried to stop Donald Trump. In other words, and even if it meant using force or something worse, he wanted to lock-up Hillary Clinton, James Comey, and Andrew McCabe.

America’s Unresolved Stain On History
But then Americans have always been familiar with the premeditated murder of their politicians and influential reform figures for reasons associated with the victim’s political and economic or religious views. Divided into two eras, who can forget the deaths of Presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, or William McKinley in 1901. There were even more attempted assassinations that missed their mark.

And then there’s President John F. Kennedy’s televised assassination in 1963. Not only did it establish the precedent - and promise - of enormous notoriety that assassins have since been assured, but it assured a whole string of copycat assassins would follow. Along with every other president and even more representatives, would-be assassins have been more than numerous, including incidences and threats that have never become public.

Worst Of The Worst
If there’s any truth to three recent studies, things might not be getting any better for elected representatives who want to remain worry-free from death threats or assassinations. The first study revealed that within the last three decades, attempts on the lives of nationally prominent political figures have surpassed the total number of such attacks recorded in the first 193 years of the nation’s history.(4)

In the meantime, Americans own 40 percent of the world’s firearms, despite being just 4 percent of the population.(5) And then there’s the report that Washington DC is one of the two top places where psychopaths live and thrive.(6) It’s almost as if the worst of the worst of the narcissists and predatory ideologues, who are motivated by financial gain, revenge, and personal public recognition, have all gathered in one central location.

Earlier Leave Than Expected
Whether this means more assassinations against individuals or against a fledgling democracy is anyone’s guess. But whatever happens, ours is clearly an age where some feel the need to not only censor the messenger, but to shoot the messenger. It also appears to be an era of rising totalitarianism. Rising totalitarianism, that is, which is most often tempered by an increase in assassinations or secret plots to overthrow the government.

Though “Assassination can be no more guarded against than death by lightning; it is best not to worry about either,” as President James Garfield noted before he was gunned down by Charles Guiteau over an imagined political debt, it must certainly be in the back of the mind for anyone who holds a political office. Don’t be surprised, then, if and when more representatives - or even the president - takes a much earlier leave than expected.

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John’s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.WN.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and www.WN.com/dallasdarling.

(1) Ayton, Mel. Hunting The President: Threats, Plots, and Assassination Attempts-from FDR to Obama. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2014., p. 221.
(2) www.rollcall.com. Brooks Suggests Republicans Are Retiring Because of Assassination Fears. June 19, 2018.
(3) See The Sean Hannity Show Transcript for Monday June 18, 2018.
(4) Gottesman, Ronald. Violence In America, Volume I. New York, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999., p. 130.
(5) www.newsweek.com. “Americans Have 40 Percent Of The World’s Guns Despite Being Four Percent of Population, Report Says,” by Tom O’Connor. June 19, 2018.
(6) www.newsweek.com. “More Psychopaths Live in This Part of the U.S. Than Anywhere Else, Study Shows,” by Dana Dovey., June 18, 2018.