Let us speak clearly and as one.
The people of the United States view as repugnant and hateful any attempt to assassinate our elected officials, regardless of their political affiliation, race, color, creed or opinions.
It is more than simply destructive to our democracy. Assassinations have the means to infect our national "body politic" with a poison that can be fatal.
Consider the destructive forces that have been unleashed over the course of our nation's history.
President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated as the Union restored America as one. James A. Garfield was murdered by a disgruntled office-seeker. President William McKinley was shot at point-blank range by an anarchist. And President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while he sat in a motorcade in Dallas. His brother Robert would die in a Los Angeles hotel as he launched his presidential bid.
Each one of these events harmed who we are as a nation and moved our history in unintended directions.
Consider what our world would look like if the following assassination attempts had been successful.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt survived an attempt on his life in Miami. The elected official sitting near him, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, did not. Police officers sworn to protect President Harry S. Truman died protecting him from Puerto Rican nationalists in 1950. President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts and President Ronald Reagan miraculously recovered from being shot outside a Washington, D.C. hotel.
And, of course, President Donald J. Trump survived two attempts on his life while campaigning for reelection.
Now the nation watches justice being pursued in the wake of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband being shot to death, and Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife wounded, in what has been described as "politically motivated" shootings.
It does not matter whether it is the president of the United States or an elected official holding a community office, all assassinations – whether successful or not – need to be condemned and recognized for what they are: an assault against all of us who believe in our nation, our democracy, our republic and our freedoms. Those who commit such crimes need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law -- for if we fail to do so, the fate of our nation will be decided by murderous thugs who seek to subvert a nation whose citizens assign their responsibilities only to those who have won that mandate through the power of the ballot box.
Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
