The ends justify the means is a saying that goes back a very long time. Generally, it is attributed to Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, the Italian playwright and philosopher, although its origins predate him considerably. It succinctly describes the mindset of the political left; to achieve the desired result, any means and methods – even if completely devoid of morality – are justified. The left applies this thinking to everything and the greatest example is the use of unrestrained vitriol, suppression of free speech, and words or even acts of violence directed by left-wingers at their political opponents.

Republicans and conservatives have frequently discussed and dissected the left’s favorite habit of painting all those on the right as violent extremists who feed off of hatred and fear. It is, of course, classic projection but it also points to a deeper motive: When your opponent is a violent, hateful extremist, you can justify anything you do to or say about them.

Antifa Violent Not an Outlier

The violence of the group calling itself Antifa is well known but that group is not an outlier. As the Democratic Party becomes more and more extreme, so it attracts more extreme supporters. Socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both command followings dominated by radical, militant left-wing fundamentalists who adhere to the concept of the ends justifying the means.

Among Republican politicians, perhaps no-one knows this better than Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, whose life was nearly taken in 2017 by a crazed Sanders supporter who opened fire on Republican congressmen at a baseball field.

Scalise recently found himself debating Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter – if one could call it a debate. The exchange was prompted by the latter’s recent suggestion of a new marginal tax rate for those who earn more than $10 million a year. Ocasio-Cortez suggested that this rate could be as high as 70%.

Ocasio-Cortez Supporters Revel in Political Violence

No sooner had the back-and-forth begun when the Democrat’s supporters began to interject. One of them responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s reply to Scalise with “snipe his ass.” Another chimed in with “Kick his cane,” a reference to the fact that Scalise sometimes walks with a cane due to the injuries he suffered in the shooting. Yet another said of the Democrat “she’s got better aim than James Hodgkinson, that’s for sure.” Hodgkinson was the enraged Bernie Sanders supporter who attempted to murder Scalise and several of his Republican colleagues.

These examples of the left’s open embrace of political violence are by no means isolated. Any conservative – and especially any Republican politician – who uses social media is well versed in the significant volume of hatred, death threats, and other incitements of violence directed at them by leftists.

An Issue That Should be Highlighted

It is time for Republicans to put this issue front and center in election campaigns. The economy, national security, and several other issues can never be neglected, but it is time, though, for all American voters to be fully educated in the dangerous extremism of what was once a fringe left-wing movement that has now migrated to the mainstream Democratic Party base. Those politicians and candidates who have large numbers of radical, violent followers should be called out. They must bear the responsibility, just as the left always holds Republican politicians directly responsible for any act of violence that can be painted as having been inspired by conservative rhetoric.

The question is this: If such people can be willing to use violence, or even threats, to gain political power, what would they do if they ultimately attained it? These left-wing extremists, as well as some Democrats who are generally considered less radical, have invested much time and energy in painting Republicans and conservatives as completely evil people with dangerous and bigoted ideas. What, then, would these radicals not do to their political opponents, given the power? The ends, after all, justify the means.