There’s an old saying about reading the room – that essential social skill of understanding when to speak and when to stay silent. Most of us learned it somewhere between kindergarten and middle school. Apparently, some political elites were too busy giving speeches about themselves to attend that class.
Last week, America watched in horror as Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was gunned down at a speaking event. The shooter, authorities later revealed, had embraced leftist ideology and scrawled the word “fascist” on shell casings – a chilling echo of the inflammatory rhetoric that has poisoned our political discourse. For most Americans, regardless of political affiliation, it was a moment for reflection on how our words shape our world.
The tragedy should have sparked soul-searching about the consequences of labeling political opponents as enemies of democracy. After years of escalating rhetoric from the left – calling conservatives “Nazis,” “fascists,” and “threats to democracy” – Kirk’s assassination felt like a devastating culmination of this dangerous game. But hey, why let a tragedy interrupt the narrative, right?
But Hillary Clinton – and I wish I were making this up – had other plans. Exactly one week after Kirk’s murder, the former Secretary of State took to social media to enthusiastically promote a new book by teachers’ union chief Randi Weingarten. The title? “Why Fascists Fear Teachers.” Yes, really. Clinton gushed about how the book exposes “authoritarians” who dare to question the education establishment’s stranglehold on our schools.
The backlash was swift and deserved. Republican communicator Matt Whitlock captured the outrage perfectly:
“It’s been one week since Charlie Kirk was murdered by a lunatic who wrote about ‘fascists’ on shell casings. Now, Randi Weingarten has a new book arguing everyone who disagrees with her views on public education – which have destroyed public education in America – is a fascist.”
The book itself reads like a masterclass in projection, claiming that anyone who opposes Weingarten’s failed policies – the same policies that kept schools closed for years and devastated children’s learning – must be fascist. (Notice how it’s never their policies that fail – it’s always us who are the problem?) It’s the same playbook we’ve seen before: when you can’t defend your record, demonize your critics. When parents demanded accountability for plummeting test scores and radical curricula, Weingarten’s response wasn’t reform – it was to write a book calling them fascists.
This isn’t Hillary’s first dance with divisive rhetoric. Remember the “basket of deplorables”? That dismissive sneer at half the country revealed an elite contempt that still defines much of the Democratic establishment. Now, even after that rhetoric arguably contributed to actual violence, she doubles down, promoting a book that continues the dehumanization campaign.
What’s most revealing isn’t the promotion itself – it’s the timing. One week. Seven days after a young conservative father was murdered by someone radicalized by anti-“fascist” rhetoric, Clinton thought it appropriate to amplify more of the same poison. It’s either breathtaking callousness or complete ideological blindness. Neither option is particularly comforting.
Here’s what kills me: the left keeps asking why our politics are so divided, so toxic, so dangerous. But that would require self-awareness, wouldn’t it? Maybe they should start by looking in the mirror – if they can stop calling their reflection fascist long enough to see it clearly.
Sources: Fox News, townhall.com
