U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., is the latest Democratic politician to use rage rhetoric to rally voters despite an alarming increase in political violence on the left. Calling for an “uprising,” Wilson also lashed out at the Laken Riley Act.
Wilson was visiting the ICE Krome Detention Center in Miami and declared:
“So I’ve been giving out the phone numbers to the House of Representatives and to the Senate. It’s one number that number you call and you threaten it, and you say, this is wrong. This is not America. This is not what we stand for. We need a change. You have to do that. It’s going to take the people. We’ve done it.
We need the people. We needed an uprising where people are taking to the streets and the phones and writing letters. That’s what we need.”
She is not alone.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Cal.) said “We are here to fight back.” Sen. Cory Booker (D., NJ) called on citizens to “fight” and declared “We will rise up.”
Not to be outdone in the rage fest, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D., TX) yelled, “We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it.”
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D., N.J.) added: “God d—it shut down the Senate!…WE ARE AT WAR!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called for Democrats to fight “in the streets.”
In my recent book, I discuss the role of rage rhetoric in our politics extending back to the very beginning of the Republic. The danger is that it can give a license to some for political violence, including those who claim that they are now triggered by everything from candidates to cars.
Wilson also lashed out at the Laken Riley Act and complained that:
“The Laken Riley Act has caused an increase in detainees, and these are people who have… you could have been here forever… walking across the street, jaywalking, or shoplifting, they will detain you and bring you right here.”
First, the Laken Riley Act was enacted to increase such arrests. It does not cover jaywalking. The highly popular law allows the detention of illegal immigrants accused of theft-related crimes, assaulting a police officer, or a crime that results in death or serious bodily injury, including drunk driving. Twelve Democratic senators voted for the Act.