Kerby Anderson

We are living through a period of “bullhorn politics.” Who would have imagined that people with bullhorns would not only be marching in the streets but even in front of the homes of Supreme Court Justices?

Daniel Henninger reminds us that after the draft of the opinion by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked, a high fence was set up that surrounds the Supreme Court building. But think back to 2015 when the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that same-sex marriage was legal. Many Americans disagreed with the decision. But no fence went up around the court back then.

There is a difference. “For progressive Democrats, every waking moment is Armageddon. Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, says ‘the future of the Democratic Party is at stake.’”

Protests have always been a part of the American political landscape. The First Amendment protects that. But we must also acknowledge that the current “bullhorn politics” represent an escalation. There is a reason for that. “Many Democrats in office today were community organizers. Going into the street to ‘upend the system’ with an apparently unlimited rights agenda is what professional activists do for a living.”

I wonder if most Americans are becoming weary of seeing the latest protest in the streets. Protesters holding signs and shaking their fists don’t resonate with voters who expect civil and rational discussions of important issues in Congress and state legislatures. Street protests and apocalyptic claims and denunciations don’t seem like the best way to bring about necessary change while strengthening the foundations of the republic.

I would hope that voters in the fall will choose somber and thoughtful voices over street protests and bullhorn politics. It’s a choice between those who want to build up and strengthen over those who want to tear down and destroy.