January 6 Did Not Attack Paul Pelosi

A nutjob viciously attacked the elderly husband of the speaker of the House.

That’s godawful, and every person of good will should wish Paul Pelosi a rapid and full recovery and the very best to his family.

Of course, it’s not enough to leave it at that. The press and Democrats have brushed right by the evidence of the attacker’s mental illness and portrayed the assault as a quasi-MAGA operation. It’s supposedly an extension of the political campaign against Speaker Pelosi, or the inevitable fruit of right-wing election denialism, a kind of follow-on operation to January 6.

In reality, to the extent the attacker represents anything, it’s the milieu of hippie Berkeley more than Steve Bannon’s War Room, but no one is letting that get in the way of a good narrative.

“This is despicable. There’s no place in America. There’s too much violence, political violence, too much hatred, too much vitriol,” President Biden said of the attack. “And what makes us think that one party can talk about stolen elections? Covid being a hoax? It’s all a bunch of lies.”

He added, “You know, it’s reports [sic] that the same chant was used by this guy they have in custody that was used on January 6 in the attacks on the U.S. Capitol. I’m not making this up. This is reported. I can’t guarantee it. We can tell you what’s being reported. The chant was, ‘Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?’”