Headline RoundupOctober 31st, 2022

Paul Pelosi Attack Brings Bipartisan Condemnations of Violence, Debate About Causes

Summary from the AllSides News Team

An attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul last week sparked bipartisan condemnations of political violence, as well as debate about the root causes.

For Context: Paul Pelosi was hospitalized Friday after being attacked by a home intruder who appeared to be looking for Nancy.

Key Quotes: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) tweeted Friday that "I spoke with Speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) tweeted that he was "Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol police are on the case."

Where People Agree: Condemnations of the violence were echoed by politicians and opinion writers across the political spectrum.

Where People Disagree: Some right-rated writers, such as Rich Lowry, criticized attempts to blame the attack on right-wing extremism stemming from the Jan. 6, 2020 Capitol riot, arguing that "if Republicans can’t run negative ads against Pelosi for fear that a lunatic will break into her house at 2 a.m., they can’t run negative ads against anyone." Conversely, one writer for CNN tied the attack to "toxic, widely-tolerated social media content" directed at women, and highlighted how some Jan. 6 rioters ransacked Nancy Pelosi's office and called out, "Where are you, Nancy?"

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