A Disturbing Poll in the Aftermath of the Attempted Assassination of Brett Kavanaugh

The attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh should have universally shocked Americans. It seems that, out of basic human decency, people should have a real problem with resorting to violence and killing over differences in opinion on public policy, regardless of what side of the aisle they’re on.

Americans come together in the aftermath of tragedies such as mass shootings, natural disasters, and other highly publicized events that leave families shattered. Yet, people apparently have different attitudes about political assassinations.

According to a recently released poll, nearly half of male Democrats under the age of 50 (44 %) say it’s acceptable to assassinate a politician “who is harming the country or our democracy,” the highest percentage of any age/gender/party demographic.

Related: TERRIFYING: Here’s What Kavanaugh’s Would-Be Assassin Had in His Suitcase

The poll, which was conducted by Tulchin Research for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), also found that nearly a third of younger Democrat women and younger Republican men agreed with the statement, as did 40% of younger Republican women.

Holy crap. An *SPLC* poll finds that nearly half of young male Democrats approve of “assassinating a politician who is harming our country or democracy." pic.twitter.com/3yrhCUkDAb

— Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) June 8, 2022

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the poll is the generational difference. Older men and women of either party are significantly less likely to approve of the assassination of political opponents than their younger counterparts.

Party identification aside, it is clear that the younger generations are not being taught to respect the lives of others, particularly of their political opponents. This is a perilous path, especially when you consider the way the Democratic Party frequently accuses Republicans of being threats to democracy — while demonstrating that the violent rhetoric of Chuck Schumer was likely more dangerous than we thought.