Democrats have already weaponized the justice system against conservatives and Donald Trump, and no a New York Democratic congressional candidate thinks that all MAGA supporters should be sent to a "re-education camp" following the 2024 election.
Paula Collins, the Democrat challenging Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), publicly announced her idea during a public Zoom townhall this week.
"Even if we were to have a resounding blue wave come through, as many of us would like, putting it all back together again after we’ve gone through this MAGA nightmare and re-educating basically, which, that sounds like a rather, a re-education camp. I don’t think we really want call it that," Collins said. "I’m sure we can find another way to phrase it."
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"This radical New York City Democrat Socialist who literally is renting a bed and breakfast room in NY-21 was caught on tape saying she wants to force Trump voters through ‘re-education camps,’" Alex DeGrasse, a senior advisor to Elise Stefanik, told Fox News Digital. "Everyone knows she will be defeated by Elise Stefanik by a historic margin."
Collins later attempted to clarify her comments.
"We currently have lawmakers, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, who mis-quote or mis-understand the law," Collins told Fox News Digital. "Even if MAGA were to be resoundingly defeated, we would need to engage in widespread civics education, which both red and blue voters acknowledge has been slipping in recent years."
Yeah, okay.
Obviously, Collins is just one person and her views may not represent the entirety of the Democratic Party, but her statement underscores the troubling trend of how Democrats view people who disagree with them politically. Recent polling shows imprisoning Trump is a mainstream position in the Democratic Party. A CBS News poll found that 75% of Democrats believe Trump should be in prison, and a a Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 81% of Democrats felt the same. Would a party willing to imprison Trump for a non-crime be willing to send millions of MAGA supporters to “reeducation” camps? It’s not a stretch.
There’s no denying that Democrats are willing to resort to oppressive measures to silence political opposition. This rhetoric not only undermines political discourse but also fuels divisions within society.
Furthermore, Collins' attempt to downplay the term "re-education camp" by suggesting finding another phrase is disingenuous. The very idea of forcibly altering individuals' beliefs through institutionalized means is reminiscent of authoritarian regimes' tactics, and attempting to rebrand it into something that sounds less sinister does not make it any less alarming.
In a free society, people should be able to express their political beliefs without fear of persecution or imprisonment. To suggest otherwise is a direct assault on the principles of democracy and liberty. As has been pointed out before, when Democrats hurl accusations against Trump and Republicans about wanting to impose a dictatorship, they are actually deflecting attention from their own authoritarian tendencies. It's a classic case of projection, where Democrats accuse others Republicans precisely of what they themselves are guilty of.
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