Capitol police

• Twenty years ago, his rhetoric would have been unusual coming from any member of Congress, let alone a party leader.
• Yet language like this from the leading Republican presidential candidate is becoming remarkably common in American politics.
• In 2019, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker appeared on a talk show bemoaning Trump’s rhetoric and the lack of civility in politics.
• In my new book, I show that the level of nastiness in U.S. politics has increased dramatically.
• Particularly following the Jan. 6. insurrection by Trump’s supporters, journalists and scholars have focused on the rise of the politics of menace.

From insults to actual violence

• “Nasty politics” is an umbrella term for the aggressive rhetoric and occasional actual violence that politicians use against domestic political opponents and other domestic groups.
• Insults are the least threatening and most common form of nasty politics.
• Less common – and more ominous – are threats to jail political opponents or encouraging one’s supporters to commit violence against those opponents.
• The rarest and most extreme examples of nasty politics entail politicians actively engaging in violence themselves.

Deadly words

• In an op-ed in The New York Times, Netanyahu compared Rabin’s potential peace deal with Palestinians to Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of the Nazis before World War II.
• Fights among rivals regularly broke out, including the occasional egging and smoke bomb.
• In 2012, a full-blown legislative riot occurred in the Rada over the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, with rival lawmakers punching and choking one another.

Voters don’t like it

• The conventional wisdom for the reason politicians go nasty is that while voters find mudslinging or political brawling distasteful, it’s actually effective.
• Or that although they won’t admit it, voters secretly like nasty politics.
• Voters don’t like it when politicians go nasty, are worried it could lead to violence, and reduce their support for those who do use it.
• That’s what I found in countless surveys in the U.S., Ukraine and Israel, where I did research for my book.
• This toughness is something that voters seek out when they feel threatened.

From nasty words to worse

• Nasty politics has important implications for democracy.
• It can be a legitimate tool for opposition and outsider politicians to call attention to bad behavior.
• But it can also be used as a cynical, dangerous tool by incumbents to cling to power that can lead to violence.
• Eye for an eye.” The uptick in nasty politics in the U.S. is both a symptom of the country’s deeply divided politics and a harbinger of future threats to democracy.

• By a more than 3 to 1 margin of 58% to 19%, respondents say Trump had "obligation" to disperse crowd.
• Fifty-eight percent of participants said the former president should have taken action to disperse the crowd outside of the Capitol.
• Regarding the crowd that invaded the Capitol and overran Capitol Police, the disapproval margins are overwhelming, including many Republicans and presumably some Trump supporters.
• 90% of Democrats, compared to 49% of Republicans, say Trump's supporters committed illegal acts on the day in question.

• MECHANICSBURG, Pa., Feb. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Strategic Consulting Partners (SCP), a minority- and woman-owned business headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, will lead the City of Erie's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Assessment, City of Erie Mayor Joe Schember has announced.
• "This is an exciting day for our community and the future of the City of Erie," says Mayor Joe Schember.
• Launched on Thursday, February 10, at the Mayor's Weekly News Conference , Strategic Consulting Partners' DEI Assessment will examine the current culture within the City of Erie government and its services, provide analysis and assessment of existing policies, procedures, disparities, and matters of transparency and accountability.
• Gould will lead the Strategic Consulting Partners team while working closely with Mayor Schember, City Council, the Advisory Councils, and city stakeholders.

• These funds would be allocated toward the installation of personal safety pods for every member of Congress and all Federal judges.
• The bill, which was passed on July 29, was created in response to the Jan.6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
• The safety pods offered by National Safety Shelters are a life-saving solution that does not require the restriction of access to key buildings public or otherwise.
• National Safety Shelters provides state-of-the-art shelters for protection from active shooters, explosive devices (IEDs), tornadoes and earthquakes.