Hillary Clinton joined those publicly expressing serious concern about the direction of the Republican Party after an attack this week at a California residence of the Pelosis, where the assailant — a man named David DePape — apparently struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer and was searching for the House Speaker. Paul is Nancy’s 82-year-old husband.
DePape regularly promoted far-right conspiracy theories online, including about the 2020 election. “The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories,” Clinton said on Saturday afternoon. “It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.” An easy way to enact such accountability would, of course, be in this year’s elections, in which Republicans are jockeying to reclaim control of the House and Senate. Polls have depicted a mixed picture, although at this point, their immediate relevance is fading, at least in certain elections. In Pennsylvania, recently released public polling showed Mehmet Oz, aka Dr. Oz, leading Democratic challenger John Fetterman in the state’s Senate race — but at least three-quarters of a million Pennsylvanians already voted.
There is a similar situation in Georgia. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently expressed concern to President Joe Biden about the direction of the state’s Senate race, but some 1.5 million Georgians already voted. According to estimates from TargetSmart, which is a data analytics firm, Democrats are outperforming their party’s shares of the early vote at this stage of early voting in both 2018 and 2020. Now, the party is estimated at around 6.6 percent more of the early vote than Republicans, as of this Saturday afternoon, with Georgia nearly two weeks into its early voting process. Former President Barack Obama appeared in Georgia this week to campaign for the Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock, who’s seeking re-election.
Obama questioned Republican challenger Herschel Walker’s basic qualifications. “Let’s do a thought experiment,” Obama told the crowd. “Let’s say you’re at the airport, and you see Mr. Walker. And you say, ‘Hey, there’s Herschel Walker! Heisman winner! Let’s have him fly the plane!’ You probably wouldn’t say that! You’d want to know, does he know how to fly an airplane?” As for the attack, the assailant was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide. Prior to the assault, DePape also specifically shared conspiracy theories online from Mike Lindell, the pillow slinger-turned-election liar who is now targeted by sweeping defamation litigation for his lies about the 2020 election.
The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.https://t.co/MQor4NDFeE
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 29, 2022
