Leading historian warns that assault of Paul Pelosi was not an aberration amid erosion of democratic norms
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The attack last Friday on Democratic speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband may have been shocking, but it wasn’t an aberration, a George Washington University historian warns. In a column published in the New York Times yesterday, Matthew Dallek traces the assault on Paul Pelosi to the wider erosion of democratic norms in the country, such as the acceptance of extremism by conservatives and the Republican party. He warns that until political leaders seek to purge these voices from their parties, such violence may repeat itself.
Here’s what is on the agenda for today:
Joe Biden is heading to Florida to prop up the flagging prospects of Democratic candidate for governor Charlie Crist and Senate candidate Val Demings.
This time next week polls will have opened in the midterm elections, and we will soon find out whether Americans want to give Democrats more time controlling Congress.
For all the hubbub, Americans are less fired up about these midterm elections than in 2018, a Gallup poll finds, though enthusiasm is about average for such races in general.