Milwaukee will host the 2024 Republican National Convention this week at the Fiserv Forum.
Associated Press Photo
The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee had never held much promise for political deliberation. The abhorrent violence in Butler, Pennsylvania, only diminishes further the prospects for a respectful, productive start to the party’s presidential campaign.
Indeed, merely stooping to discuss matters of political consequence seems disrespectful to the moment. Gun violence has disrupted the fundamental process of our democracy. An innocent bystander apparently has been killed along with the suspected shooter.
The life of a former president has been assaulted and threatened.
These are events that can only bring shame to our nation and disappointment in the mad extremes to which misguided partisans can fall prey.
And, they are likely events that change the tenor and the dynamics of the rest of the political campaign. They cannot diminish, though, the need for reasoned debate and substantive examination of potential solutions to the wide range of issues facing the nation.
Much as we might have hoped for — though little expected — a convention offering concrete, valid ideas for advancing progress on fundamental American concerns, we now face a different prospect. Now, the specter of a wounded former President Donald Trump seems certain to dominate the mood of the week. Indeed, no sooner had the shooting stopped at the Butler rally than a New York Times writer reported hearing a spectator declare, “Trump was just elected today, folks. He is a martyr.”
Taxation, economics, immigration, brutal wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the chillingly divisive and destructive Project 2025 manifesto all deserve analysis and reflection. Yet it is hard to imagine when such concerns can reasonably be expected to command our full attention.
They will need to eventually, of course, but for the moment, issues like these must be overshadowed. For now, we must join Trump in expressing gratitude for the bravery and skill of those who protected him, and may have prevented further loss of life.
Though our hesitation will last only for the moment. And for that we can also be grateful, regardless of our political leanings.
Corey Check, a conservative activist and Republican committeeman in Butler, reflected that sentiment well in his description to a Times reporter of the crowd’s reaction after the shooting as they shouted “U.S.A.” after order had been restored.
“America has been here, we will always be here, chanting ‘U.S.A,’ ” Check said. “Because we’re not done. These people will not destroy our country.”
This had never been a week teeming with diverse analysis of social and political challenges. It is less so now. All people of good faith condemn acts of violence and mourn the apparent loss of innocent life as a result of Saturday’s chaos.
A time will come when we can look forward to discussions of political issues and traditional Republican values again getting the attention they require. But for now, we above all, mourn with those who are suffering, and we are gratified that the former president appears to be safe and our national spirit strong.