‘Legitimate Political Discourse’

Remember when “political discourse” meant talking and writing about public issues (or, at worst, partisan sniping)? Now, according to the Republican National Committee, it means mobs storming the U.S. Capitol Building.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell described the attack as a “violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, after a legitimately-certified election, from one administration to the next.”

—Josh Dawsey & Felicia Sonmez, reporters, “‘Legitimate political discourse’: Three words about Jan. 6 spark rift among Republicans,” The Washington Post, Feb. 8, 2022.

 

• Editorial Comment: So, to the RNC, a “neighborly spat” would feature hand grenades.

PeezPIX

Hockamock Head, Swans Island, Maine, 2000

 

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Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism