The Kirk assassination has greatly heightened political tensions in the country. But has it changed everything? Will the charged situation lead to greater civil discord, separation, and a return to the worst periods in our history? Some are comparing it to a Reichstag-like moment. A more apt comparison might be a “Kristalnacht-like moment,” referring to what occurred after Ernst Vom Roth, a Nazi diplomat in Paris, was killed by a young Jewish man. It led to the launching of what became the Holocaust. The Nazis held a state funeral for Roth and claimed Jews had fired the first shot. You know what happened after that.

Whether the Reichstag fire or the Kristalnacht porgram fits what’s coming may not yet be clear. What is clear is that MAGA is attempting to use it to gain as much political capital as possible. So far, it seems they are planning an assault against “hate speech,” coupled with an attempt to dismantle and disrupt liberal and left organizations. With regard to the former, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed there are only two forms of speech in the U.S.: free speech, which is legal; and hate speech, which is not. It’s worth noting that Bondi’s assertion received widespread condemnation from many quarters, including some in the MAGA right.

Among the organizations targeted for attack are Indivisible, Codepink, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Ford Foundation. Even the Democratic Party as a whole may be under threat. Stephen Miller, Trump’s White House deputy, called the Democrats “a domestic extremist organization.” Adding fuel to the fire, Elon Musk recently characterized the broad left as “a party of murder.”

Of course, they’re using the alleged politics of the shooter, Tyler Robinson, as the catalyst for the offensive. However, his politics are not at all clear, notwithstanding the text messages to his partner declaring his rejection of Kirk’s attacks on trans people. In fact, some are claiming, based on the etchings on the bullets used, that Robinson may have been a follower of Nick Fuentes, a fascist figure even to the right of Kirk. Robinson’s claim that it was all a meme not only doesn’t change that, but might, in fact, underscore it.

Growing violence

One thing is sure: there is a growing cycle of political violence and terror in the country, most of which is attributable to the political right. Here we must take sharp issue with those who promote a false equivalence between the level of violence being carried out by those on the right and those on the left. There’s no comparison: one far outweighs the other. Even the former Republican FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that white supremacy is the “biggest chunk of our domestic terrorism portfolio.” He called it a “national threat priority,” the FBI designation for the highest threat possible — comparable, for example, to ISIS.

Even the right libertarian Cato Institute reported that “recent analysis of politically motivated murders in the United States over the past five decades found that 11% were committed by individuals identified with right-wing ideologies.” Murders committed by those on the left were 2%. However, the report argued that if September 11th is removed from the equation, right-wing homicides rose to 63%. Those committed by people on the left was 10 percent. Of course, we don’t support political murder by anyone for any reason, but you get the point.

It’s been argued that there’s growing support for violence in the country to address political differences. However, polling on this issue is contradictory. To the extent that there is an increase in support for political violence, evidence suggests that it’s based on misconceptions of support for it on the other side of the political divide. Studies suggest that when those misconceptions are addressed, support drops significantly.

Growing crisis

All of this, of course, is taking place within the context of the country’s ongoing political and economic crisis, as the White House — along with its allies in Congress, the judiciary, and Wall Street — attempt to implement the Project 2025 agenda. Inflation is rising, as is unemployment. The approval rating for Trump continues to decline, particularly on the economy, equaling Mr. Biden’s worst number. In this regard, it’s likely that MAGA, fearing a blowout in the midterms, is grasping for an issue or issues that they can ride all the way to the election.

Some are arguing that all of this is a reflection of the weakness of the administration. And it’s true that there have been some setbacks, including resistance to the deployment of the National Guard in L.A. and Chicago, along with the attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. In addition, Democrats have either overperformed or won a majority of special elections this year, winning 54 of 56 contests, a bad omen for the GOP. Another warning sign for them is that GOP support among Latinos has plummeted — small wonder, given the ICE raids.

It’s pretty clear the Trump regime is very unstable and wracked by sharp battles between rival capitalist factions, as indicated by the infighting between Trump and Musk, along with brawls that have taken place between Scott Bessett, Musk, and others.

Status of the resistance

On the other hand, the resistance, while growing in strength, is not meeting the needs of the moment. The labor movement still hasn’t yet come fully into the fight, as evidenced by the meager responses to Trump’s breaking of collective bargaining rights for 1.3 million government workers.

There’s ongoing capitulation in the corporate world. CBS tops the list, closely followed by ABC. The latter cancelled the Jimmy Kimmel show after its host asserted the MAGA right is doing everything possible to prevent the public from knowing that Kirk’s killer is one of their own.

It is within this context that Trump, in the best tradition of Roy Cohn, is ramping up anti-communist attacks and is now threatening RICO prosecutions of protestors. And here there’s growing fear and trepidation, including within our own ranks, about the risk of challenging the Oval Office. Attorneys have said folks cannot be charged for exercising free speech rights, though there have been attempts to broaden interpretation of the statutes. Of course, anything is possible these days, given MAGA’s studied ignoring of the law. And then there’s the Supreme Court that’s given Mr. Man carte blanche so far.

But it’s also the case that the anti-left, anti-communist broadsides continue to fall on deaf ears in the broad public. The primary victories of the democratic socialist mayoral candidates in New York and Minneapolis are cases in point. A new poll conducted by Jacobin, Data for Progress, and the Rosa Luxemburg Institute suggests that, among Democrats, support for socialism exceeds support for capitalism by a 58 point margin. In New York, Mamdani is now leading Cuomo 43% to 28%.

Civil war imminent?

A cautionary note before concluding. There’s some feeling in the country and among our ranks that a civil war is imminent. Some are making public statements urging preparations for such an eventuality. Their concern and the growing fear and pessimism is understandable. But it would be a mistake to give in to our worst angels.

The Communist Party’s position has always been that war is not inevitable, and that includes domestically. It all depends on what we do. While not underestimating the danger, it would be a huge mistake to retreat into ideological, political, and emotional bunkers, to hunker down and prepare for the worst. That was a mistake the party made in the ‘50s when, even in the difficult circumstances of confronting jail and mass firings, there was still room for struggle. While events are moving quickly, we are nowhere near that stage. The times call for militant, mass public resistance and pressure. Our role is to build the united front, to fight back on the basis of the issues without ideological preconditions, including those influenced by MAGA. It’s the only sensible path forward – all others lead to isolation and with it, defeat.

Images: Fred Barr / CPUSA; Graphs from CATO Institute & gelliottmorris.com