Political Turbulence Roils Mid-term Elections

The murder of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue on October 27 was perhaps the worst case of violence ever perpetrated against the Jewish community in the United States. This incident of anti-Semitic violence followed just a few days the incident of the pipe-bombs sent in the mail to a handful of Democratic politicians and Democratic fund-raisers, including former President Barak Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden. This outbreak of unusual violence has certainly raised the political temperature in the nation as we approach a very important mid-term election. Δ People mourn as they hold a vigil for the victims of the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 27. John Altorfer/REUTERS  Democrats immediately began to blame the up-tick in the violence on President Trump’s volatile rhetoric. The President, in turn, blamed it on the strident and perennial attacks on him by the media and by the Democrats ever since he won the Presidency. In a sense, both are correct. But the growing bitterness in the political debate and the increased violence on the streets of the nations are in fact linked to a deeper malaise, the increasing polarization and disillusionment in the body politic. The election of President Trump is a prime example of this. A majority of the electorate ignored ALL of the establishment candidates, securing for Trump first, […]