The initial reports were alarming. Democrat Amy Acton, running for governor in Ohio, was reportedly attacked by an armed man during a rally last weekend.  According to Acton’s campaign and many media outlets, this was an ‘assassination attempt,’ and the candidate was lucky to escape with her life.  Some Democrats immediately blamed Acton’s Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy, accusing him of spewing ‘dangerous rhetoric.’  Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown pointed at Donald Trump for insulting female reporters.

 

The story actually has a few elements of truth. A man named Patrick Havas approached Amy Acton with a cell phone and said, ‘I’ve got a question.’ He never brandished a weapon, although two handguns were later found in his possession.  He was definitely unruly, but the prosecutor refused to charge him with a felony.  Her rationale: Havas never even got close to the candidate and failed to display any weapon more dangerous than his phone.  But Democrats and the media were quick to ‘pounce,’ as they like to accuse Republicans of doing, painting Acton as a heroine who nearly got martyred.  Some reactions:

 

- CNBC: ‘Assailant lunged at Democratic candidate.’

- The Guardian: ‘Assailant lunges at Ohio Democratic candidate.’

- Kamala Harris: ‘I am horrified by yesterday’s attack on Amy Acton’

- Pete Buttigieg: ‘Attacks like this cannot be the price you pay for running for office.’

 

The incident allowed Acton to describe herself as ‘a fierce warrior in this fight.’  Again, this man was dead wrong and even menacing. He pushed through the crowd trying to get to the front, apparently wanting to ask the candidate a question. That was enough to alert security, but let’s not compare him to John Wilkes Booth or Lee Harvey Oswald.

 

Democrats often relish the opportunity to blame the other guys for any political violence.  Remember when Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in Arizona?  The reliably wrong columnist Paul Krugman accused the GOP of fomenting a ‘climate of hate.’  He and other lefties pointed to a map that had crosshairs on some congressional districts.  Never mind that the shooter Jared Loughner had a mental illness and likely never saw the map; the accusation matters more than reality.

 

In fact, the objective truth is damning to the left.  One year ago, just after the murder of Charlie Kirk, a Marquette poll found that 15% of Democrats are okay with violence if it means achieving political goals. The corresponding number for Republicans was just 6%.  Younger people are also inclined to see violence as okay, with a few even endorsing Luigi Mangione’s cold-blooded murder of Brian Thompson.  Just last week some students at elite Georgetown University mocked Kirk’s death by staging a Charlie Kirk lookalike contest on the first anniversary of his killing.

 

Amy Acton is locked in a tight race with Ramaswamy and has thus far refused to debate.  Being ‘attacked’ may have given her a temporary boost, but her account has been slowly unraveling.  No, it’s not quite Jussie-level – his ‘assault’ was fabricated out of whole cloth.  But this story has been exaggerated and embellished. Our political climate is fiery enough without anyone adding gasoline.  It looks more and more like Amy Acton’s team and the compliant media did just that.