Terrorism, used in conjunction with other strategies, gets results.
The rightwing has used terrorism, in conjunction with targeted harassment, extreme social pressure and conventional political means and lawfare, to make abortion de facto illegal in many states.
Terrorism against abortion clinics along with softer versions of terrorism, like harassment of those seeking abortion, caused so many abortion clinics to close that many states have just one provider. Through legislation and lawfare throughout various States, abortions are now only available to well off women, who can afford to travel out of State.
The right wing has waged a successful guerrilla campaign against abortion rights. Or put another way, the GOP has an armed wing that it used in conjunction with other political means.
Against this backdrop, the Capitol rioters don’t seem so crazy, malevolent of course, but not crazy. The only obvious blunder on the part of the rioters was doing their violence in such a concentrated and visible manner. Otherwise, they were doing what they have been doing against abortion rights in their home States. In Ohio or Alabama, the anti abortion play boom is the same, extra legal violence and intimidation combined with elite counter majoritarian institutions such as a GOP controlled gerrymandered majority in the legislature and a right wing Supreme Court. Again, the only difference is that the Capitol rioters did not unleash their violence in a diffused manner against people with very little power.
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