Civics: I said: What norm? Whose norm?
The “norm?”
That language does not begin to describe what has happened. Look around at the people who have already been through this. Spend 10 minutes with John Eastman. Talk to Jim Troupis in Wisconsin. He came to my office. I will never forget it. People have mortgaged their homes. Sold property. Burned through savings. Watched careers they spent decades building get ripped apart.
Look at Cleta Mitchell. Everybody who knows anything about the legal profession knows that Cleta is a great lawyer. They pushed her out because she acted like a lawyer. And they would have done a lot worse if she had not had a family and people around her who could support her.
That is the reality. We should stop sugarcoating it.
The day before I delivered these remarks, I walked into a left-wing podcast studio and saw a picture of Charlie Kirk on the wall. I did not ask about it. I did not want to ask about it. I did not want to think about it.
But we have to think about it. We have to think about the progression.
First, people are investigated because of their politics. Then they are prosecuted. Then their professional licenses are taken away. Then they are imprisoned. Then their reputations are destroyed. Then they are bankrupted. Then the public is conditioned to regard them as something less than fellow citizens.
At some point, if that process continues unchecked, destroying people legally, professionally and financially will no longer be enough. That is why I say the end point is killing people.
It is not pleasant to say. It is much easier to talk about violated norms. But pretending not to see the trajectory does not change the trajectory.
