Speaker of the House Paul Ryan made a push for a “National Day of Civility” Wednesday, posting a video and sending his followers an email.
The idea is Ryan and a bipartisan group of legislators including Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Rep. Randy Hultgren’s (R-IL) response to the fiery rhetoric, unprecedented political maneuvering, and rampant politicized violence quickly becoming the norm in the American public sphere. The group introduced a feel good resolution designating July 12 the National Day of Civility.
The resolution has not yet passed the House, but that has not stopped the Speaker from adding his voice to the effort.
“Our political dialog has gotten worse, so what do we do about it?” Ryan asks in his video. “We control our own actions, let’s be more civil.”
Ryan’s appeal for “civility” comes on the same day Democrats announced they will be introducing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, the standard bearer of Ryan’s own party, on the flimsiest of obstruction of justice theories.
It comes only weeks after a Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer opened fire on a Republican congressional baseball team practice, seriously wounding Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) (according to Rep. Johnson, Scalise supports the resolution).
It comes almost two years into a wave of leftist political violence unleashed in reaction to the successful democratic campaign of President Donald Trump that only intensified after he was victorious and took office.
It comes as Trump supporters are still routinely attacked in the streets by leftists because of their political beliefs. It comes as conservative, nationalist, and populist speakers are finding themselves unable to exercise their constitutional rights to assembly and free expression because of the threat of violence from “Antifa” and other left-wing agitators.
Yet Speaker Ryan’s video appeal to Republicans is, “Let’s improve our tone. Let’s have a great debate on ideas, and principles, and solutions, instead of ad hominem attacks on one another.”