Frank Vernuccio | On September 3, 2019

Trump protest in Chicago, March 11, 2016.

Extremism, with its absolutism, penchant for violence, and intolerance of differing views, is not desirable, whether from the left or right. There are, however, profound differences in the dangers posed by the two opposing sides, and in the manner in which they are treated by key sources.

Right wing extremism is a fringe movement largely rejected by conservatives, Republicans, and others on the right. Left wing extremism has become the heart and soul of the Progressive movement, supported by a number of key leaders of the Democratic Party, much of academia, and some of the media. Far rightists are generally ostracized by the GOP, conservative donors and related organizations. Their counterparts on the left are well supported, feted even.

Extremists on the right are (correctly) criticized without penalty. However, individuals and organizations which point out the dangers of their left-wing counterparts are falsely branded as racists, fascists, as well as just about any other epithet imaginable.

Universities and news outlets bend over backwards to portray left wing extremists in the best possible light. When a particularly outrageous act is committed, great pains are taken to say the perpetrator is a loner, not a leftist at all, or was responding to unbearable stimuli. Any act committed by an individual who has the remotest inclination to agree with conservatives is imputed to be the liability of everyone on that side of the ideological divide.

Coverage of even the most serious acts committed by a Progressive perpetrator fairly quickly leave the news cycle. Consider how rapidly the horrendous attempt at the mass assassination of Republican congressmen at a baseball practice, in which four individuals were shot, the most serious being Rep. Steve Scalise. (R-Louisiana) left the news cycle. Consider how differently the incident would have been treated if the victims had been leftist Democrats.

Academia and the media have muddied the discourse by portraying the most heinous historic left-wing extremists as rightists. When the Soviet Union was falling, the Communist old guard were referred to by media sources as “conservatives.” Hitler’s horrible National Socialists are only referred to as Nazis, to cover up their left-wing reality. Indeed, the antisemitism that characterizes socialists from Hitler to the Soviet Union to Democrats Rasida Talib, Illian Omar, and former DNC vice chair/current Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison remains largely unspoken, as does the barely concealed antisemitism of the “BDS” (boycott,  disinvestment, sanction) movement so popular on the left, particularly within universities. Little has ever been discussed about the Obama Administrations’ inexplicable tilt towards Iran, and its attempts to alienate America from Israel.

Biased progressive history texts scrupulously overlook the hundred million murders, economic disasters, and terrible oppression committed by extreme left-wing governments over the past 100 years, and ongoing still.

The refusal to acknowledge left-wing extremism can be discerned in Hollywood’s progressive popular entertainment venues. There is a common plot in many television dramas. A horrible crime or act of terror is committed, and all indications point to a left-wing extremist group. But in the final moments, the real culprit is exposed to be a right-wing businessman or conservative politician.

Antifa, the left-wing masked stormtroopers who have a penchant for street rioting, property damage, and physical assaults, have received protected status within their key arena of Portland, Oregon. The mayor of that city has encouraged the police to essentially stand down and surrender the streets to them during their outbreaks. Nothing was done when journalist Andy Ngo was beaten so severely by an Antifa mob that he required hospitalization.

The response to this and Antifa’s other outrages? As reported by the Daily Wire:

Democrat Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM) proclaimed that far-left extremist group Antifa consists of  ‘peaceful protesters’ who are just trying to protect Portland from “domestic terrorism.”

Originally published on Townhall Finance.

Frank Vernuccio

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government (website usagovpolicy.com). He is the co-host of the syndicated radio program, Vernuccio/Novak Report, and is also a contributor to Fox News. His columns appear in many newspapers. After graduating Hofstra Law School, he was a legislative editor for a major publishing company, then served in both Republican and Democrat Administrations. Following the 9/11 attack, he was appointed to run the hard-hit Manhattan branch of the New York State Workers Compensation Board.