Campus Protest and Current American Politics
There should be no place on any campus, no place in America, for anti-Semitism, or threats of violence against Jewish students.
There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans. It’s simply wrong.
No place for racism in America. It’s all wrong. It’s un-American.
I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions. And America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that.
But it doesn’t mean anything goes. It needs to be done without violence, without destruction, without hate and within the law.
President Joe Biden
First, let me dispel a little misunderstanding of how the political system works in the United States. No, the Feds are not behind what happened on campuses when the police moved in to clear encampments. The closest we came to that, and it’s more that the Presidents do this all the time, was a statement critical of the students taking over a building, Hamilton Hall. I also cited his recent statement after LAPD and CHP moved into the UCLA encampment.
This aligns with what presidents have done historically, at least in public. President Richard Nixon was a tad more muscular than this. Nixon did something unique after Kent State because he called for more violence, and he got it:
In the early hours of May 9, 1970, a frazzled President Richard Nixon embarks upon what his Chief of Staff will describe as “the weirdest day so far” of his presidency. Preoccupied with the recent Kent State shootings and the unrest that has spread to college campuses across the country, Nixon makes an impromptu and bizarre visit to a group of anti-war protesters at the Lincoln Memorial.
On the Friday after the Kent State massacre, in which Ohio National Guard killed four students and wounded nine during an anti-war protest, Nixon was unable to sleep. Around 4 in the morning, after spending several hours making phone calls, he roused his personal valet, Manolo Sanchez, and asked him if he had ever seen the Lincoln Memorial at night. Knowing he would encounter a crowd of student protesters that had camped out on the National Mall, Nixon set off with Sanchez, his physician and a Secret Service team.
Let’s say that before Kent State, the president had been more forceful in what he wanted to see done. The shooting at Kent State rattled him, and this is why he tried to have this conversation.
I will remind you that those students wanted Nixon removed from office. Instead, that hot summer was one reason he was reelected in 1972. This is where we get into some dynamics that might help Biden.
First, let’s look at the response from some students who loved the protests. I must say this post from Columbia was, well, bizarre.
They were afraid CNN would expose them? I hate to point this out, but for very valid reasons, all arrests are public. Mug shots will be on the police website like they are for any other arrest.
So no, having CNN (they have not done this either) publishing the photos would not be more dangerous. It’s more a sense of entitlement these young people have. However, they have run some exclusive videos from inside Hamilton Hall.
Yesterday, Laura Coates had a guest talk about recruiting these students at elite job sites. They went to elite schools, right? That video is worth your time.
I have heard precisely this from other potential employers. I admit that I expected these employers to sus out attitudes during the general interview process. However, I did not expect AI or the dark web to be involved. This feels a lot more out of cyberpunk games and novels, but sure, it’s technologically possible.
I have talked about this with friends, that these protests could quickly become a scarlet letter for these protesters. This brings me back to that post from one of the student organizations. Let’s say they did not think of any of this, though.
We have had different levels of response to varying campuses across the country. They range from Columbia to UCLA and Madison, Wisconsin. I will repeat this. The feds have nothing to do with how the California Highway Patrol, Wisconsin Police, or New York Police respond to this. However, the UCLA campus was cleared after some vigilantism occurred due to a perceived or actual lack of action from campus officials regarding Jewish students.
So, let’s look at American policing and why we have so many standards that no president can effectively wield. And let’s face it, when you have over 18,000 police departments nationwide, good luck.
Even after Ferguson and the recommendations for more national standards, police departments are still fractured. This includes training. The only recommendation followed by the Obama administration, reversed by the Trump administration, was halting the 1033 program, which transfers military surplus to police.
Some of these are benign. Transferring tents, socks, and coffee makers to the local police is OK in my book. I ask more questions about noticeable military gear like rifles or mine-resistant vehicles. Yes, I found that one when we covered local news. I am proud to have “blown the whistle on that one.” That local paper has been offline for close to a decade now. So, I'm giving you another link.
Honestly, I am torn over Humvees and rural police departments. Those could be used for search and rescue. They could have that use. However, this is where we are, and how this is not the rise of a police state. We have so many police departments, some with a chief and two officers, that there is no way you could coordinate this.
The Feds also have no way to interfere in local affairs unless there is a federal matter. This is why the Justice Department opened more than a few Title Six investigations over the rising antisemitism (and Islamophobia) on university campuses. This is one example, but they rarely lead in these cases. Oh, and investigations move at the speed of the Feds, which is never fast:
Six more schools are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for reports of discrimination on their campuses, according to the agency.
Tulane University in Louisiana, Union College in New York, Cobb County School District in Georgia, University of Cincinnati in Ohio, Santa Monica College in California, and Montana State University in Montana have been added to the newly released list.
The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights released the list as part of the Biden administrations efforts to take action amid the “alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and other forms of discrimination” on both college and K-12 school campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, a statement said.
Which brings me to the president’s statement. The president wants to stay out of it mostly and should embrace the bully pulpit more vigorously because he believes in institutions. This is why he is running again. He wants to preserve these institutions.
So what will the political effects be?
1.0 The progressives have suffered incredible reputational damage. This does not mean some policies don’t make sense, but having Medicare for all attached to the progressive movement will damage it.
Let’s not talk about forgiving educational debt. For economic reasons, it makes sense. However, a few students ruined that for most students who are not part of this. Realize that this movement is not deep or widespread.
Yes, inside the protest camps and protest Twitter, it does seem like they own this, and the world is watching. There is a lesson here; let’s see if they learn it.
2.0 People watch this from the Midwest like the police taking these camps out. Nor are they thinking of sending their children to places like Columbia University. These are also the places that will believe this was the Feds.
This is the law and order side of the equation. This is why Donald Trump calls this a revolution, trying to activate moral outrage.
However, the statements I cited above are what the president said. So people will be aware of what the president said. I expect more carefully measured words shortly. He is an institutionalist.
3.0 yes, I expect Dearborn not to vote for Democrats or the progressive Democrats in New York or California to sit it out. If the campaign pushes, oh, Polish Americans on what Trump intends to do vis-a-vis NATO, then this does not matter. Let’s say Trump did this in 2020. The numbers are far more significant than Arab-Americans in Dearborn.
Now, let’s face it. Biden can afford to lose progressives in both New York and California. Let me tell you a big secret about California politics. Progressives are not the majority either. There are some pockets, yes. But the party is pretty much along the center-right line.
But capturing that Polish vote in Michigan, many of whom are still union workers, will make Dearborn irrelevant. They seem not to have done that, which is confusing, but I report on this. It’s like evident low-hanging fruit.
How will this affect what you are here for? And that is the Ukraine-Russia war? A Trump second term will be a disaster for Ukraine. It will be the worst possible outcome regarding alliances. In my opinion, it could end American democracy as we know it. This lengthy interview via Time Magazine raises multiple alarms, or at least should.
These college protests could have given the election to Biden. It’s not because the Feds are overtly doing much. Title six investigations do take time. Nor is the president pushing for the National Guard to take over campuses, though multiple local and state police are nationwide.
This is the worst possible result for Russia. They want Trump in.
This brings me to another question. Some of this has the absolute feel of active measures. So, who could be behind this one? Given that the vector is TikTok, that’s one answer: China. But I expect Russia to exploit it, and if we dig deep, betting, we will ultimately find Iran.
Our speech laws are being used against us.