Less than a week now to those infamous midterms, and Joe Biden this afternoon pointed a righteous finger at the violent, nasty antics of MAGA Republicans in this serious, ugly fight for democracy.

In a speech at Union Station (where else but a beloved train terminal), Joe capped it (CNN):

“We can’t take democracy for granted any longer … As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America — for governor, for Congress, for attorney general, for secretary of state who won’t commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in … That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And it is un-American … This intimidation, this violence against Democrats, Republicans and non-partisan officials just doing their jobs, is the consequence of lies told for power and profit, lies of conspiracy and malice, lies repeated over and over to generate a cycle of anger, hate, vitriol and even violence … In this moment, we have to confront those lies with the truth, the very future of our nation depends on it … American democracy is under attack because the defeated former president … refuses to accept the will of the people … I believe the voices excusing or calling for violence and intimidation are a distinct minority in America … But they’re loud and they are determined.”

And the Paul Pelosi attack vs Republican cruelty and lies:

Biden: "The assailant entered the home asking, 'Where's Nancy? Where's Nancy?' Those are the very same words used by the mob when they stormed the US Capitol on January 6." pic.twitter.com/2WPijP779o

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 2, 2022

In a related note, on the same day of the Pelosi attack/assassination attempt, a load of data on violent prone assholes on the right (Vice this evening):

The joint memo issued by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, Capitol Police, and the National Counterterrorism Center last week put the threat from homegrown actors in stark terms.

“Domestic violent extremists across the ideological spectrum pose a heightened threat to the 2022 midterm elections,” the memo warns, adding that primary targets include locations like drop boxes, and that easy access to such locations made them “vulnerable to simple, easy-to-use weapons, like firearms, vehicles, edged weapons, and incendiary devices, which domestic violent extremists have used in the past.”

…

The DHS memo also points out that the greatest threat is not posed by organized groups such as the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers, but from individuals who have been radicalized into believing the 2020 election was stolen.

“The most plausible domestic violent extremist threat is posed by lone offenders who leverage election-related issues to justify violence,” the memo states, adding that “enduring perceptions of election fraud related to the 2020 general election… likely would increase their sensitivity to any new claims perceived as reaffirming their belief that US elections are corrupt.”

And some GOP candidates are already saying they won’t accept the results of the 2022 election if they lose.

“Days before the 2022 midterms, we’re seeing multiple users on extremist forums promoting election-related violence, or using threatening and violent language,” Daniel J. Jones, president of Advance Democracy, an independent nonprofit that tracks extremist activity online, told VICE News. “While it is unclear how many users online overall are making threats against voters or election officials, several of the users claim to have access to weapons and have consistently made threats against specific political figures.”

“Concerns over domestic conspiracy theorists committing acts of violence around the 2022 midterm elections remains high,” Jones added. “And what we’re seeing online certainly supports that assessment.”

And what makes the situation even more chaotic, violent and vile, Republicans are twisting lies into holier-than-thou bullshit — reality of the moment (h/t tweet tengrain):

This is a great ad that utterly indicts @BretBaier and @marthamaccallum as dishonest hacks. @marthamcallums absurd questioning over political violence and effrontery at @TimRyan calling out January 6th destroyed her real world credibility in an instant. Dishonest isn’t the word. https://t.co/oY2D4J8bV3

— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) November 2, 2022

Assholes!

Yet we know the number-one asshole as once again here we are…

(Illustration out front is of a New York state high-school student exhibit: ‘The piece was displayed during student-driven art show at Shenendehowa High School. It consisted of at least 12 identical black-and-white pictures of Donald Trump. There was also a sign above the pictures that read, “Draw on Me.” Using markers from the art classroom, some students opted to scribble critical messages and profanities on the pictures‘ — and found here.)