Ezra Klein: Charlie Kirk was practicing politics the right way

[ThatRobGuy]

Ezra Klein: Charlie Kirk was practicing politics the right way

The foundation of a free society is the ability to participate in politics without fear of violence. To lose that is to risk losing everything, New York Times columnist Ezra Klein writes.

www.sltrib.com

You can dislike much of what Kirk believed, and the following statement is still true: Kirk was practicing politics in exactly the right way. He was showing up to campuses and talking with anyone who would talk to him. He was one of the era’s most effective practitioners of persuasion. When the left thought its hold on the hearts and minds of college students was nearly absolute, Kirk showed up again and again to break it. Slowly, then all at once, he did. College-age voters shifted sharply right in the 2024 election.

Kirk and I were on different sides of most political arguments. We were on the same side on the continued possibility of American politics. It is supposed to be an argument, not a war; it is supposed to be won with words, not ended with bullets. I wanted Kirk to be safe for his sake, but I also wanted him to be safe for mine and for the sake of our larger shared project. The same is true for Shapiro, for Hoffman, for Hortman, for Thompson, for Trump, for Pelosi, for Whitmer. We are all safe, or none of us are.


Ezra Klein has been catching some hate for this piece...

 

[Bradskii]

You can dislike much of what Kirk believed, and the following statement is still true: Kirk was practicing politics in exactly the right way. He was showing up to campuses and talking with anyone who would talk to him.

It really sounds like he's never watched the guy holding court on campuses.

 

[Pommer]

It really sounds like he's never watched the guy holding court on campuses.

Yeah, but the gig sort of demands it, no?, the beyond-the-pale rhetoric keeps people talking, which is all we ultimately have.
Not talking is even worse, no matter how badly the talking is “going”.