Michael Beschloss, who has attained the sobriquet of presidential historian, went off the deep end while chatting with MSNBC's Chris Hayes.  He agreed with President Biden that democracy might come to an end in the U.S. if the Republicans prevail in the midterms.  Indeed, he hysterically predicted that a GOP victory in the midterms would end "the rule of law" and lead to the arrest, and possibly killing, of children.

Beschloss also warned that the "country could be consumed by violence" after November 8.  Let's reflect on that prediction.

In the days immediately preceding the 2020 presidential election, I saw workers at shops in the vicinity of Broadway (just above Union Square) placing plywood boards as shields for store windows.  A CBS news story explained that retailers feared "civil unrest" following the 2020 election results.  Was the unrest expected in the event of a Biden victory?  Unlikely.  Indeed, it is more likely than not that the retailers feared that leftists would unleash their fury at the re-election of President Trump, just as they did in 2016 and as they did with even greater effect in the summer of 2020, when they looted and burned urban areas across America.

Based on history, who would be the likely source of post-election rioting if the Republicans regain majorities in Congress, particularly by a magnitude comparable to the GOP victory exactly 28 years earlier: MAGA Republicans or leftist thugs?  I'm confident that the question answers itself.

Image: Michael Beschloss.  RealClearPolitics screen grab.

In other words, even as he imagines democracy's "end," Beschloss might well be prophetic in predicting widespread violence next week — it's just that he keeps from pointing his finger at the likely source of violence.  But then, leftist violence is scarcely ever seen as such by Democrats or the media.  For Democrats, leftist violence is merely a form of peaceful protest — by other means.

If the left resumes the rioting that afflicted the nation for 120 days in 2020, we cannot dismiss the possibility that something very bad will happen.  The same administration that sends SWAT teams to arrest peaceful pro-life activists and 30 FBI agents to raid the residence of the former president, as well as gaining judicial support for subpoenas issued by a rogue congressional committee, may be inclined to cite violence, even from its own side of the ideological aisle, as the justification to declare martial law...to "save democracy," of course.

Is this alarmist talk?  Not at all.  The alarmist talk comes from those, starting with the man in the Oval Office, who would traduce the word "democracy" to transform our country into a one-party state.  We can only hope that Republicans will be prepared and recognize the ongoing relevance of Madison's insight, set forth in Federalist No. 57, that the American people are actuated by "a spirit which nourishes freedom, and in return is nourished by it."  Madison would understand that, when Biden and his ilk declare MAGA patriots a "threat to democracy," they are putrefying polemical argument with, yes, a Big Lie.

There is a risk that Republican officeholders will remain silent as the authoritarian left viciously vilifies the loyalty of American patriots and impugns their dedication to this free and grand republic's founding principles.  For our republic to continue, the victorious Republican candidates must honor their election as representatives and senators of, by, and for the people.  To this end, they must stand firm against attack from the authoritarian leftists who are the real threat to the American spirit of freedom.