A cultural war has been brewing on the Capitol for years. Now it’s at a boiling point.
WASHINGTON – Pistols. Masks. Conspiracy theories. The contentious issues that have been brewing for months, if not years, between political parties and lawmakers now appear to be at a boiling point on Capitol Hill.
Tensions in Congress have been high in the past, but the rhetoric of recent months is not business as usual.
Julian Zelizer, professor of political history at Princeton University, told USA TODAY that the current climate is « certainly one of the bad times in American history. »
Compared to pre-Civil War periods, in the 19th century and the 1960s, Zelizer said, today is « at least like these, and in some ways worse. » Although the members do not « literally attack each other physically like they did in the 19th century, they sometimes feel like they are getting terribly close. »
‘This is our home and we will protect it’: Lawmakers braced to fight or be killed as Trump mobs attack the U.S. Capitol
Now the points of contention seemed to be reaching a crescendo – and amplified by the Capitol Riot.