Finally! Yesterday, no lesser figure than the leftist stalwart, the honorable Nancy Pelosi came out and unequivocally denounced the violent hooligans known as Antifa. For those of you who need a reminder, Antifa is the group for whom so many politicians had such high praise, for standing up to Nazis and fascists, after they instigated a riot in Charlottesville a few weeks ago. In the melee that ensued a young woman lost her life and the President had the audacity to condemn all sides for the role they played in the violence. He was raked over the coals because he dared to include Antifa in his condemnation. Will the people who condemned the President for calling out Antifa now turn their wrath on Nancy Pelosi for identifying the group for the violent thugs that they are? It is indeed strange to see such a prominent Democrat take such a stand against this group. Violence on the left is a staple and they never get called out for it, so this is indeed a welcome development. The left embraces their extremists. Perhaps sensing that it does the cause of the Democratic Party no good to be associated with this cabal of recalcitrants, Ms. Pelosi decided to take a calculated stand against them even though they share the same ideological philosophy. Folks this is huge because while the Republican Party and the right in general always calls out violence or any abhorrent philosophy done in its name, the Democratic Party never disavows its allies, even the really terrible ones. The cause above all is what matters, and they usually embrace their ideological soul mates, no matter what the cost.  It is why groups like Antifa have been able to go politically unscathed despite their enthusiastic use of violence and intimidation as a tool against those with whom they disagree. Maybe sensing that their embrace of these violent hoodlums may hurt the Democrat Party in the upcoming 2018 elections is what prompted the decision by the former speaker to come out so strongly against the Antifa hoodlums, whatever the reason; it is good to hear.

Imagine if Antifa were a right wing group. One’s imagination does not have to be stretched too far to guess what the response to them would be. We need only look at the reaction to the march in Charlottesville to get a good idea of how they would be received. We have witnessed over the years, the media and those on the left in general go hunting to pin violence on conservatives, over and over again. On numerous occasions they have perpetrated hoaxes, and falsely accused conservatives of violence only to retract their stories at a later date, or simply kill the story without even acknowledging their dishonesty or errors. We saw it during the height of the Tea Party years when the left accused them of being Nazis, racists and every imaginable name that one can imagine, all because the Tea Party dared to oppose Barrack the Great. The irony is that all of the violence that was highlighted during the Tea Party years were acts of violence committed against them, and they conducted themselves in honorable fashion for the entire time of their activism during the Obama years. They even cleaned up after themselves after rallies, but their effort and conduct was never good enough. Every one off incident was highlighted as the norm. Yet Antifa and the left in general, with a trail of blood that leads directly to them have escaped any real scrutiny or condemnation from any of the prominent politicians or figures on the left, until Ms. Pelosi’s unambiguous condemnation of them yesterday. Hurrah Ms. Pelosi! Welcome to the group of sane Americans who have been pointing out this madness ever since these people have been rampaging and wreaking havoc in the streets, and on college campuses across America.

The incident that triggered the about face happened last weekend at Berkley California. In keeping with their modus operandi, Antfa unleashed their violence against peaceful protesters by attacking Trump supporters, and anyone they deemed a Nazi or white supremacist. Prior to this, just one day after Charlottesville, they showed up at a rally in Seattle and employed their usual tactics to shut down speech they are against. What is interesting to note is that these people use their tactics on anyone who does not bow to leftist dogma. They do not just employ this tactic against so called Nazis and white supremacists, but since they have been given license by many to use violence against Nazis and white supremacists, what they do is; they even label people who are mainstream conservatives as Nazis and white supremacists to justify violence against them. It is absolutely crazy, but this is the America in which we live.

It is in this environment that Ms. Pelosi’s statement is a welcome one-though a bit late. She said: “the violent actions of people calling themselves Antifa in Berkley this weekend deserve unequivocal condemnation, and the perpetrators should be arrested and prosecuted.” She went further and said “in California and all across our great nation, we have deep reverence for the constitutional right to peaceful dissent and free speech.” Phew! There was a time in America when this sentiment was a given, and we didn’t need the leader of a major political party to make this pronouncement before people would accept it. But again, such is the state in current day America where up is down, in is out and wrong is right. News outlets like NPR, CNN, Yahoo news and others have given glowing reviews of this violent movement, without the kind of condemnation that they usually reserve for President Trump and his supporters, so it is no wonder that Antifa has thrived in this environment. CNN actually said that “they seek peace through violence.” One Dartmouth Professor justified the use of violence by Antifa and when he was disavowed by the school’s President, seventeen Professors came out in support of the professor, and asked the President of the school to Apologize. On and on it goes. This normalization of violence and the fascist tactics on the left all because of a visceral hatred for the President of the United States is just unbelievable to witness.

So it is refreshing by contrast to see Ms. Pelosi the leftist icon declare in no uncertain terms that Antifa’s actions must be condemned. As Republican politicians whose greatest desire is to be loved by the media, and to show that they are not the racists that Democrats say they are threw the President under the bus when he rightfully pointed out the role that both sides played in the violence that erupted in Charlottesville a few weeks ago, Ms. Pelosi stepped up to the plate and delivered. Good for you Ms. Pelosi, for shedding some much needed light on this violent group, and helping to bring some clarity to this issue.