Dear Democrats, my fellow Americans, we find ourselves in a moment of tragedy and reckoning. Charlie Kirk has been silenced by violence, and whether you agreed with him or not, this cannot be how we as Americans settle our differences.
For 57 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., America has not seen someone shot and killed on our soil for having an opinion. Let us pause to recognize the weight of that fact. King gave his life as a symbol of civil rights and freedom. Now Charlie Kirk’s death has placed him in that same lineage.
I say this to my fellow Democrats. Step up. Do not cede this ground. Violence is not the answer. When others justify the slaughter of a man because of his words, when we turn away from principle because we dislike an idea, then we become complicit in the erosion of the very freedoms we claim to defend.
Governor Newsom, I call on you. Step forward. Speak with moral clarity. Condemn this violence without hesitation or equivocation. Not in a staff-written press release but in a major public speech. Do not mention the things Charlie said that you disliked. Do not say that you did not agree with his politics. No throat clearing. No wavering of voice. Show the nation that Democrats are our rivals, not our enemies.
This is not just about Charlie Kirk. This is about America, the Constitution, and the promise of a republic built on debate. Not bloodshed. Let our children look back and see leaders who rose to the moment, not cowards who ducked it. Republicans will make Kirk a martyr, hold vigils, light candles, and claim the mantle of free speech. If you allow them to stand alone, if you refuse to speak plainly and proudly about the First Amendment, you will abandon not only the philosophical principle, but also the political opportunity.
Instead, strive to be the party that heals. The party that turns down the temperature. The party that embraces patriotism without fear and says to every American, “We may disagree, but your right to speak will never be in question.”
This is the moment to be bold. Democrats, you have long ago lost the language of patriotism. Now is the time to pick it back up. Governor Newsom, if you come out hard against political violence now, you will dominate. Your party has left so much on the table. Even free speech. Now is the time to pick it back up. Pick up the First Amendment. Pick up your patriotism. Pick up the flag. You could do so much damage if you started acting like a proud American.
If I am being honest, I worry you won’t do anything at all. But as Charlie would say, prove me wrong.
If Democrats (and the Left in general) haven't yet been able to condemn the murder, and denounced their comrades who rejoiced in it, then they never will. Their silence has said more than their words ever could. Millions of Americans who are politically uninvolved but right of center have woken up to the chilling fact that their leftist friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors would gladly have pulled that trigger.