# How come there are no political assassinations in this country anymore? Where are the militants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 9, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703 "2018-10-09T16:25:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/21 "2018-10-09T19:38:31Z")
People do try these things sometimes, but they tend to have severe mental health and/or addiction problems, so they can’t pull it off. Sometimes they expose alarming breaches in security (like that guy who rushed through the open doors of the White House and had to be tackled by an off-duty counterterrorism assaulter). Said attacker wouldn’t have succeeded despite the security breaches, if only because the President was not in the White House at the time. People who are sane and would consider doing these things are sane enough **not to try** , because they know they are very unlikely to succeed, and even less likely to get away with their life or freedom intact. Furthermore the impact would be muted, as the same party would still be in charge. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/22 "2018-10-09T20:11:32Z")
You can’t really draw a straight line between politics, militants, and assassinations. Think about the bland Gerald Ford, who [survived two attempts in 17 days.](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ford-escaped-2-assassination-attempts-Both-2481771.php) ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/23 "2018-10-09T22:20:55Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > And didn’t someone just try to send ricin to Predident Trump and General Mattis? Would mailing deadly poison to a President be considered an assassination attempt? It was “just” ground castor seeds that still needed processing to extract the ricin. It was enough to trigger the ricin detection. [The criminal charges](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pentagon-ricin/utah-man-charged-with-ricin-mail-threat-against-trump-mattis-idUSKCN1MF29O) are all related to making death threats not an attempt to kill. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/24 "2018-10-09T23:13:05Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > You can’t really draw a straight line between politics, militants, and assassinations. Think about the bland Gerald Ford, who [survived two attempts in 17 days.](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ford-escaped-2-assassination-attempts-Both-2481771.php) Or look at the assassins who have no problem switching targets when circumstances change. John Hinckley, for example, originally planned on assassinating Carter. But when Reagan became President, he readily switched targets. His motivation wasn’t political; he just wanted to shoot a President. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/25 "2018-10-10T01:37:52Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > A big part of it may simply be that with the exception of the members of the SCOTUS who are of the opposite party than the POTUS is, assassination wouldn’t change anything politically. It it happened to Trump, Pence would replace him. If it had happened to Obama, we would have had Biden. Most of the senators and house members would be replaced by someone else from their own party should they be assassinated. On top of that, as already mentioned, the victim would become a martyr for whatever cause they represented. Yes, as things are, domestic political radicals are aware that targeting the high officials for the sake of targeting them is high risk/low return, would not change their situation on the ground and to the contrary would crank up the heat. Thus they tend to go after lower-echelon government entities that embody the “tyranny”. Blow up some government facility, “liberate” some bank assets, wreck some Military-Industrial Complex property, stick it to The Man in your home town. And these days hardly that, any more. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think our political system doesn’t encourage the militant assassin mentality. You don’t have groups of people who feel so oppressed and disenfranchised that they feel they need to resort to assassination as a means of regime change. Our assassins tend to be solitary figures with mental problems. > > If I’m recalling correctly, we’ve only had two assassination conspiracies in the United States. John Wilkes Booth and his southern sympathizers attacking Lincoln and other members of his administration in 1865 and Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to kill Truman in 1950. (There have been other groups that plotted to kill an American President but these all acted outside the United States.) And notice in both cases it involved seccessionist movements in the last-ditch phase of the fight – the day Truman’s quarters were being attacked by Torresola and Collazo in DC, down home there was on an “it’s now or never” Nationalist insurrection that involved an attack on the Governor’s mansion, and the National Guard using air strafing and heavy weapons to clear two rural towns. Thing is, Booth and the Nacionalistas did not consider themselves \*domestic \*radicals, but as _fighting an outsider opressor_, and like those more recent outside plotters the value of the hit would be propagandistic, to prove they can still hurt the US leaders and use that to rally the forces. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > One can only hope that in the situation of the red congressperson from a blue state or vice versa that the governor would stick with someone of the same party as the deceased representative or senator. If I was the governor and a Republican representative or senator in my state was assassinated, I would appoint a Republican to replace the deceased individual, despite me personally being a Democrat. Representative vacancies are all filled by special election. Senators usually by appointment but most often only until the next general election date. But an event like this would only motivate that party’s voters to show up en masse. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/26 "2018-10-10T01:55:20Z")
Today’s teenage actresses just aren’t worth killing for. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/27 "2018-10-10T12:07:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > … a Democrat governor… No need to read any more of this post or take it seriously in any way. Attempts to change the balance of power via assassination must not be tolerated. I think any member of Congress who is assassinated should be replaced by a member of that same party to remove the incentive to use “(half of the) second amendment solutions” to politicians you oppose. What I’m surprised has never been tried is to change the balance of power in the Supreme Court via assassination. One can imagine a fanatical Republican ordering a hit on say Sotomayor or Kagan or a fanatical Democrat ordering a hit on Kavanaugh or Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/28 "2018-10-10T14:35:30Z")
The Onion on this topic: > **[Clinton Vaguely Disappointed By Lack Of Assassination Attempts](https://www.theonion.com/clinton-vaguely-disappointed-by-lack-of-assassination-a-1819565907)** > > CHAPPAQUA, NY–Reflecting on his presidency Monday, Bill Clinton expressed a "strange sense of disappointment" over the lack of dramatic attempts on his life. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/29 "2018-10-10T15:45:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If I’m recalling correctly, we’ve only had two assassination conspiracies in the United States. That’s what they WANT you to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/30 "2018-10-10T16:40:19Z")
I also wonder if there might not be some attempts at the supreme court. With the president there is always the democratic option of voting them out. With the supreme court you don’t really have other options. Also given the politically charged controversy caused by the change of one member, imagine the lasting effect of having a one partisan president and compliant senate pick a full 9. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/31 "2018-10-12T08:57:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Killing that many Republicans could have triggered a political crisis, because any that came from states with a Democrat governor could have been replaced with a Democrat, changing the balance of power due to an assassination. This could not have happened. Neither senator present was from a state with a Democrat (sic) governor, and in one of them only members of the same party are eligible for appointment. Most members present were from the House, in which case the governor has no ability to make an appointment. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/32 "2018-10-12T14:21:42Z")
Did you ever joke with a TSA person at an airport about having a bomb in your carry on? Well, compared to the Secret Service dealing with a potential threat to a protectee, the TSA have great senses of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/33 "2018-10-12T16:29:58Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I also wonder if there might not be some attempts at the supreme court. With the president there is always the democratic option of voting them out. With the supreme court you don’t really have other options. Also given the politically charged controversy caused by the change of one member, imagine the lasting effect of having a one partisan president and compliant senate pick a full 9. In all seriousness, if I were on the Supreme Court right now I’d probably not leave my house. I hope they have security of the highest order. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/34 "2018-10-12T23:07:39Z")
Good question. For one thing, VIPs have much better security than in the past. So a lot of attempts are stopped before they ever get off the ground. Also despite all the rhetoric, we still live in a democracy. We aren’t a full blown dictatorship by any means. Most people realize violence is a last option to only do after protests, voting, contacting congresspeople, etc. fail. We still have democratic infrastructure to allow people to air grievances. However if the democrats win the popular vote in the house in 2018, but still lose the house due to gerrymandering, I could see people getting more and more angry. Also life in the west is fairly good. It isn’t like you are giving up a life of starvation and destitution if you assassinate someone important. You are giving up a fairly comfortable middle class life if you do that. Having said that there are assassination attempts. The guy who shot at republican politicians in DC with an assault rifle for example. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/35 "2018-10-12T23:37:45Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I hope they have security of the highest order. Outside of work the norm is no security unless they ask for extra protection because of a specific threat. [Recent thread.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=863297&highlight=protective+detail) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/36 "2018-10-15T06:41:32Z")
The reason there are no political assassinations anymore is because that used to be the way crazy people got notoriety. But assassinating famous people is hard. Shooting up a gun free zone, much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/37 "2018-10-15T14:41:23Z")
Shooting up an actual gun free zone is logically impossible. Shooting up a place where meaningful effort has been made to make it gun free is possible, but very difficult. In fact, assassinating the President is just a special case of that. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/38 "2018-10-15T16:24:00Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Also despite all the rhetoric, we still live in a democracy. We aren’t a full blown dictatorship by any means. Most people realize violence is a last option to only do after protests, voting, contacting congresspeople, etc. fail. We still have democratic infrastructure to allow people to air grievances. However if the democrats win the popular vote in the house in 2018, but still lose the house due to gerrymandering, I could see people getting more and more angry. > > Also life in the west is fairly good. It isn’t like you are giving up a life of starvation and destitution if you assassinate someone important. You are giving up a fairly comfortable middle class life if you do that. I suspect those are the real reasons- for the vast majority of people who may hate a particular politician, party or judge, there’s just not enough payoff in it- it’s more sensible to work toward booting them through legal means, such as elections. And the downside is huge- our justice system provides pretty heavy penalties for such things. So the choice for most everyone is basically to work within the system, keep your lifestyle, and endure whatever annoyances come up, or do something violent and virtually guarantee yourself a long term in prison. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/39 "2018-10-15T22:06:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I suspect those are the real reasons- for the vast majority of people who may hate a particular politician, party or judge, there’s just not enough payoff in it- it’s more sensible to work toward booting them through legal means, such as elections. And the downside is huge- our justice system provides pretty heavy penalties for such things. > > So the choice for most everyone is basically to work within the system, keep your lifestyle, and endure whatever annoyances come up, or do something violent and virtually guarantee yourself a long term in prison. However, there are always people who don’t care about life imprisonment or dying in the process. That said, one thing that could be acting as a deterrent could be the fact the political climate is now so tense, even an attempted assassination could cause things to quickly spiral out of control. Not even the most militant anti-Trump radical wants to be another [Gavrilo Princip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavrilo_Princip). ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703/40 "2018-10-15T22:59:16Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I suspect those are the real reasons- for the vast majority of people who may hate a particular politician, party or judge, there’s just not enough payoff in it- it’s more sensible to work toward booting them through legal means, such as elections. And the downside is huge- our justice system provides pretty heavy penalties for such things. > > So the choice for most everyone is basically to work within the system, keep your lifestyle, and endure whatever annoyances come up, or do something violent and virtually guarantee yourself a long term in prison. “The revolution will not be televised” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-are-no-political-assassinations-in-this-country-anymore-where-are-the-militants/822703.md?page=3)