PBS’ Brooks: Nixon and Reagan Won Their Elections by Running Against Protests

EXCERPT:

BROOKS: "Yeah, I think big time. You know, in the 1960s, Ronald Reagan ran for governor running against the Berkeley protests. Richard Nixon ran for president running against the protests. It’s not so much the message of the protests, it’s the violence that surrounds them. I’m teaching at the University of Chicago this term. And a couple hundred yards from here, the encampment at our school is there. And the university had a very clear policy: We celebrate your right to express your point of view, but we don’t allow you to make the campus violent. We’re not going to let you disrupt campus. We’re not going to allow you to disrupt learning. And today the president, Paul Alivisatos, sent out an e-mail to everybody in the community saying, 'We celebrate the right  to make your statements. Unfortunately, the students have been disruptive. They have torn down Israeli signs. They have silenced speakers. They have made the campus — they have interfered with learning in the campus. And so he sent out a somewhat ominous e-mail. And I have to say, things are pretty tame here compared to a lot of the other places. So what Americans support is free speech. What they don’t support is what looks like anarchy. And so I think if the protests continue to veer in the direction they’re veering, you could see some pretty serious repercussions, which is why Biden is speaking, which is why Chuck Schumer is speaking, trying to distance themselves from what the protesters are doing."

(via RealClearPolitics)