Guy Ciarrocchi: It’s getting easier to separate the good guys from the bad guys

There are riots taking place in LA. There are warnings of more in NYC, Chicago, and even Norristown. 

President Trump has directed the National Guard to protect Los Angeles and its residents. After days of violence, riots and police cars burning — rioters waving flags for Mexico and Palestine, and burning American flags — Trump stepped-in to bring calm because their Mayor and Governor had been silent or, worse, explaining the rioters’ case.

Governor Gavin Newsom went from absent and silent to trying to explain that all was well. Then, he had a plan. Now, he’s suing Trump in court to block the National Guard — while the cars are still smoldering, and more savagery is being threatened.

How the two parties responded to the riots tells us everything about where we are as a nation. Remembering why we have twelve million illegal immigrants — far too many with criminal records — also tells us so much. Those lessons are as important as what is happening in LA.

The politicians are making it easy for us to choose sides. 

We have to choose. There’s too much at stake. There are existential threats to America. Not the childish, ideologically driven chants of the Left; there are actual threats to our safety, our children, our quality of life, our nation. 

The politicians on the side of the illegal immigrants, professional agitators, and even ordinary Americans who are wearing masks, burning police cars, and throwing rocks at police officers — and waving the flags of foreign governments — are not the good guys. No, it’s not at all acceptable just because they were “provoked” by what Trump did or might do.

Trump, police officers, ICE, and National Guard stopping the rioters — and the politicians defending them — are the good guys.

For better or worse, from Trump to Newsom, politicians are speaking out or taking action — from the allegedly moderate Governor Josh Shapiro defending Newsom to Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran doing his duty in alerting ICE when criminal illegal aliens are in custody.

Last week, left-wing influencers started posting the location of ICE raids to arrest illegal immigrants, often those with criminal records. Angry crowds started arriving at those locations — to the surprise of no adult with common sense. Ditto across many major cities, even in Norristown.

They didn’t apologize. They didn’t stop. They didn’t urge calm. They got the result that they wanted: chaos.

In leafy Bucks County, we have the suburban version of the Left’s“resistance:” the ACLU is suing Sheriff Fred to stop him from doing his duty by alerting ICE when an illegal immigrant with criminal charges is in custody.

The people who snuck into this country to engage in violence, wave foreign flags, and burn American flags ought to be deported. And any American politician defending them or their violence ought to be mocked, ignored, and defeated.

It’s not red vs blue. It’s not even conservative vs liberal.

The battle is between common sense and lunacy. 

And team lunacy is messing with our lives, our livelihoods, our families and our nation. Either they don’t understand or don’t care. Or worse, maybe the people driving and supporting this chaos do know what they’re doing and chaos is the actual goal.

These are riots — no matter how Democrat politicians or the media try to sugarcoat it, or defend them. Worse: rioters and “protestors” waving Mexican, Palestinian, or other foreign flags. The reality is that a disturbing number of rioters are, in fact, here illegally — here purposefully to cause chaos.

And, almost every rational adult wanted the police to step in and for local, state and federal agents to be able to protect themselves, protect innocent citizens, protect our small businesses, and maintain the rule of law.

We all expected our politicians to want to protect us — to direct police, state and federal officers to do that — and we expect the politicians to have their backs when the officers step-in to do the work that needs to be done.

We have to choose sides: trusting our eyes and our common sense.

Even when the Democrats’ allies in the legacy media weigh in to try to help the Left’s cause. The Los Angeles Times told readers: “the violent clashes…have been limited to isolated areas.” And LA’s ABC 7 television described the riots as “just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn.”

This madness recalls the insanity and gaslighting of 2020 and 2021: watching “mostly peaceful protests” as cars and buildings burn.

We have to trust ourselves and our traditional American values. 

In less than a generation we moved from: there’s not much difference between the parties to the differences between the two parties’ values is wider than the Grand Canyon.

They don’t fight because of party labels or even “differences” on policy issues. The parties have vastly different values and priorities — and they fundamentally disagree on what America is and should be.

In old-time movies to help the audience, the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. Today’s politicians are making it just as easy for voters.

The people who let in twelve million illegal immigrants; race to court to try to keep them here; fly to El Salvador to visit them when deported; and excuse their rioting — even when they’re flying foreign flags and burning American flags — are not wearing “white hats.” 

Guy Ciarrocchi is a Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation. A former deputy Attorney General, he writes for Broad + Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania. Follow Guy at @PaSuburbsGuy.