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**NOVEMBER 24, 2021**

Kuttner on TAP

Rittenhouse Verdict Will Backfire on Republicans

Most Americans do not feel safer in a society policed by
vigilantes-and the conviction in the Arbery case demonstrates that
justice is sometimes served.

The jury acquittal of self-appointed vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse left
far-right militias and Republican Trumpers chortling. Seemingly, this
win was a trifecta. It vindicates the strategy of enacting self-defense,
open-carry, and stand-your-ground laws. It makes a hero of Rittenhouse.
It intensifies the racist maneuver of leaving Blacks at the mercy of
rogue cops and private militiamen, making it harder for Biden to keep
faith with African American demands for justice without scaring off
whites.

The right has gone to town with its dog-whistle messages caricaturing AP
English classes that assign Toni Morrison as anti-parent; contending
that the Democrat Party favors defunding the police; and claiming that
the abstruse body of Critical Race Theory is being used to brainwash
public school students. Now the Rittenhouse verdict seemingly adds
another arrow to the quiver.

When Biden tried to walk the racial tightrope after the Rittenhouse
verdict, he issued a tepid statement that seemed to emphasize the
importance at keeping protest peaceful more than outrage at the verdict.
It began: "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans
feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that
the jury has spoken. I ran on a promise to bring Americans together,
because I believe that what unites us is far greater than what divides
us." This mild criticism only further enflamed many Blacks without
weakening Republican strategy.

But think a little harder. Most Americans do not feel safer with
17-year-old trigger-happy vigilantes patrolling their communities with
AR-15s. If Kyle Rittenhouse is the new face of the Republican Party,
that's a win for Democrats.

Most of the white American public is less racist than Republicans would
like to believe. The murder convictions in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud
Arbery demonstrate that even in the deep south vigilantes are not
invariably given impunity. After the police murder of George Floyd,
two-thirds of Americans approved of the Movement for Black Lives. That
approval has declined some, but has stabilized at around 55 percent.
After former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of
Floyd's murder in May 2021, three-quarters of Americans approved of
the verdict.

Early polls show that a majority of Americans were uneasy about the
Ritttenhouse acquittal. A YouGov poll found

that a large majority of Democrats and a plurality of independents felt
Rittenhouse was guilty of murder.

A Morning Consult poll found
that
71 percent of Republicans but only 43 percent of all those polled
approved of the verdict. A plurality also said the verdict gave them
less confidence in the criminal justice system.

The strategy of lionizing vigilantes like Rittenhouse may deepen
Republican support in hard-core Trump country. It will be a gift to
Democrats in suburban swing districts where the 2022 midterms will be
decided.

~ ROBERT KUTTNER

Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter

Robert Kuttner's latest book is
The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy
.

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