The American Left has a long history of celebrating or excusing purveyors of mayhem.
In 2011, Martin McGuinness, the former leader of the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army), ran for president of the Republic of Ireland. Over the four decades of his public life, McGuinness had moved from supporting terrorism, including assassination, for political ends to pursuing votes through the ballot box. Some now feted him as a “peacemaker.” But to many voters, his personal journey from the use of violence to the use of democratic means to achieve a united Ireland still seemed like a work in progress.
