The mind boggles.
Over, and over, and over again.
A vastly deluded kid in Utah fired the shot that ended the life of Charlie Kirk, a guy many of us didn't know as well as our kids knew him.
Moments after ending the life of a loving husband and father of two toddlers, the perpetrator's main fear was that in leaving the bolt-action 30.06 murder weapon behind, his father and grandfather would be mad at him.
Meanwhile, word of the despicable act brought business to a halt in the White House. Official word that Kirk had died came from no less than President Trump himself.
Charlie Kirk, who made conservatism real and alive to young people - going into the lion's den of the campus to debate students in a civil manner - helped put Donald Trump back in the White House.
The vice president, a close friend of Kirk like so many we would hear about in the days that followed, headed to Utah to console Kirk's wife and children, and escort Kirk's body home to Phoenix aboard Air Force Two.
Media figures like Laura Ingraham, Megyn Kelly and Glenn Beck fought back tears in reporting the news that a man who was so close to so many had been assassinated.
In the days that followed, the impact of this murder dominated the news and discussion.
It was amazing how many leading figures in our country considered Charlie Kirk a close friend. Trump, J.D. Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, podcaster Ben Shapiro, pundit Mark Levin, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Sean Hannity, the list goes on.
People from all walks of life joined the tributes to a 31-year-old Christian who wore his religion “on his sleeve,” and created the amazingly successful Turning Point movement.
A video emerged showing Rush Limbaugh singing the praises of Charlie Kirk way back in 2018.
Over 100,000 people, possibly many more, went to Phoenix for his memorial service.
If you're old enough to remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the reaction to the death of Charlie Kirk bears a strong resemblance to how the nation reacted in November of 1963.
The apparent murderer, caught on surveillance video, fingerprints on the gun, DNA on the trigger, was caught in 33 hours. He faces the possibility of a death sentence in Utah, perhaps carried out by firing squad.
The mind boggles once again at the reaction of many Democrats, some of whom claimed Kirk “had it coming” for taking his conservatism to American campuses, the belly of the beast of liberalism. Fifty eight Democrats voted “no” on a resolution condemning his murder. Liberal icon AOC called Kirk “uneducated' and “ignorant.”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis lamented his murder, while saying she disagrees “vehemently” with his beliefs. Which beliefs? Getting married? Having kids? Going to church? Debating without hating?
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said he laments Kirk's assassination, even though he disagrees with “about 50 percent” of what Kirk stood for.
Which beliefs? Bringing conservative young people back into campus debate? His religion? Opposing men in women's sports? Sex-change surgery on those under 18? He didn't say.
Here in Wyoming, a few of the state's rare Democrats resorted to the old reliable slur – Kirk's was a “racist,” a slander so universally applied as to have lost its meaning entirely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after claiming, stupidly, that the murderer was a MAGA conservative. Not true.
Liberal Rep. Jasmine Crockett came up with this revelation last week: Just because you commit a crime doesn't make you a criminal. Chew on that for a while.
Patel, Sen. Adam Schiff and Sen. Elizabeth Warren got into prolonged shouting matches in a Senate hearing. Rep. Rashida Talib and Rep. Byron Donalds shouted it out in a House hearing.
And so it goes. Charlie Kirk is dead. Turning Point is suddenly stronger than ever. Kirk's murderer was caught in 33 hours. And many in our nation mourn with an intensity not seen since 1963.
When it comes to politics, the contempt we feel for each other seems to grow ever stronger, despite everything Kirk stood for.
Just when you think you've seen it all, well, turns out you haven't.
And the mind boggles, once again.
Dave Simpson can be contacted at DaveSimpson145@hotmail.com
