Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel most famously stated “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Emanuel told The Wall Street Journal back when he was President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff that crises were “an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”

Perhaps a corollary to the Emanuel Doctrine should be “and waste taxpayer dollars, while appearing to swear you’re going to solve the problem.”

The most recent example of this is California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, who grandstanded to colleagues on Monday he wanted to have a series to public hearings to make sure “California is adequately prepared for Nazi rallies.”

“We’ve already seen this repugnant ideology rear its ugly head on our own college campuses … even right here at our great state Capitol,” De Leon dramatically intoned while reading from pink pages. “In fact, after last year’s fiasco, where a melee occurred on these Capitol Grounds, CHP, the California Highway Patrol, at my request, has fully reviewed what transpired and has made a number of arrests and completed an assessment.”

What’s interesting, yet completely unsurprising, is de Leon’s decision to not reveal exactly how many were arrested and whether they were actual Nazis. The truth is only four people, out of the 106 CHP wanted charged are actually facing prosecution: one a Nazi, while the other three were counter-protesters, aka Antifa. De Leon also failed to mention whom the fine folks in law enforcement believe are to blame for said melee. For that, we have to turn to comments made by CHP in June 2016. Via the Los Angeles Times:

“If I had to say who started it and who didn’t, I’d say the permitted group didn’t start it,” said California Highway Patrol officer George Granada, a spokesman for its Protective Services division. “They came onto the grounds and were met almost instantly with a group of protesters there not to talk.”

The permitted group, for those wondering, is The Traditionalist Worker Party, which openly admits to supporting National Socialism aka Nazism. Their philosophy is completely execrable, but at least the loathsome Neanderthals ask for permits.

The Antifas, who are as execrable and Neanderthalic as the Ratzis, did not have a permit, and showed up to stop the rally from happening.

Now, I personally don’t believe organizations need to implore on bended knee “if it pleases the Crown, pretty please give us a piece of paper” in hopes of promoting some sort of cause. The First Amendment does protect the freedom of speech and assembly, as long as the group doesn’t trample on private property.

However, the Antifas showed just how fascist they are by deciding the best way to protest is with a fist to the face instead of fist in the air, proclaiming, “Down with Nazis! Down with hate!” After all, Antifa did cause $100K in damage to UC Berkeley, something de Leon conveniently forgets, then decided to cause more damage downtown.

So why doesn’t de Leon acknowledge the facts of what happened and admit the so-called Antifas started the violence? Why should that interfere with a good story for voters? After all, de Leon is yearning for a promotion to lieutenant governor and it behooves him to pretend to be “doing something, anything!” to cajole Democrats to cast their vote for him. Besides … everyone hates Nazis, except those who share their beliefs, so might as well make them out to be the problem instead of admitting something is rotten in the state of California.

This is why this entire “left wing vs. right wing” classification is as ridiculous as dress shoes in an ice hockey game. The true battle is between ideologues who believe in freedom versus those who believe in totalitarianism. Both the “right wing white supremacists” and the “left wing Antifas” believe in powerful government, which denies people the freedom to live life how they please as long as they don’t threaten their live, liberty, or property. Neither group has any real interest in free speech no matter what promises may slip from their lips, because why admit you’re as hypocritical as those you claim to oppose?

The facts are simple: both groups had every right to protest until violence erupted. Anyone who acted violently should be charged once investigators have enough evidence. The problem with violence against any group of people is the fact it turns them into a victim, no matter if they’re a tiki-torch-carrying white supremacist who hates minorities or a mask-wearing Antifa who claims to hate hate. There is no reason for violence to break out at a political rally and those who suggest it, promote it, and engage in it need to be rejected and punished. De Leon may not be willing to stand in the halls of the California Capitol to admit it, and those who whine about the “other side” starting it first may not be willing to admit it either. However, the adults in this country who are disgusted by what’s going on should condemn both groups and reject the nonsense spewing from their orifices.