In all the shock, grief and anger on the right over the killing of conservative powerhouse Charlie Kirk, there is a sense that this is — to borrow the moniker of the influential organization he founded — a turning point for the conservative movement.

Political violence, targeting both the left and the right, has been increasingly common. And there have been a lot of close calls, to include the attempted assassination of President Trump. But it’s been decades since a major national political figure of this stature was suddenly, gruesomely and publicly killed like this.

Kirk launched the careers of thousands of conservative activists and engaged countless more young people. His political operation was critical to Trump’s 2024 win. It was easy to picture him as a future Fox News host or even a Republican presidential nominee.

His death is already sparking comparisons on the right to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“This one, I think, is going to change some things,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told me on the House steps Wednesday, soon after Trump had announced Kirk was dead.

How so, I asked?

“I got to think about that. But things just aren't the same,” Roy replied.

He expressed concern about declining religious faith.

“It was the secret sauce that bound us together, even through the hardest of times,” Roy said. “I'm trying to figure out how you bind us if we've got such a gap between us and our collective faith in God?”

There’s been widespread concern about the intensely divisive political climate putting those in the public eye in danger. Commentators and lawmakers are expressing fear that they could be targeted next. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters he is “trying to turn the temperature down around here.”

But many grieving the loss of Kirk are in no mood to tone down or give an inch to ideological adversaries. They don’t want to both-sides the issue or acknowledge political violence in recent years targeted at Democrats, such as the killing of Minnesota state lawmakers or the attack on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband.

If anything, having Kirk taken away is heightening the angry retribution-seeking that has fueled the MAGA........

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