On the contrary, they very much believe that having a [d] after your name shields you from consequences. That mentality is shot through liberal 'thought'.

I think you're highly mistaken on this point. My own take is that most of us, be we "d" or "r" or "i" or whatever, who have grown up in the US and are middle age or beyond, have a belief that acting lawfully will shield us from "consequences". And we have a belief that our institutions will protect us from being targeted for "consequences" based on our political beliefs, ethnicity, etc, by an unlawfully acting government spearheaded by a President who is more and more trying to act as a dictator.

Many of us--particularly us "d's" who now see our fellows being targeted by more than just juvenile words, are feeling that belief under grave threat. That is why you are seeing the reactions that you do. It's all being expressed in plain English--no need to try and guess what's in someone's mind--by people who can say it much better than me. Even on this board, it gets expressed daily, if not hourly.