My heart breaks for Gabby Giffords....
When Gabby Giffords was shot everyone noticed. It was all over the news, I saw it in my friends' Facebook statuses, it was part of everyone's conversations. Today's stories about her was barely an "also happened" but the truth is today, as she leaves the hospital and heads for rehab, is when her fight really begins. For the last two weeks everyone around the country fought with her, now she begins the much harder part of her journey, battling on her own to regain her life.
Tea Party Forging Links With ViolentTea Party Getting Violent? 10 House Dems Report Threats, Vandalism
The Democratic leadership in Congress is decrying recent "acts of violence" against 10 House Democrats and one Republican, including one report of a cut gas line at the house of the brother of one member of Congress.
The most recent report came from US Rep. Harry Mitchell, AZ, whose spokesman, Adam Bozzi, said in a statement that the congressman received physical threats, including threats on his life, both before and after a vote on health care reform.
A brick was thrown through the window of the district office of Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in Niagara Falls, in upstate New York, while Bart Stupak, the conservative Democrat whose deal with the White House on abortion funding curbs provided the crucial last few votes for passage of the bill, reported getting calls from people wishing that he "bleed, get cancer and die."
Representative James Clyburn, the highest ranking black lawmaker, said he received a fax with an image of a noose.
Even the families of representatives aren't immune to the backlash, apparently. The Albemarle County Fire Marshal's Office and the FBI have concluded, in a joint statement, that a severed gas line outside of the house of Rep. Tom Perriello's (D-Va.) brother was "an act of vandalism." Perriello supported the overhaul measure and an activist involved in the "tea party" movement reportedly posted the brother's address on an internet forum - apparently thinking it was the congressman's - and urged angry opponents to pay him a visit.
House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, says he knows that people are angry but denounced the disturbing trend, saying, "Threats and violence should not be part of a political debate."
2. Byron Williams set out to kill people at Tides Foundation and ACLU. On July 18, Byron Williams was stopped by California Highway Patrol and engaged in a shootout with law enforcement. He later said he planned to murder individuals at the Tides Foundation and ACLU. His mother said he was angry about “Congress railroading through all these left-wing agenda items.” As reporter John Hamilton documented, Williams said he saw Fox News’ Glenn Beck as “a schoolteacher” and that “it was the things [Beck] exposed that blew my mind.” Indeed, the gunman, Byron Williams, was driven by belief in conspiracy theories that have been pushed by Beck and other members of the right-wing media.
3. AZ federal judge threatened, Grijalva office fired on after ruling on AZ immigration law. Politico reported in July:
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said in a statement he shut down his Yuma district office after staff members discovered a bullet had shattered a window there Thursday. And authorities said U.S. Judge Susan Bolton received hundreds of threats at her downtown Phoenix court offices after issuing the injunction, according to news reports.4. Phoenix man indicted for alleged murder threats against Grijalva and his aides. The Yuma Sun reported on June 14 that a Phoenix man was indicted on federal charges for “allegedly threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva in late April, over Grijalva’s opposition to the state’s new immigration law.” The article added: “Prosecutors say Haynes is accused of calling Grijalva’s office in Tucson twice on April 23 and threatening to ‘come down there and blow the brains out’ of Grijalva and his employees.”
5. Man arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Sen. Patty Murray. Politico reported on April 6:
Charles Alan Wilson, 64, was arrested at his home in central Washington after he allegedly called Murray’s office on numerous occasions over the last few weeks saying that she “had a target on her back, ” and “I want to [expletive] kill you,” according to court documents. The alleged phone calls stretched over almost two weeks and were said to be in relation to Murray’s vote to pass health care overhaul legislation.6. Members of right-wing militia group arrested for allegedly plotting overthrow of the U.S. government. Nine members of the “Hutaree militia” were arrested in March and charged with plotting a violent uprising against the U.S. government, a plot that was to begin with an attack on law enforcement personnel. The Southern Poverty Law Center has called the Hutaree militia as a member of the radical right-wing patriot movement.
Wilson, who was arrested in Selah, Wash., also allegedly told undercover FBI agents that he carries a concealed firearm with a permit, and said he was “extremely angry” with the passage of health care legislation, according to the news release. If convicted, Wilson could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
7. AP: Man arrested for allegedly making threatening phone calls to Pelosi. The AP reported that in the days after the vote on the health care reform bill, “The FBI arrested a California man Wednesday for allegedly making threatening phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”
8. Threats made against Rep. Betsy Markey. A Denver television station reported that Rep. Betsy Markey’s (D-CO) chief of staff “said the calls came on Saturday before the House cast its final vote on health care reform. She said in the first, the caller said to one of Markey’s staff members, ‘better hope I don’t run into you in a dark alley with a knife, a club or a gun.’ In another instance, a caller said something like ‘better tell your boss that she better be careful when she comes back here to Colorado.’”
9. Gas line outside the house of the brother of Rep. Tom Perriello was cut. Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-VA) brother’s address was erroneously posted online by a Tea Party blogger who invited activists to descend on the house. In March, a gas line outside the brother’s house was cut.
10. Threats made against Rep. Stupak after he voted for final version of health care bill. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) was the target of threatening faxes and phone calls, includingdeath threats. Some of the faxes included “racial epithets used in reference to President Obama,” according to CBS News.
11. Picture of a noose faxed to Rep. Clyburn. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the Majority Whip, said in a March interview on CNN that his office had received a fax of a noose after he voted in favor of the health care reform bill.
12. Brick thrown at Democratic county headquarters in Rochester, NY. New York Daily News reported on March 22 that, after the House health care vote, a “brick, to which a piece of paper bearing the message “Extremism is defense of liberty is no vice” was attached with a rubber band” was thrown through the headquarters of the Democratic county headquarters in Rochester, New York.
13. Rep. Slaughter threatened with brick and “snipers.” CNN reported on March 24: “Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-New York, said her Niagara Falls district office had a brick thrown through one of its windows and a message that referred to ‘snipers’ was left on one of her campaign offices.”
14. Rep. Giffords’ office window shattered. CNN reported that in March, “a glass panel at the Tucson office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, was shattered, spokesman C.J. Karamargin said. It wasn’t clear how the window was shattered, but visitors have to go through a gated courtyard to enter the office, and staffers suspect someone may have shot a pellet gun at the glass, he said.”
15. White powder mailed to Rep. Weiner with “drop dead” message. NBC News reported on March 26:
Authorities are investigating a package with white powder and an angry letter that referenced the health care legislation that was sent to Congressman Weiner’s Kew Gardens office today.16. Rep. Driehaus threatened and right-wing blogger publishes his home address. Politico reported on March 24 that a right-wing blogger had published the home address of Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) and asked protestors to show up at his house. In addition, Driehaus reportedly received death threats.
The letter said the Congressman should “drop dead” and complained about the historic health care legislation passed by Congress this week.
Preliminary field tests showed the white powder was harmless.
17. Brick thrown through window of Witchita County Democrats’ offices. The Kansas City Star reported in March:
Mike Vanderboegh of Pinson, Ala., former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia, put out a call on Friday for modern “Sons of Liberty” to break the windows of Democratic Party offices nationwide in opposition to health care reform. Since then, vandals have struck several offices, including the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita.
“There’s glass everywhere,” said Lyndsay Stauble, executive director of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party. “A brick took out the whole floor-to-ceiling window and put a gouge in my desk.”
Stauble said the brick, hurled through the window between Friday night and Saturday morning, had “some anti-Obama rhetoric” written on it.
Adam H. Shah is a Deputy Editorial Director at Media Matters for America. He has worked as senior counsel for the Judicial Selection Project at Alliance for Justice.
Michigan Militia plans ‘open carry’ gun tea party to ‘take the stigma out of the word militia.’
This Saturday, on April 10, the Michigan Militia plans to host a tea party “open carry” gun rally. The Militia, which is a successor to the violent anti-government Michigan Militias of the mid-’90s, has come under criticism since the FBI raids of the Hutaree, a Michigan-based Christian militia that had planned to murder police officers. The Michigan Militia cooperated with the FBI to arrest the Hutaree and claimed that although they “had occasional contacts with the Hutaree militia,” they “had never trained with them.” Mike Lackomar, a spokesman for the militia, defended the planned “open carry” rally and again tried to distance himself from the Hutaree:“This event primarily tries to take the stigma out of the word ‘militia,’ and provide information on what we are and who we are,” Lackomar said. “It lets people meet us and see what we’re all about.” [...] “I want it to be perfectly clear,” Lackomar said. “(The Hutaree) are not us, and we are not them, and we did not agree with their philosophy.”However, according to their own website, the Michigan Militia boasts of being joined by their “friends” in the Hutaree shortly before leaving their training session to eat fajitas back in 2007. In a photo gallery published by the Michigan Militia in 2008 (now deleted), they posted pictures of the Hutaree with the caption: “Like ghosts through the woods, The Hutaree close on their objective.” The tea parties, anti-government militia groups, and far right elements of the Republican Party are slowly merging. Gun right advocates are planning rallies on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing around the country, with even Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) slated to speak at one of the events.
Would you call me crazy if I told you that I think America is more obsessed with Hitler today than it was during WWII? I have to admit that’s quite an overstatement on my part.
So what if I said, Americans have drawn more Hitler mustaches on protest signs in the last couple years than any other time in history?
We saw a virtual sea of Hitler and nazi references during the Tea Party protests. Loud angry people. Screaming and vigorously brandishing signs depicting Obama with a Hitler mustache.
We’re now seeing the same thing in Wisconsin. Loud angry people. Screaming and vigorously brandishing signs depicting Scott Walker with a Hitler Mustache.
*That is if the whole thing isn’t part of the recent
Breitbarting attempts that have been made against the credibility of the protesters.
The left called The Tea Party violent thugs when they did it, and now the right is calling the Wisconsin protesters violent thugs when they do it. The right called The Tea Party patriotic, caring, champions of freedom when they did it, and now the left is calling the Wisconsin protesters patriotic, caring, champions of freedom when they do it.Breitbarting attempts that have been made against the credibility of the protesters.
Why is it always wrong when the other guys do it, and always excusable when our guys do it?
There was, and only will be, one Hitler. Until someone has supervised a mass genocide project or put several million people to death, drawing a Hitler mustache on their picture just makes you look like a paranoid idiot.
The same goes for references to Stalin, Marx, Mussolini, Lenin, Mao, or any other boogeymen du jour. Clinging to these types of sensationalist associations doesn’t lend any credibility to any cause. Taking the easy-out of slapping these labels on your political opponents only makes your stance look factually weak.
I guess we can’t really blame people for getting sucked into this kindergarten level of political discourse. It’s being pushed by major media and their investors every day. Presenting things in this type of oversimplified manner is a great way of recruiting anyone and everyone into the game of politics.
Replacing facts with emotional generalizations allows even the least intelligent of Americans to play. All they need to know is “what is right in their hearts”. Just link together a string of pre-approved talking points, mix in a genocidal boogeyman or two for good measure, point your finger at the right target, and you’re good to go.
Instant political pundit!
I believe it is our solemn duty to demand credibility from the political movements that we affiliate ourselves with. If we do not, then we will be judged according to the actions of our chosen affiliations, and we will be to blame for those judgments made against us.
That’s why I want to say to any liberals and progressives out there, “Enough with the Hitler signs already!” If your message is so weak that you feel you have to resort to sensationalist boogeyman tactics, then perhaps you need to reconsider your involvement in politics.
Don’t take a just and righteous cause and tarnish it with tactics exhibited by the lowest common denominator. Demand decency, integrity, and factual accuracy from your base and provide an honorable example to all Americans.
If you want anyone to take you seriously, you need to stick with facts and leave the baseless theatrics and sensationalism to the opposition.
You’re making yourselves (and by association, myself) look like this guy.
