Saturday, January 8, 2011

Arizona Congress Member Gabrielle Giffords Shot, Aide & Federal Judge Killed... Blood on Teabaggers' Hands?



So is this the logical conclusion of Sharron Angle's "Second Amendment Remedies"?

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head and an aide was killed Saturday when an assailant opened fire in an area where the lawmaker was meeting with constituents, officials said.

There were varying accounts on Giffords' condition, but a hospital spokesman said the Democratic lawmaker was in critical condition. An aide to Giffords was killed. An unknown number of others were injured, officials said, including additional aides to the lawmaker.

Congressional officials said one of the victims died soon after the attack, and others were taken to a nearby hospital.



So far, (federal) Judge John Roll has been confirmed dead, along with Giffords' Congressional aide and possibly a nine year old child as well.

Now before I go further, let me clarify this. Seriously, I'm not blaming all Republicans for this. I have many good Republican friends and family here, and they would NEVER condone such horrifying violent acts as this.

However, there's no doubt in my mind that all the heated, radical rhetoric from the teabaggers has certainly fueled this fire for violence in this country. I just hope The Secret Service is stepping up security for President Obama, and that Harry Reid and Shelley Berkley are getting good security here in Nevada.

It doesn't help when Jesse Kelly, the "tea party" Republican who ran against Giffords last year, spoke so often of "getting on target" to "remove" Giffords from office. It doesn't help when Sarah Palin put out a "target list" showing cross hairs to identify Democrats, including Giffords, she was "targeting". Remember, "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!"?

And of course, it doesn't help when leading "tea party" politicians, such as Nevada's own Sharron Angle, turn up the heat and encourage such violence with such horrifyingly extreme rhetoric.



I'm incredibly horrified by what happened today in Southern Arizona... But sadly, I'm not all that shocked. This was bound to happen. When our political climate becomes so heated, so polarized, and so radicalized, violence is bound to result. In the next few days, I hope Gabrielle Giffords survives surgery and begins full recovery. And I hope all of our political leaders- left, right, and center- condemn this horrid, criminal, possibly terrorist act, and urge Americans not to allow our politics to become so bloody.

1 comment:

  1. Certainly not shocked, but I'm terribly saddened. I'd like to hear more about the motivations of the shooter, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that its not solely political. It may seem harsh to hope he has a deep history of violent mental illness, but at least we'd have that to blame rather than terroristic extremes brought on by the widening chasm of beliefs in this country.

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