While one wants to believe public shows of unity in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (Rep – LA) are genuine, the reaction of many so-called progressives makes that difficult.
James T. Hodgkinson, an avid Bernie Sanders supporter (and former campaign volunteer), targeted participants in an Alexandria, Virginia softball game for one reason and one reason only – he wanted to kill as many Republicans as possible.
It is sometimes said that conservatives think liberals are wrong but liberals think conservatives are evil. Some liberals, for example, are prone to say that Republicans back certain economic policies because they hate poor people or they were against Obamacare because they want minority children or the elderly to die.
The truth is that many liberal commentators and politicians couldn’t wait to turn the shooting of Scalise into a political soapbox. While the Louisiana Representative fought for his life, the Tweets had already begun:
- Sending Steve Scalise the same empty ‘thoughts and prayers’ he offers gun victims while taking tens of thousands of dollars from the #NRA.
- Scalise took over $7000 from the @NRA last election cycle. I hope he’s ok and that this event changes his mind on gun control.
- Thoughts and prayers to Steve Scalise who accepted $18,500 from the NRA and wants more guns on the streets.
But it wasn’t just loners living in their parent’s basement who hurried to place blame and bolster their own opinion.
Democratic Virginia Governor and potential presidential candidate in 2020, Terry McAuliffe was on the airwaves in less than an hour showing his true colors. In an interview that began with him saying the day was not about gun control he told reporters:
“I have long advocated — this is not what today is about — but there are too many guns on the streets. I have long talked about this — background checks and shutting down gun show loopholes. And that’s not for today’s discussion, but it’s not just about politicians. We worry about this every day for all of our citizens.”
Many liberals and more than one #neverTrumper went so far as to blame the actions of an obviously mentally imbalanced man on the president.
Representative Mark Sanford (Rep. – SC) said President Donald Trump was “partially” to blame for the hostile rhetoric in America that led to Wednesday’s shooting of the House Majority Whip and several others at the congressional baseball practice.
Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe he said, “I would argue that the president has unleashed, partially, again not in any way totally, but partially to blame for the demons that have been unleashed …. The fact that you’ve got the top guy saying, ‘I wish I can hit you in the face, if not why don’t you and I’ll pay your legal fees.’ That’s bizarre. We ought to call it as such.”
The congressman pointed to a recent change he has seen in local town hall meetings that shows a growing hostility. “I was at a town hall meeting — it was at a senior center, at a retirement center — and what took place in terms of what people were saying to each other was like out of a movie, and so we’ve got to find a way to dial this back.”
Sanford failed to add that most the unrest at town hall meetings has not been caused by loyal Republican voters but rather by obvious Sanders and Clinton plants.
Representative Chris Collins (Rep. – NY) told WBEN Radio, “I can only hope that the Democrats do tone down the rhetoric.” He then reflected what many conservatives and other right-thinking people feel when he added:
“The rhetoric has been outrageous – the finger-pointing, just the tone and the angst and the anger directed at Donald Trump, his supporters. Really, then, you know, some people react to things like that. They get angry as well. And then you fuel the fires.”
Much of the mainstream media in the days following the shooting has been filled with pundits who seem to delight in pointing out that Scalise is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Some seem in a mad rush in beat each other to the punch in blaming Scalise’s own political stances for his misfortune and that should come as no surprise.
Conservatives point out the way Democrat policies hurt the people they are supposed to help but liberals seem to be the ones who gloat when someone suffers grievous bodily injury or faces death.
~ American Liberty Report
