Tea Party Activism at its Finest

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Tudamorf
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Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Tudamorf »

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 222S57.DTL
Arizona Rep. Giffords shot, at least 5 killed

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing at least five people and wounding several others in a rampage that rattled the nation.

Giffords was among at least 10 people wounded, and the hospital said her outlook was "optimistic" and that she was responding to commands from doctors despite having a bullet go through her head. The hospital said a 9-year-old child was among the dead, and a U.S. Marshal said a federal judge was also fatally shot in the attack.
Giffords has drawn the ire of the right in the last year, especially from politicians like Sarah Palin over her support of the health care bill.

Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House voted to approve the health care law in March, with someone either kicking or shooting out a glass door and window. In an interview after the vandalism, Giffords referred to the animosity against her by conservatives. Palin listed Giffords' seat as one of the top "targets" in the midterm elections because of the lawmakers' support for the health care law.

"For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize that there are consequences to that action," Giffords said in an interview with MSNBC.
A San Francisco man upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's support of health care reform pleaded guilty to threatening the Democratic congresswoman and her family, calling her directly on March 25 and threatening to destroy her Northern California home if she voted for health care reform.

In July, a California man known for his anger over left-leaning politics engaged in a shootout with highway patrol officers after planning an attack on the ACLU and another nonprofit group. The man said he wanted to "start a revolution" by killing people at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation.

During the his campaign effort to unseat Giffords in November, Republican challenger Jesse Kelly held fundraisers where he urged supporters to help remove Giffords from office by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle. Kelly is a former Marine who served in Iraq and was pictured on his website in military gear holding his automatic weapon and promoting the event.
I'm a big supporter of free speech, but when you intentionally radicalize your followers using hate and fear and incite violence, you've crossed the line.

These tea party types are creating a new breed of homegrown terrorists that are far more dangerous than the so-called terrorists they claim we should be worried about.

Maybe it's time to label these people for what they are, a terrorist organization, and treat them accordingly.
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Zute
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Zute »

Yeah, pretty danged scary. I hope the Tea Party tones it down. It's the talking heads like that Beck dude I think are the worst of it.
Formerly known as Panamah
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Klath
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Klath »

Here's a timeline of political violence and violent rhetoric over the last couple of years. It's an impressive list.

http://www.csgv.org/issues-and-campaign ... n-timeline
Fyyr
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Fyyr »

Klath wrote:Here's a timeline of political violence and violent rhetoric over the last couple of years. It's an impressive list.

http://www.csgv.org/issues-and-campaign ... n-timeline
From your link.

"On June 26, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court embraced the National Rifle Association's contention that the Second Amendment provides individuals with the right to take violent action against our government should it become "tyrannical." The following timeline catalogues incidents of insurrectionist violence (or the promotion of such violence) that have occurred since that decision was issued:"

It is not the NRA's contention.

It is the Founder's contention. It's explicitly in the Declaration of Independence, and implicitly in the Constitution. Has nothing to do with the NRA.
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Klath
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Klath »

Anyone who thinks that our government has become tyrannical is retarded and/or insane. Seriously, you'd have to be spectacularly stupid to think that now is the time for "2nd amendment remedies."

I'm actually embarrassed for the Tea Party folks. The way they were used by the Republicans and their corporate benefactors would be humiliating to anyone with the brains to realize how they'd been played.
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Tudamorf
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Tudamorf »

Klath wrote:Anyone who thinks that our government has become tyrannical is retarded and/or insane.
That's the typical tea party member profile, in case you haven't noticed.
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Klath
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Klath »

Fearing tea party violence, four Arizona Republicans resign
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/fear ... ns-resign/

By David Edwards
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

Fearing violence from tea party activists, Arizona Legislative District 20 Republican Chairman Anthony Miller and several others tendered their resignation this week following mass shootings that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition.

Miller, a 43-year-old former campaign worker for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), said that verbal attacks and blog posts from members of the tea party had him fearing for the safety of his family, according to a report in The Arizona Republic.

[More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/fear ... ns-resign/]
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Tudamorf
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Tudamorf »

Klath wrote:Fearing tea party violence, four Arizona Republicans resign
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/fear ... ns-resign/
And THAT is terrorism. Using fear as a weapon to effect political change that you couldn't otherwise make.

Finally there is a productive use for all these ridiculous anti-terrorism laws we've been enacting.
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Tudamorf
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by Tudamorf »

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... .DTL&tsp=1
Palin: Journalists incite hatred after AZ shooting

Sarah Palin posted a nearly eight-minute video on her Facebook page early Wednesday, accusing journalists and pundits of inciting hatred and violence in the wake of a deadly Arizona shooting that gravely wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Last spring, Palin targeted Giffords' district as one of 20 that should be taken back. Palin has been criticized for marking each district with the cross hairs of a gun sight.

In the video, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate said vigorous debates are a cherished tradition. But she said after the election, both sides find common ground, even though they disagree.

"But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible," she said.

Sometimes I wonder whether Sarah Palin lives on the same planet that I do.

The hatred and violence is entirely one-sided here. I don't see Democrats plotting terrorist attacks against tea party members, or the "liberal media" calling their members to arms.

Blood libel was false. This is true.
GunnyBurlfoot
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Re: Tea Party Activism at its Finest

Post by GunnyBurlfoot »

Truth?

Regardless of whatever vitriol you are referring to or Palin is referring to, both are irrelevant. The nut that shot Rep. Giffords didn't watch the news. He was every bit as mentally stable as Hinckley.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... rape/print

If you don't believe that, you can always check out his page on Youtube and watch his videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10#p/u
Deranged does not begin to describe him.

However, as fragile as his poor, unemployed, drunk, stoned, rage-filled, nihilistic, rejected, sexually frustrated psyche was/is, it was not influenced by the media pundits, according to someone who knew him.
Regarding the high-pitched talk radio and cable news political rhetoric, Osler says his friend didn’t even watch the news.

He did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn’t listen to political radio. He didn’t take sides. He wasn’t on the left. He wasn’t on the right.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/jar ... ews_b48040

He is mentally unbalanced and should not be walking free. It is a tragedy that it took this awful event to get him away from society for all time.
In 20/20 hindsight, I bet Palin is fervently wishing that she never ok'd that campaign district ad.
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