Letter to the Editor: Terrifying
BY Ginny Webster, Broken Arrow
Saturday, May 19, 2012
5/19/12 at 3:10 AM
After the near-fatal shooting in Arizona of U.S. Rep. Gabbie Giffords, and the deaths of several of her constituents (including a child) - possibly the result of Sarah Palin's bull's-eye, or Sharon Ingle's call for Second Amendment "remedies" - one would think "tea party" types would use more care with their language, especially if it could possibly incite a violent reaction by some unstable individual, who takes its meaning literally.
This violent rhetoric by members of the tea party has gone from being outrageous, to being calculated, deliberate and downright terrifying. In fact, tea party rhetoric has become so incendiary and dangerous that the Capitol Police had to assign extra security officers to Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, after a tea party activist told a tea party rally that: "We have to kill the Claire Bear, ladies and gentlemen."
As if this violent talk weren't enough, none of McCaskill's tea party-endorsed opponents who were at the rally condemned the remarks - and the campaign's spokesman actually applauded the dangerous statement. So far, only one of three of McCaskill's right-wing opponents has spoken out about the threatening language used against her.
Surely, on this single issue, all Americans could agree and stand together, and with one voice, condemn the type of extreme, hate-filled, political rhetoric used by the tea party, and demand that anyone using political rhetoric, which has the potential of provoking violence, be held accountable under the law for any violent acts that occur as a result of those words.
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