Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Tea Party HateMongering Leads to Threats against Congress Members


As of Wednesday Morn 3.24.10.
After at least 10 reps have received threats in recent days, including all levels of intimidation from vandalism to death threats to threats to family members and their homes.Today the House held meetings with Security Authorities.This presser was striking as the GOP did not attend or stand with their fellow members or issue a statement. And so far there has been no statements of concern or repudiation by the Republican Leaders or members. MrBoehner has consistently re-iterated that alot of "citizens" are angry, almost justifying it ?Tonight on Evening News finally the violence and ugly climate of hate is reaching Lead Story status. Newspapers and print media have been slower to cover this disturbing trend. I encourage people to read the Southern Poverty Law Center website linked to the title and get educated regarding hate activities ( especially in ones state). I encourage you read the Fighting Hate section, and the Hate Watch Blog as it is monitoring the threats to our leaders.

From the SPLC Hate Watch Blog: One of the Most Significant threats that occurred happened when a Gas line was severed at the wrong home, the home of a relative of a Rep, this could have ended with horrific results...but it also shows that the violence has been ramped up within mere days....It is critical at this time that we help protect our reps and Leaders fightng for HCR and Change...the Climate of Hate has been ramped up to a dangerous level. I think many of us that went to Town Hall Meetings last summer are not shocked...but this is a situation that has become very heated in a matter of days. Do watch for interviews with Mark Potok of the SPLC when he is on MSNBC.

BING has a link that has SPLC's Mark Potok's interviews and videos and also includes SPLC's tracking of recent Threat events. It is more thorough than Google.
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The Guardian has quick roundup of the Thuggery, that is worth reading. Print media here has just started covering ...I will post more links as I find them.
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This ABC story has more Boehner quotes that are less than rational and also details some of the events.
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On Countdown of March 24th eve Lawrence ODonnell interviewed Mark Potok of SPLC and he explains the concerning rhetoric and increased violence.(see Below)
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


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5AM FINALLY CNN has posted the regarding Congress receiving Threats ( this is the first major story on it for them). Please do read it, it also does have the Security presser-very small video in corner.But it also includes some very concerning Beck quotes-so this is a must read.

{Per CNN}Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck told his radio audience Monday that Democrats who supported the bill would be remembered as "an enemy of the republic" and "an enemy to the Constitution." But he urged viewers of his Fox News television show Wednesday to avoid violence, because "radical" supporters of the Obama administration are counting on such attacks to discredit their opposition, he said.
"Not only is it completely nuts and wrong, it's exactly what they want," Beck said. He told viewers, "They are begging for it. You are being set up."

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WHO are the TeaParty's Leaders right now ? Glen Beck ? Rush ? WHO? Or are they now listening and taking orders from Sarah Palin ? or is it Boehner ?King ? Bachman ? Dick Armey ?McCain ? WHO ? Because in just a mere matter of weeks the Repubicans are now embracing the Tea Party Mob? Pandering to the Tea Party. So we have a group of very angry uneducated citizens being ginned up with false information and a broken moral compass but steered hatemongering rhetoric. With Threats and Crosshair maps I worry what is next ? Will we awake to hear of a Night of Broken Glass. For their Hate is being targeted at an evergrowing list, DemReps and Leaders to Liberals and Progressives to people of color and different religions, gays and those that are foreign. Their hate is being honed and sharpened by the day at this point. We need a Strong vigilant media and Public willing to recognize Hate as opposed to political activism.
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This Reuters Post last night is so odd, it tries to paint the TeaParty as a legitimate Movement, that is having a difficult time orienting itself and that the Repubs are uncomfortable with them. I did not see that these past monthes, I saw the Repubs trying to figure out how to get cozy to them, how to message them , and how to embrace them and their seething anger. And it actually started with the McCain campaign and hte Summer of 2008, and the Summer of 2009 it was stoked by the GOP over the recess.What I think many Americans are seeing is The Republican Party of NO embracing the Tea party anger and hate and making that their new platform.
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WHO says What right now is important, this includes ALL leaders, Media and Pundits, in this climate rhetoric can be inciting violence and hate that can lead to a very heated dangerous situation. This situation is not going to go away, but for dems and liberals that have fought so long for better healthcare we are at a Critical Moment in our History.

4 comments:

DeMoss said...

Unfortunately, I think the Republican party has always embraced the type of people that hate.

Kittie Howard said...

History has shown it's never good to manufacture anger or capitalize upon anger for a paticular person or party's initial gain. Boehner is a younger Cheney but with a salon suntan. Boehner has the power to reign in what is not a grass roots movement but raw anger pitted against the government for personal failures, either real or perceived, mostly the latter, I think. Sarah Palin is a stree-wise opportunist who will ride this anger as far as she can, then jump on the next wave of whatever. The nastiness going on now is historically scary.

Fran said...

Adding fuel to this fire is the Queen of Teabaggers- Palin.... using such not-at-all subtle verbiage such as "Don't retreat - instead reload".

Just to make sure that is not ambiguous, she adds a (gun) crosshairs graphic & addresses.

If that is not inciting violence, then what is really?

She could just as easily be saying-- come on, we need to unite & vote these people out of office-- but instead uses gun/ammunition terminology.... then says calling this a call to violence is just a fabrication?

The whole example you posted about Beck is the same thing. They use their words to whip up a violent frenzy & it is premeditated.
They know they have gun happy people in their ranks & Palin is one of them.

It is a threat & invitation to violence all in one.

If Palin were doing this in the Bush2 regime, her ass would already be in jail, labeled as a domestic terrorist.

Just like they did during the presidential campaign, Palin needs to be publicly called out on this as *crossing the line*.

The fact that Palin is even still in the national spotlight is disturbing enough. Although they say the teabagger movement will only serve to weaken the GOP.

Divided they fall-- which is good news, but Palin & Beck need to be called out on this violence inviting rampage.

Personally, I felt outraged when the Abu Ghraib & torture info came out.
But even then-- it was due process I wanted- Bush & his cronies impeached & prosecuted.
None of that murderous torture stuff set off these people.... only having health care to help people invokes this level of disgust?

I really don't get it.

tom said...

Of course there will be violence, it will escalate to another right wing outrage like Oklahoma City, and the righties will puff their chests and say they are patriots, and the gov't will have to crack down on these .... what to call them right wing sociopathic murderers....but the core of the problem is that these folk are fundamentally not educated or socialized, they have kept themselves apart from the larger societe, listening to the right wing hate machine, all we have to do is to go to a right wing site to see the total crazy hate going on there....they are dangerous people