The shooting the following January 2011 of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords by a schizophrenic gun man who was motivated in part by right wing extremist propaganda put Angle's words into sharp contrast with the reality of shooting people who we elect. The recent email complained that the person did not feel I had adequately exonerated Sharron Angle from responsibility, presumably because of the finding that Loughner was insane, too insane so far to stand trial.
While it is of course true that there is no direct link between Sharron Angle and the Giffords shooting - and I don't claim there is a direct or proximate cause between the violence advocated by Angle, and the violent act perpetrated on Gifford - I still DO very much fault the position of Angle as terribly wrong, horribly bad, as anti-American and un-patriotic. And sadly, it is still very much the attitude of the far right extremists running for political office, and in at least one recent case, IN political office. We can only hope that person might find himself back OUT of office this November.
Who is the latst Angle-like advocate for gun violence against our lawfully elected representatives in government?
Like Angle, this poster-child for bad gun culture excesses is from a southwestern state. Angle was from Nevada, this is Congressman John Sullivan, from Oklahoma. Sullivan calls his comments a joke - although he didn't appear to do so until AFTER he got blow-back from saying it, which makes his disclaimer seem a whole lot less sincere.
So for the nice man who very politely emailed me this week at the blog email - this is for you.
No, Sharron Angle clearly did NOT influence Jared Loughner, as it turned out. But that doesn't make her advocating shooting people any less objectionable. Unlike Republican member of Congress, Representative Sullivan, she never properly apologized either - and she lost, because people did NOT like her views.
So, in case there was any confusion on the subject, let me be very clear here. Advocating shooting members of Congress, either the House or the Senate, advocating shooting governors, or the President or Vice President, or hell - advocating shooting ANYBODY is just plain completely and totally UNACCEPTABLE.
It is not funny, it is not clever, it is not amusing, and it should not be done, but least of all should it be done in the context of politics and government. Because comments, including those made by right wing media that influenced the murder of Dr. Tiller, and the murder attempts by Charlie Wilson, in Washington to shoot a senator that was influenced by the right wing extremist idiot Glenn Beck, those rants, those stupid, ugly and violent admonitions --------those are not funny, and sometimes they have deadly consequences.
So, I hope our readers will be moved to oppose, criticize and condemn such speech, instead of nit picking it. Because - you SHOULD. Because people like Angle, Coburn, Sullivan, and the right wing media and blogosphere need to learn to self-regulate themselves not to make these inappropriate and unacceptable comments, and they aren't going to do so without outside help.
Frankly, if the congressman is this irresponsible in his speech, maybe he shouldn't be allowed to own a gun, due to his stupidity and poor judgment. The right are fond of stating that guns don't kill people, people kill people. The reality is that stupid and violent people WITH GUNS kill people; it's possible the congressman fits that description, because otherwise the idea wouldn't be amusing to him. Clearly, he isn't the only one who doesn't get how inappropriate and just plain wrong joking about gun violence towards our congressmen and women, and our Senators is; it appears to be endemic on the right as a problem.
And if Congressman Sullivan, and Senator Coburn don't like the way the current budgets or other legislative battles are going, maybe they should persuade their party to be less belligerant, intransigent, and obstructionist. As to Sharron Angle, she should just go seek professional help to become a nicer, saner human being than she is now as a violence advocating delusional tea party extremist.
From the Huff Po - here is the John Sullivan story:
John Sullivan, GOP Congressman, Apologizes For 'Killing' Comments
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma congressman apologized on Friday for suggesting that "killing a couple" of U.S. senators may be the only way to get a budget passed through Congress.
U.S. Rep. John Sullivan made the comments Wednesday during a town hall meeting in Bixby. When asked about federal spending, the Tulsa Republican expressed his frustration with the Senate for its failure to approve a budget.
"I'd love to get them to vote for it," Sullivan said at the event. "Boy, I'd love that, you know. But other than me going over there with a gun and pointing it to their head and maybe killing a couple of `em, I don't think they're going to listen unless they get beat."
Sullivan's comments were first posted on the political blog Talking Points Memo.
Sullivan spokesman Vaughn Jennings said Friday that the congressman was speaking off the cuff during the town hall meeting and sincerely apologized for his remarks. Jennings added that Sullivan also spoke during the event about the importance of civility in Washington.
"The congressman offers his sincere apologies to anyone he offended and for using a poor choice of words to make his point – which was that Senate Democrats are refusing to pass a budget or even vote on the 28 House-passed jobs bills," Jennings said in a statement. "Millions of Americans are hurting – the Congressman feels their pain, and does not want his comments to deflect attention away from the serious issues our country faces today, and he certainly does not condone any form of violence as a means to fix what is broken in Washington."
Jennings said the congressman has not been contacted by law enforcement about his remarks.
Sullivan's comments drew criticism from U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., a longtime proponent of stricter gun laws whose husband was killed and her son severely injured during a mass shooting on a Long Island Rail Road train in 1993.
"Mr. Sullivan's remarks show a staggering insensitivity to the families of 30-plus Americans that are killed by gunfire every single day," McCarthy said in a statement. "This kind of rhetoric helps illustrate just how hard it is to pass sensible laws to reduce gun violence in the Republican-controlled House."
The vice chairman of the Tulsa Democratic Party said Sullivan's comment "exceeds the limits of poor taste by miles," particularly in the wake of a January 2011 shooting in Arizona that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Sullivan's former colleague U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the head.
"Metaphor or not, your words suggested to the community that violence is a solution if you do not agree with an elected official's point of view," Michael Whelan wrote in a letter to Sullivan. "While the political discourse in Washington may be ugly these days, it is incumbent upon our leaders to set the example and to calm the toxic firestorms brewing within their perspective parties. Your statements poured fuel on that fire."
It's not the first time an Oklahoma lawmaker has faced criticism for remarks about guns. At a town hall meeting in Langley in August, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, in describing his frustration with Congress, said: "It's a good thing I can't pack a gun on the Senate floor."
Coburn's office quickly issued an apology on the senator's behalf, but Coburn himself told his critics to "get over it."
"Political correctness is B.S.," Coburn told The Associated Press at the time. "Tell `em to get over it. It was a joke and everybody laughed. That's all I have to say about it."
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