Tucson Tea Party Leader: We Won't Change Our Rhetoric After Giffords Shooting

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

A leader of a Tucson-area tea party group condemned the mass shooting in Arizona that included Rep. Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ), but told TPM that this doesn't mean her group is going to tone down their rhetoric: "I think anytime you start suppressing freedom of speech, I think it's wrong. I live here and I didn't hear anything that concerned me in terms of inciting violence."

Allyson Miller, a founder of the 500-member Pima County Tea Party Patriots, told TPM in an interview today that the members of her group, as well as the entire city of Tucson, were "deeply saddened" by the events of today and said "there is no place for violence" in political debate.

"This is outrageous," she said.

Miller was quick to distance her group from the shooting and said that she felt she had to go on the defensive after news of the tragedy began to spread. "I did feel, you know, very like 'why are they jumping to this conclusion before they even knew the person's name?' They're jumping to this conclusion that it has to do with the hotly contested Congressional race," she said. "Well, apparently, from what I've seen so far...it's looking like that's not the case."

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/tucson-tea-party-leader-we-wont-change-our-rhetoric-after-gifford-shooting.php

[baldguy]

1. They have no shame.

[DeSwiss]

4. No. Of course not.

Because shame requires that one be self-aware.

- K&R

[Ilsa]

2. Maybe the people will turn their backs on the tea party. I can only hope. nt

[Kurovski]

8. They are a VERY small #, pushed out of proportion and further confused by sub-groups.

It's all manufactured bullshit used to round-up anger. They're all led by the nose by Koch brothers and other corporate interests.

Edit: I hope so too. It depends on wether it's all reported or we get all that false equivalancy crap from media.

[Trajan]

37. Good point .... and good reason to NOT shut up about the connection ...

People will turn away, at least, the marginally moderate types who do not want to be associated with a murderous bunch of thugs ....

The die is already cast - The Tea Party will lose membership with this .... I cannot imagine them benefiting from this turn of events ....

[MadMaddie]

3. They should be on the "Terrorist Watch List"

That's right, if this were a Muslim, Black, Woman's group or Liberal group that participated in this violent rhetoric they would be on the list. There are consequences to this type of behavior.

[malletgirl02]

16. DHS

The Department of Homeland Security did put out a report that we needed to be on the look out for rightwing domestic terrorist groups. As we seen heard it went unheeded and didn't do much good, but it was out there.

[jers]

36. This blog should join the list

This blog has an image that scares me!
It has a Poll on it so I hope the admins won't delete it. I feel it's a threat!!

<http://ronbosoldier.blogspot.com/2011/01/guns-of-revolution-fire-in-arizona.html

[Odin2005]

5. Terrorists.

[tridim]

6. Confirmation that teabaggers are idiots. nt

[Imagevision]

23. Confirmation that teabaggers are illiterates...

[Doctor_J]

7. Sadly, stopping this kind of stuff

is going to fall to us, the regular people.

As long as hate radio and Cable "News" continue as they are, with no repercussions, this kind of "tragedy" will continue to occur.

[tridim]

9. We need to make sure there are repercussions.

The media isn't going to punish itself.

[glinda]

10. They will not stop. If Obama sings Kombaya over this he will shoulder some of the blame for

more violence to come. Personally, I believe he has failed in allowing this to go this far. He is running after Wikileaks and Whistle-blowers that reveal crimes against humanity that we are guilty of but allows this to go on.

[William769]

11. Shoots self in foot.

[Xipe Totec]

12. Their sudden concern for the first amendment leaves me speechless nt

[Endangered Specie]

13. Wonder why they would be "defending themselves" so early???

Maybe they know something we don't (yet) about the shooter?

If the guy is one of them, the FBI needs to be crawling up their ass by morning!

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Democat]

15. What does the Tucson Tea Party know about the shooter that we don't?

Do they have his information on file?

[progressivebydesign]

17. Here's the thing.. the violent rhetoric is ALL on one side.

Just saw another of the numerous stories tonight about the "angry rhetoric" in politics. Well, the thing is.. it's ALL on the side of the republicans and libertarians. They are the ones doing this. And the typical media response is to somehow make it seem like "well, they're ALL doing it" and that's wrong. It's one side, one TV station, and they're wrong. All I can hope is that some reasonable people on the other side will look into their hearts and realize it's time to pull it back. John Stewart was right... we gotta stop this. But it's not up to the Democrats to do this. WE don't own the airwaves, the repubs do. We don't own the shadowy industry groups that are fronting for the NRA and insurance industry that have promoted this death before defeat mentality.

It has to stop.

[alp227]

21. come to think about it, the violent far-left rhetoric hasn't really made the mainstream

in the Democratic side, while the Republican Party has no issue really with Sarah Palin's "target map" and G. Gordon Liddy saying "shoot ATF agents in the head" and the non-stop vitriol of right-wing radio. Does the mainstream left in America really embrace the violent vitriol of let's say the Nation of Islam, Communist Party USA, other leftist groups? Doubt it.

[DBoon]

28. more like completely marginalized

the violent left wing groups are so small and so thoroughly discredited by the rest of us that they basically don't exist

An even the angriest left-wing anarchists have not attempted murder

[alp227]

34. in 1983 the US Senate was bombed

by two leftist terrorists, Linda Sue Evans and Laura Whitehorn; Whitehorn was released in 1999 after 15 years, and Evans left office when GWB became president because Clinton commuted her 40-year sentence. They were only convicted in federal court (by a Democratic-appointed judge BTW) of conspiracy and malicious destruction (not attempted murder) after plea deal. Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd's (a Democrat) office and a portrait of Daniel Webster got damaged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_United_States_Senate_bombing

[DBoon]

35. if that is the best example

then my point is proven

[DinahMoeHum]

18. Maybe the teabaggers would be singing a different song

if one of their own kind "bought the farm" because of their own rhetoric.

[SoapBox]

19. If you won't change then you need to be put out of business.

These Radicalized Terrorists need to be shut down.

Let's compare...Acorn or the Right Wing Radical Terrorists?

Which should be the one out of business?

[Imagevision]

20. Dems need to put there foot on their faces like t-partiers did to that 21 year old girl

[countmyvote4real]

25. No. Not even metaphorically. How would that make us any different from them?

Instead, we use the law and our Constitution to settle the score. Some public opinion would be helpful, but not a foot on a face.

[David__77]

22. Well they can own their Tea Party shootings.

Tea Party murders, indeed.

[on point]

24. Fostering Delusional Thinking and Inciting Hate Is their fault

[xchrom]

26. Of course you're not going to stop. Because then

People would stop killing elected democratic lawmakers.

[panzerfaust]

27. Because It's Working

[and-justice-for-all]

29. That is because they are the Amerikan Taliban...nt

[fascisthunter]

30. Then you will be held responsible... sick fanatical bastards

[mbperrin]

31. "I think anytime you start suppressing freedom of speech, I think it's wrong. "

Well, okay, then. Here's my freedom of speech, which should not be suppressed, at your invitation:

I hope you get everything you deserve and painfully, very soon..

How's that?

[Rex]

32. Why would they? They believe in a violent overthrow of our fed govt!

Terrorists by any other name.

[newspeak]

33. hasn't Giffords had threats before this incident?

Now who could have possibly incited their sheep to induce threats? And Ms. Giffords is a blue dog, not a progressive--have the Arizona teabaggers gone so around the bend, they can't even distinguish a conservative democrat from a (gasp) liberal?

I was raised in Arizona, and I can't fathom how totally fekked up that state has become. Gov. Brewer and the teabaggers don't have to worry about death panels, they're doing a bang up job of creating them-of course, the health insurance panels, some I already considered death panels. Clueless, totally selfishly clueless!!!

[demosincebirth]

38. That says a mouthful.

[Zoeisright]

39. Well, then I guess we'll have to change it for you, you fucking murderer.

Blood all over those assholes.