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

[OregonBlue]

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."

more.....

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

[Lint Head]

1. Distance all you like lady. Your continued RETHORIC is directly

responsible for this shooting.

[tabasco]

2. Oh! The poor weepy-eyed tea partiers!

They're sad alright. Sad excuses for human beings.

[denem]

3. I didn't hear anything that concerned me in terms of inciting violence"

Concerned? I welcome it.

[eleny]

4. At the risk of losing any sane members you have left, Miller

How many people, especially the many oldsters in the TP, are going to want to be associated with the hateful rhetoric that results in tragedies like today where a child has been murdered.

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. F*ck you Allyson Miller ans your crocodile tears.

You own this one.

[handmade34]

6. so far removed from reality... n/t

[OregonBlue]

7. Even the death of a 9 year old girl won't cause these people to examine their methods.

They truly are scum.

[Ohio Joe]

8. Let them know what you think about that

http://www.tucsonteaparty.org/p/contact-ttp.html

[OregonBlue]

10. Thanks, I did and it wasn't nice.

[Ohio Joe]

12. yeah, I was not very pleasent either - nt

[Stinky The Clown]

9. This is the mindset we're up against.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. They're terrorists!

[WCGreen]

13. It's not about freedom of speech..

It's all about responsible speech...