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

[democracy1st]

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."

The race she's referring to was between Giffords and Jesse Kelly, a tea party-backed Republican, who held one event in June that said "Get on Target for Victory in November Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."

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

[Taverner]

1. Allysonm, with all due respect, GO FUCK YOURSELF!

[Lint Head]

2. Hey! Allyson Miller. Your socalled rhetoric is directly responsible

for this shooting.

[Kingofalldems]

3. I guarantee Pigboy Limbaugh & Co. will be all defiant on Monday

[petronius]

4. If so many people are jumping to such a horrible conclusion about her peers,

you'd think she'd want to know why (as if she doesn't already)...

[demosincebirth]

5. Genuine asshole

[Tsiyu]

6. If a Muslim or Mexican did this shit in Tucson

you can bet Miss FirstAmendmentPants Miller would be screaming TERRORISM at the top of her nasty Teabagging lungs.

This was an act of terrorism, done by a young American jihadist, unstable as are those in the Mideast who fall for this solution, egged on by the likes of Miller and her "Right to inflame assassination among the unstable and right to do anything we want to win elections."

Fuck you, Miller. You people appeal to the lowest common denominator. You incite violence. Don't back away like a coward now. You like First Amendment Remedies? A nine year old child is dead from that remedy.

Stand up like a woman and admit you've got nothing but hatred behind your motives, you teabagging piece of shit.

You people are terrorists in my book. nothing more.

[RegieRocker]

7. Imbecile or a liar.

[Dawson Leery]

8. You teaparty kooks have been using very dangerous metaphores.

It should be obvious as to what Jesse Kelly was implying with his M16 target practice during a fundraiser.