Senate Minority Whip Eric Cantor is right. After all these acts of political violence against Democrats should be kept quiet and not discussed. It’s the Democrats own fault they are occurring because they keep talking about them. Here’s his statement:
Just recently I have been directly threatened. A bullet was shot through the window of my campaign office in Richmond this week. And I received threatening emails. But I will not release them, because I believe such actions will only encourage more to be sent.Legitimate threats should be treated as security issues and they should be dealt with by the appropriate law enforcement officials. It is reckless to use these incidents as media vehicles for political gain.
That is why I have deep concerns that some — DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen, and DNC chairman Tim Kaine in particular — are dangerously fanning the flames by suggesting that these incidents be used as a political weapon. Security threats against members of Congress is not a partisan issue and they should never be treated that way. To use such threats as political weapons is reprehensible.
(Video HERE.)
See? If Democrats would only stay quiet about these attacks, they wouldn’t get them in the first place.
For example, Congressman Anthony Weiner received a package of white powder at his office yesterday. Maybe it was sugar. Maybe it was anthrax. But did he keep quiet about it? No, he did not. He talked about it.
Earlier today an envelope containing white powder and a threatening letter was delivered to my community office in Kew Gardens. The NYPD was immediately alerted and have responded appropriately by sending a Haz-Mat team,” the statement read. “My first priority is the safety of my staff and neighbors, and the authorities are currently taking steps to investigate and resolve the situation.”
See what I’m saying here? How can we expect to dial this back with hysterical rhetoric like that???
Or how about Congressman Tom Perriello? His brother’s address was posted on several Facebook pages by ordinary citizens who made the simple mistake of thinking it was his address. Then a gas line to his brother’s house was deliberately cut. Did Congressman Perriello stay quiet? No, he did not. You won’t believe what he said:
Some bloggers posted my brother’s address as being mine and someone went on his property and cut a propane line to the tank. It is being investigated and I feel like law enforcement is doing a tremendous job. I feel that this should be a no-brainer. This should be very simple to say that, in this country, the most American thing is that we settle our problems at the ballot box. I tell you, the Republican governor of my state and the Republican Attorney General, they didn’t hesitate, they didn’t run a focus group or a poll, they simply said ‘this is wrong, this is way over the line.’
Incendiary and inflammatory language designed to incite more of the same threats and violence. How on earth can Democrats expect the flames of violence to be tamped down if they run around throwing gas on the fire like this?
The GOP, for their part, clearly had nothing to do with any of this. When John Boehner said about Ohio Democrat Steve Driehaus that “He may be a dead man. He can’t go home to the west side of Cincinnati” a couple of weeks ago, he was simply giving a fellow Congressman some friendly advice.
And let’s face it: If Congressman Weiner had just not voted for that legislation in the first place and had listened to GOP leadership’s warnings about “Armageddon“, about voters putting Democrats in “the crosshairs” and “on the firing line” and “reloading not retreating” and on and on, none of this would have ever happened.
It’s their own fault and, as Eric Cantor so eloquently put it, it is reprehensible for them to be mentioning the acts in public for political gain. I can’t believe they would even consider it. Shame on you, Democrats. Shame. On. YOU.
I’m just sayin’…
