They say the "right things," then double down on hostility and violence again.

[Sparkly]

How many decades do we have to abide this hatred before voters wake up? Oh sorry, "wake" is the past-tense of "woke" and suddenly, it's better to keep eyes closed and stay asleep!

Sensible gun laws have been an issue since Stinky and I went to the Million Mom March 25 years ago, and how much worse the massacres have become since then.

Right-wingers used to call themselves the "party of personal responsibility," but they don't take responsibility for their WORDS and the ACTIONS they inspire in crazy people with guns, nor do they take responsibility for weak gun laws or their ridiculous, cartoonish mythology around machismo and manly "strength."

Gabrielle Giffords SAID that the words and crosshair imagery being put out by the likes of Sarah Palin could lead to violence, and then she was sadly proven right. How could "W" have possibly have won an election in 2004? With a convention of lies and people saying that John Kerry "pals around with terrorists" like the ones that attacked us on 9/11!! That foments hatred.

Then it was rumors that Democrats kill and eat babies, run child pornography rings, encourage illegal immigration to pad our voter rolls, steal "hard-working Americans'" money, and are generally incompetent "others" who don't deserve whatever we are or have (especially if we aren't white Christian men).

And now, this. Fear leader said the murders in Minnesota were awful. Then he said he wasn't sure if he'd call Tim Walz, and that Walz is a terrible governor, and very incompetent. Next, a former Vikings football player made waves on rightwing nooz by blaming Walz, saying he wasn't sufficiently "masculine." And here we go again!!! They want to "investigate" Newsom and Bass, for what?!?

They don't look at their words. They don't look at the people who perpetrate political assassinations. They don't look at the "macho" means they use. (I hope somehow, someday, we raise a new generation of "Flower Children" who sing songs about Peace and Love, because that would piss them off more than anything!!)

Thanks for letting me rant!

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Yes, they abuse the dialogue to make it shape their political agenda

and don't worry about the optics, morals, tactics, or consequences. The ends justify the means. Is that what you said?

[Sparkly]

4. From Newt Gingrich to Karl Rove to Stephen Miller... yes.

It's only become worse, even as it's become more frighteningly successful among some (rural, white, male) voters, and the violence it instigates has become more extreme. It's increasingly leaning into political terrorism.

[CrispyQ]

2. The first thing that came to mind when I heard about the Democrats shot yesterday,

was the young man at the Charlie Kirk event asking, "When can we use the guns?" He was talking about using them on us, on democrats, on people he/they disagree with.

[Sparkly]

5. Wow

I hadn't heard that. But yes, I just wrote above that the violence is becoming increasingly about political terrorism, as some had predicted.

[CrispyQ]

6. I googled it to verify it was at a Kirk event.

They have so many assholes it's hard to keep them straight.

AI Overview

An audience member at a Charlie Kirk event in Boise, Idaho, in October 2021 asked, "When do we get to use the guns?" and "How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?". Kirk reportedly condemned the comment but showed sympathy for the sentiment, stating it was an attempt to provoke a violent reaction to justify a takeover of freedoms and liberties.

[Sparkly]

7. Classic projection!

Yet more reasons I'm so happy for the peaceful protests all around the country yesterday. I believe the other side was anticipating violence, for no reason.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Sparkly, you are so much more thoughtful and eloquent than your sailor-vocabularied old man

[stillcool]

8. Poison the airwaves

hell...poison the frigging air. The dialogue in this country is lethal.