I’m still angry after last week’s events at the Capitol. I mourn for Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries inflicted by rioters, and worry about the morale and safety of his fellow officers. My concerns continue for the safety of my colleagues, staff and members of the press who work in Washington. President Trump should have denounced the attack unequivocally as it was taking place.

What happened last Wednesday went well beyond any candidate’s legal right to contest an election and is another glaring sign that public discourse has gotten out of control. With only days to go until President-elect Biden’s inauguration, our national temperature is far too high. A powder keg had been smoldering long before Wednesday’s events. For the sake of our country, politicians and media figures—of both parties—have to tone down their rhetoric.

In 2017, I was shot on a baseball field by a politically motivated gunman. The deranged shooter was heavily influenced by the demonization of congressional Republicans by some Democratic politicians, whose statements were amplified by the mainstream media. In the aftermath of my shooting, I made a conscious decision not to hold anybody but the gunman responsible for that day’s events.

It would, however, be naive to think the shooter arrived at his decision in a vacuum. It would be equally naive to think that the Capitol rioters arrived at their decisions in a void. Violent rhetoric helps radicalize people. Republicans and Democrats alike must have the moral clarity to call this language out whenever it is spoken, not only when it comes from the other side of the political aisle.



True... true... 😟

Did a dem President blatantly lie to the masses, encourage them to gather, then unleash them on the baseball diamond.

If so true true. If not deflection. He should have been out front telling trump to stop and toning down the rhetoric then not complaining about consequences now.

The prez says repeatedly the election was stolen and he won in a landslide. He encourages folks to show up in dc when the electoral college was being certified, whoops up the crowd and sends them to the capital after he and his fellow speakers encouraged aggressive actions.

I don’t explain it as well as the articles of impeachment. Read them. 2-3 pages. Pretty clear and hard to continually justify or deflect from.

And it’s starting to look worse as more info is available. It was ugly and blatant no matter what his cult members want you to think. This was an insurgency and there will be growing charges of insurrection and seditious conspiracy. We just lived through a failed insurrection that will forever be a major part of our history.

And trump is an extreme disgrace and anything but a patriot.

Other than that Trump is the bestest.

So, it was ok fot the dude to shoot Scalise and potentially many more ..?? 😕

Nope. Both bad but not the same. Either or is a deflection.

nope. not ok for an insane person to react to hyper tensions between parties.
same as the pizza guy.

lots of people shot that have nothing to do with destroying democracy like this week though.

They (not singular) attacked the god damn capital trying to stop the transfer of power. They were doing so after being fed lies by trump, encouraged to gather and then sending them to capital hill to do whatever they had to do.

If you see no difference so be it. I never want a president to pull that **** again. Either party. Unfortunately this time it’s my party.

I wasn’t for impeachment etc. now if he goes to jail I’d probably not be opposed as I was before. The dude is bad news and a complete disgrace. I think he is a traitor.

You're denying the liberal media influence while condemning Trump's... both were bad but you're ignoring the liberal media and liberal politicians comments and influence... not defending Trump...😟

No I’m not. I never denied any liberal media influence nor said anything was ok. I just recognize the situations can both be wrong yet different.

Everyone needs to turn things down.

However this was an insurrection developed by and encouraged by the potus. It’s not the same. It’s not close to the same and it’s not over.

Continuing to go back to something you feel the other side did that is no way an equivalence is defending trump. This is indefensible and a stain on our history. A trump stain. He is a traitor.

not defending, deflecting.
media did not have democracy attacked.
This is for realz.

What I found funny by the idiots defending him in Congress today is the folks railing against censorship and 1st amendment while doing so in the well of the house on every network lol. That and offering censure as an alternative to impeachment in the next breath. You can’t make this up.

All I did was post a quote by a victim of politicaly motivatied attempted assassination of not just himself but many others... not trying to say one is worse than the other... 😟

If it makes you feel better drafter hitler was arrested after his failed beer putsch but was able to keep his rhetoric alive and indeed gained momentum in jail and was able to rise and do a more complete job later with the help of folks either being scared or justifying what he did in real time then claiming they had no idea later.

There is still hope!

That victim truly was a victim and rightfully mad about the rhetorics role in his terrible situation.

His words today conflate things and appear to be using his victim hood as a tool to deflect from recent events.

If he’s using it to say everyone from here on out needs to knock it off respect from me. If he’s using it fir another get out of jail free card for trump eff him. I think that’s what he’s doing. Flexing his victim hood for political leverage. He is a master politician.

Fine, I'll email him and tell him to stfu... 😟

Folks throwing antifa out there like many house folks did today is also sick deflection.

The BLM thing and antifa is an issue. We need not ignore it.

But they are not the issue here. How can we address the issue if instead of doing so we need to look at something else.

If antifa is a threat to take over the capital and or kidnap or kill our officials or do whatever else they can to stop the transfer of power then we should focus on them at this moment.

If they attacked the capital a week ago we need to go after them. If they might do so tomorrow thus we have national guard there now we need to focus on them.

If it’s some other group we prolly should focus on that group rather than the shiny object in the distance.

And that does not mean stop working through the BLM antifa issues which have terribly wrong elements of their own.

Drafter you should. He doesn’t deserve violence or anything directed at him but he is a pure politician using those events in a wrong way in my opinion.

Reminds me of the SNL character played by Michael Myers working with Aerosmith. He had a nasty droopy eye and everyone he was wrong or he was called on something he blamed the eye.

You wouldn’t talk to me like this if I wasn’t in a wheelchair.

Well, there’s no walking away from that...

What do you call a teedubbya with no arms or legs

An ugly dumb fat ass just like you do with arms and legs.

I get it.. all Democrats including Antifas good.. all Republican deplorables bad... 😟