Gabrielle Giffords Talks To MSNBC In 2010 About Threats Against Her
Submitted solely for your consideration without commentary, here is video of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords speaking to Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie about threats against her related to the health care reform debate:
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Giffords was not alone, of course, in being the target of violence or threats during last years Congressional debates over health care reform. In the wake of the vote itself, at least ten Democratic Congressmen reported receiving death threats, including Bart Stupak who engineered the final abortion-related compromise that helped ensure passage. There were also threats made against Republicans like Eric Cantor and Jean Schmitt, as well as Democratic Senator Patty Murray
Worth watching. All told I think she was pretty even handed, and of course correct that the rhetoric should be turned down.
If Guthrie and Todd don’t feel like a couple of shameful enablers to this tragedy for making light of the worries about Palin’s and other right-wingers’ hatefully over the top rhetoric — which turned out to be an actual incitement to homicidal violence — they should.
The violence against Democrats had already started back at the time of their interview with Giffords, and by helping designate it as a kind of “silly” fear and nothing to worry about, they helped allow the escalation which had one tragic end in the shooting of 18 people and the death of 6 and grievous injury to Gabrielle Giffords and injuries of varying severity to 12 other people.
It’s NOT okay to yell “Fire,” in a crowded theater and, by the very same token, it’s NOT okay to call for the elimination of political opponents by use of firearms or other weapons.