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Rep. Baldwin Calls For Responsibility For Words Used In Wake Of AZ Shooting, Violent Campaign Season

01/12/11-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
It was in 2010 that the offices of Representative Gabrielle Giffords were attacked and vandalized by a person from the Right Wing who took credit for those attacks. Former Alabama Constitutional Militia leader and Right Wing blogger Mike Vanderboegh not only took credit for the vandalism, but pushed for it to happen. Several offices were hit during that attack. Over this past summer, Representative Tammy Baldwin was the focus of a group of people who supported her opponent in the 2010 election that were trying to force her home address into the open in order to intimidate her. LezGetReal was at the center of that dispute.

Representative Baldwin is the only openly lesbian member of Congress, and one of only four openly lesbian or gay people to serve in the House of Representatives. It is well known, though not official, that Senator Mark Kirk is gay. He has, so far, refused to come out of the closet though he is a frequent visitor to DC’s gay bars where he is “searching for the next Mrs. Kirk”.

Representative Baldwin issued the following regarding the assassination attempt against Gabrielle Giffords that ultimately took the lives of six and left fourteen wounded:

“Our prayers and thoughts are with Gabby as she fights for her life,”

Representative Tammy Baldwin is holding onto hope for her friend and colleague, Gabrielle Giffords.

“Gabby is just one of the most decent, nice, dedicated, concerned, and compassionate representatives,”

Baldwin held a press conference Sunday afternoon to talk about the tragedy in Tucson and how it will affect her public appearances in the future.

“It’s just unthinkable what has happened. I don’t plan to change the way I do business and interact with my constituents,”

She says without the people, there is no government.

“We cannot have a functioning democracy if there is not ample interaction and discourse between members of the public and their elected official,”

Some believe aggressive and heated political rhetoric may have enticed the alleged shooter to take action.

“We have to, in a democracy, be responsible with our words,”

That’s why Baldwin is calling for all politicians to take a step back and re-examine what they say, before they say it.

“Overall in the U.S., the rhetoric has become toxic at times. I hope in the face of this tragedy, we can find to a new way of deliberating,”

Baldwin says new speaker of the house John Boehner echoed that sentiment in a conference call to Congress.

“He also said this is the time when we have to consider the very incendiary rhetoric that has been occurring and that we must stand together and lock arm and arm in congress,”

Baldwin says she does not have a personal security detail. She says when she makes public appearances, her staff notifies local law enforcement beforehand so they can take the necessary steps to keep everyone safe.

Back after the final passage of the healthcare reform law, Vanderbough issued the following statement that echoed the actions of the Nazi Party in Germany during the infamous Kristallnacht attacks:

“We can break their windows. Break them NOW. And if we do a proper job, if we break the windows of hundreds, thousands, of Democrat party headquarters across this country, we might just wake up enough of them to make defending ourselves at the muzzle of a rifle unnecessary.”

LezGetReal reported from various sources at the time:

The office of Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona had its glass door smashed. According to Giffords’ spokesperson C.J. Karamargin “it [is] unclear if the glass had been shot out with a kind of pellet gun, if it [was] kicked or smashed with an object. The door has been covered with plywood.”

In New York, Representative Louise Slaughter’s office in Niagra Falls had a brick thrown through the window. Another incident in New York also saw the offices of the Monroe County Democratic Committee vandalized by a brick thrown through their glass door.

The final act of vandalism was in Knox County Democratic Headquarters where someone spray painted the word “DORKS” across the window.

That incident occurred back in March 2010. In October 2010, supporters of San Diego Republican Brian Billbray surrounded and attempted to intimidate and silence his opponent Francine Busby. LezGetReal’s own Melanie Nathan reported on that stating:

Linda Poniktera, a spokesperson for the Busby Campaign provided LezGetReal with this comment:

It is a sad day when a public debate at an open public forum is disrupted in that manner – it discourages people in participating in their democracy to fullest extent possible. Imagine the Head of Chamber of Commerce had to escort Francine to her car, a clear indication that her safety was at risk.

It was later revealed that the mob was urged on and scripted by the lobbying group Americans for Prosperity, the same group that recently held a rally for Bilbray at his Solana Beach office. But Bilbray has yet to come out and condemn the attack on his opponent. Instead his PR