On Monday, Daily Caller reporter Patrick Howley revealed a few of the possible inspirations behind Sen. Ted Cruz’s violence-threatening stalker Troy Gilmore, Jr.
Gilmore had Tweeted the Texas senator’s private home address in a call to to “[t]ake down Ted Cruz, at his home,” explaining that Cruz “needs tobe [sic] taught a street wise lesson.”
Aside being an urgent cry for a spelling and grammar lesson, the FBI took this offer of a “street wise lesson” as a potential threat and is now investigating Gilmore.
Gilmore’s Twitter account is now protected, but Howley revealed more extensive and colorful threats on Gilmore’s Facebook page, as well as his possible sources of inspiration.
Linking to a web page paid for by the Democratic National Committee, Gilmore mused: “Why don’t we all show up at Ted Cruz,house in Texas,and beat the hell out of him…Lets all rally at the new Sarah Palin which is Ted Cruz,and his big mouth and meet at his home in Texas,and kick his fucking ass for causing all of this I have had enough of this shit [sic, multiple times].”
As reported by Howley, Gilmore had also linked to a web page from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee featuring a Rachel Maddow clip and liberal group CREDO Action, in a post calling Sen. Marco Rubio “the new Uncle Tom.of the people of color comunity [sic]” encouraging Americans to “RISE UP” and “KICK THESE TEA PARTY MOTHER FUCKERS OUT OF OFFICE COME 2014.”
Charles Manson listened to The Beatles’ White Album. John Hinckley watched Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver”. Troy Gilmore follows the Democratic National Committee on Facebook.
It would of course be unfair to play the guilt-by-ostensible-
To begin with, after Jared Loughner opened fire on 19 victims in Tucson, including Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), many on the left swiftly and neatly gift-wrapped the incident as a natural byproduct of the “violent rhetoric” emanating from the “racist Tea Party” as well as a 2010 congressional district “target” map on Sarah Palin’s PAC’s website.
Writing in the New York Times, Paul Krugman jumped at the chance to officialize the tragedy as a cue for “the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers,” giving dire caution over “the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead.” Jane Fonda blamed the tragedy on “violence-provoking rhetoric of the Tea Party” – a movement whose standards of civility apparently didn’t live up to those of the Viet Cong.
Basically, the logline we were sold was that Loughner had clearly clicked onto Sarah Palin’s website, noticed the employment of symbolic crosshairs over Democrat-held congressional districts, took the obvious cue, and picked up his Glock 19 to volunteer for the assignment.
This was a perfectly plausible scenario to many on the left. Let that sink in for a moment.
Inconveniently, a former friend and bandmate of Loughner’s subsequently described him as “left-wing political radical” and “quite liberal.” It was revealed later that Loughner claimed the Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books on his YouTube page, where he’d also released video of himself burning the American flag.
Furthermore, even if Loughner had been a Tea Partier, rather than something like the opposite, there had been zero documented instances of violent encouragement from his would-be idols in the conservative galaxy — and no, a “target” map on SarahPAC doesn’t cut it, that is unless a similar crosshairs-replete congressional target map on the DNC website seven years prior does as well.
Meanwhile, Gilmore’s threats come rather shortly after Cruz aide, Amanda Carpenter, received a public Tweet from Allan Brauer, Communications Chair for the Democratic Party of Sacramento, snarling: “May your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases.” (Only to the Democratic Party could such an affable chap be a shoo-in for communications chair.)
So let’s review:
- Violent public anti-Giffords remarks by Republican and/or Tea Party officials before Tucson shooting: 0
- Evidence that Loughner had even visited websites belonging to the Tea Party and/or Sarah Palin: 0
- Evidence that Loughner held views OPPOSITE those of the Tea Party/Sarah Palin: At least 3
- Accusations against the Tea Party and/or Sarah Palin for inspiring Loughner’s violent acts: COUNTLESS
Now let’s correlate what we knew about the Loughner situation with what we know about this one:
- Violent public anti-Cruz remarks by Democrat officials before Gilmore threats: 1
- Evidence Gilmore not only visited, but linked to Democrat and left-wing websites: At least 4
- Evidence that Gilmore holds views opposite those of Democrat Party Communications Chair Allan Brauer: 0
- Accusations against the Democrat Party for inspiring Brauer’s violent threats: 0
Nevertheless, exactly a year after Tucson, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz called for not only a new tone in political discourse but a new definition of the phrase “hesitate to place blame” when she insisted to a New Hampshire crowd that “we tone things down, particularly in light of the Tucson tragedy,” adding, “I hesitate to place blame but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party.”
Being that there was zero evidence to link Loughner to SarahPAC or the Tea Party, yet the Tea Party was still to somehow to blame, by Wasserman-Schultz’s own logic the DNC, of which she is chair, would be doubly to blame for the violent threats against Cruz, since it’s been proved that his stalker linked to the committee’s website.
I hesitate to place blame on Wasserman-Schultz, but again, by her own logic, she may as well be the talking black Labrador to Gilmore’s David Berkowitz summoning him to go to Cruz’s residence and “teach him a street wise lesson.” Perhaps it’s time for her party to adopt a new, more civil tone.