Republican Congressman shot

[cernjSHU]

What is going on in the world. Apparently, numerous shots were fired at members of the GOP and their staff at a softball field. According to Sen Rand Paul up to 50 shots fired from some sort of an assault weapon

Absolutely horrendous that someone could attack our government like that. Get well quickly Congressman.

 

[Merge]

Crazy! Thank god injuries don't seem as bad as they could have been with that many rounds!

 

[Section112]

Terrible stuff for sure. Hope the congressman and officer's are OK and I am sure the folks at the field are pretty rattled too.

A friend of the family is now a Congressman and we don't see him much anymore. He dove in and is working his butt off. But we ran into his son and he was telling us some crazy stuff that is happening to his Dad, his staff and the threats his family has received. People are just friggin nuts now with their threats and uprising crap. It's scary and I'm not sure this is going to help us get new, good politicians to run for office in the future.

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

3 things I know. God is great. Beer is good. People are crazy.

Something needs to change. It has to start with morality and ethics. I hate the way the news is reported on both sides. The parties, the news, the special interest groups, etc everything is toxic. They look to rile up their base to extreme measures. Sadly this is the result of it. This happened today where a democratic supporter went after Republicans. The tensions are so high you have to worry some idiot may retaliate in the other direction.

Everyone looks at the results and analyzes it for a day, a week, or even a month, and says we need to change, but as soon as an issue arises it's back to the same old crap. People need to stop worrying about the almighty dollar and care about each other and you will see a less toxic environment. The way CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc report the news supports the views of their advertisers because it's all about the money. The way the politicians run things is all about taking care of people who helped them get elected because it's all about the money. You hear stories from people who are called the greatest generation, all you hear is stories of poverty and work ethic. People have to start doing things in the best interest of people not money.

 

[knowknow456]

The shooting was very sad and it sounds as though Rep Scalise is seriously wounded. I hope he and the other three victims are able to recover.

I didn't have any specific issue with how the shooting was reported. Following are the first paragraphs from three major online websites. Nothing was really objectionable.
1.
Rep. Steve Scalise, a congressional staffer and members of the Capitol police force were shot Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, during Republicans' early-morning practice ahead of a charity baseball game.
2.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and three other people were wounded Wednesday morning when a gunman opened fire on members of the Republican congressional baseball team as they were practicing on a field in Alexandria, Virginia.
3.
A gunman believed to be a supporter of former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders sprayed a hail of bullets at a GOP baseball practice Wednesday morning, critically wounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and injuring four others before U.S. Capitol Police took down the rifle-wielding assailant.

 

[HALL85]

3 things I know. God is great. Beer is good. People are crazy.

Something needs to change. It has to start with morality and ethics. I hate the way the news is reported on both sides. The parties, the news, the special interest groups, etc everything is toxic. They look to rile up their base to extreme measures. Sadly this is the result of it. This happened today where a democratic supporter went after Republicans. The tensions are so high you have to worry some idiot may retaliate in the other direction.

Everyone looks at the results and analyzes it for a day, a week, or even a month, and says we need to change, but as soon as an issue arises it's back to the same old crap. People need to stop worrying about the almighty dollar and care about each other and you will see a less toxic environment. The way CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc report the news supports the views of their advertisers because it's all about the money. The way the politicians run things is all about taking care of people who helped them get elected because it's all about the money. You hear stories from people who are called the greatest generation, all you hear is stories of poverty and work ethic. People have to start doing things in the best interest of people not money.

+1. The discourse needs to change but it won't happen until the politicians and press hold each other accountable. There are too many baby boomers (my generation) that are exactly as you describe. The partisanship makes me sick and it spawns sickos like we saw today. This has been building over many years. The system needs change.

 

[Pirata]

I thought Ryan and Pelosi delivered sincere and unifying addresses on the floor yesterday. Hopefully their words have a modicum of impact.

On the flip side DTjr's reaction regarding Shakespeare was blown out if context in an effort to incite more division and get more clicks.

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

I thought Ryan and Pelosi delivered sincere and unifying addresses on the floor yesterday. Hopefully their words have a modicum of impact.

On the flip side DTjr's reaction regarding Shakespeare was blown out if context in an effort to incite more division and get more clicks.

All of these things happening recently have been fueled by the toxic environment of politics. One sincere day in the office isn't going to fix anything. They keep going about their business and fighting for their side when the average joe gets shot blaming the other side. Now that one of their own was shot and it hits close to home, all of a sudden an attack on one is an attack on all? Ryan and the other politicians are about 30 years too late with that quote. Pelosi starts off with a joke that she finally agrees with Ryan. The environment is so toxic that there are people out there looking to shoot 15-20 members of 1 party. Not exactly the best time for a joke lady. 15-20 people we're minutes away from dying if the Capitol Police weren't there. And she thinks a joke was a good intro. These people need to get their heads out of their asses and fix the problem or every person in this country is susceptible to being another persons target. They should care about that. Not just when their fellow politicians are targeted.

 

[cernjSHU]

I have to disagree with some of you concerning this is a result of a toxic political environment. This is just the latest of attacks on government officials. There has been a long line of attacks on Presidents and members of Congress in this country. We unfortunately live in a country with people who have serious mental illnesses which are not addressed until it is too late. Does the current political climate help? Absolutely not. However, the bigger issue is really how mental illness gets treated and ignored.

Have we forgot the attacks on Gabby Gifford, the anthrax attacks, Ronald Reagan, JFK, RFk, Gerald Ford, Huey Long and I am sure there are a host of other attacks on members of our government.

 

[donnie_baseball]

I have to disagree with some of you concerning this is a result of a toxic political environment. This is just the latest of attacks on government officials. There has been a long line of attacks on Presidents and members of Congress in this country. We unfortunately live in a country with people who have serious mental illnesses which are not addressed until it is too late. Does the current political climate help? Absolutely not. However, the bigger issue is really how mental illness gets treated and ignored.

Have we forgot the attacks on Gabby Gifford, the anthrax attacks, Ronald Reagan, JFK, RFk, Gerald Ford, Huey Long and I am sure there are a host of other attacks on members of our government.

There has been mental illness as long as there has been homo sapiens. There has never been more awareness, or better treatments (pharmaceutical) than at this point in history.

I would opine that you have it exactly backwards. The political climate is toxic, and it doesn't help that we have mentally ill people, some with access to deadly weapons. A day barely passed on this incident before someone posted an editorial (NYT?) saying that Sarah Palin was the prime mover in the Giffords shooting. Toxic.

 

[shu09]

Not every gun crime is the result of mental illness. Not wise to make that sweeping generalization.

 

[HALL85]

This was one event, but it's rather obvious that the discourse and toxic environment in politics and the media is at a high water mark. Look at the high disapproval ratings for Congress and the media. More people are disgusted because nothing gets done and there is a constant back and forth where our politicians act like children and the media fans the flames for the sake of ratings. As people like to say, "Words do matter", but when you have politicians flat out lying and their party comrades ignore bad behavior for the sake of the party, what do you expect. Then you have cable news that trots out panels of guests that scream at each other inciting their viewership.

Agree that it was heartening to hear some of the words spoken yesterday, but why did it take this event to do that? And how long do we really expect this to last? The reality is that the vast majority of politicians and the media won't be able to help themselves.

 

[knowknow456]

As much as possible, I try to think globally and act locally. If someone said to me "your head is stuck in the sand" I would try not to respond "well your head is stuck up your partisan ass". But if I did respond that way and was called out on it, I would hope not to reply "well you started it"

I can only control my own toxicity.

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

As people like to say, "Words do matter", but when you have politicians flat out lying and their party comrades ignore bad behavior for the sake of the party, what do you expect. Then you have cable news that trots out panels of guests that scream at each other inciting their viewership.

It's funny when you coach a youth sports team you have to choose your words wisely because "your audience", the children, can easily misinterpret your words can do something they shouldn't. Now this 66 year old man is an adult and responsible for his own actions, but I would love to see the politicians or news networks say yes some members of our audience are unstable and maybe we can prevent these things if we chose our words and our tone better.

 

[HALL85]

It's funny when you coach a youth sports team you have to choose your words wisely because "your audience", the children, can easily misinterpret your words can do something they shouldn't. Now this 66 year old man is an adult and responsible for his own actions, but I would love to see the politicians or news networks say yes some members of our audience are unstable and maybe we can prevent these things if we chose our words and our tone better.

Sure there should be personal responsibility and you can't blame a politician for your actions. But the discourse is so toxic that we either tune our elected officials out or we see to many people go back to their ideological corners and either lob grenades or take their toys and go home. I have heard of so many stories where families don't get together as often or anymore because they can't stand to be with "someone from the other party". It's crazy and I've never seen that much of this kind of nonsense. My sister-in-law and her husband can't function at a family event anymore. We should want to hear opposing views and discuss as adults....is it that hard?

 

[Pirata]

We should want to hear opposing views and discuss as adults....is it that hard?

Because of a board position I hold I was thrust into discussion about the Shakespeare situation (Trump and Julius Caesar in the park).

One of the directors was proffering that, "The intent was to promote civil discourse".

My reaction was that the intent was both noble and naive.