Right wing accuse progressive group of using Tucson shooting for fundraising

[Pryderi]

http://biggovernment.com/wthuston/2011/01/09/unbelievable-democrat-group-using-giffords-shooting-for-fundraiser/

Unbelievable: Democrat Group Using Gifford’s Shooting For Fundraiser!by Warner Todd Huston
An extreme, left-wing Democrat group calling itself 21st Century Democrats has had the gall to send out an email blast using as a fundraising tool Saturday’s criminal shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona. Judge John Roll and four others were killed in the incident, one of them a 9-year-old girl, but these Democrats are ignorant enough to be using this incident to try and squeeze donations from its supporters. Some might think the action of 21st Century Democrats is itself a crime — a crime against decency.


The email blast sent out Sunday morning to its supporters tells members that “we don’t know yet” why Jared Loughner shot Gabrielle Giffords but goes on to lay the blame on Sarah Palin and Gifford’s opponent in the past election for using “violent imagery” in his campaign.
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I've been unable to fact check this. Has anyone received a fundraising e-mail from this group?

http://www.21stcenturydems.org/

[yourout]

1. My BS meter is buzzing.

This reeks of a Rovian ploy.

[Pryderi]

8. True. It's a site run by Brietbart. Rove will use the fake fundraising story to send his own fund

raising letter.

[emulatorloo]

9. They are so good at just making shit up to inflame people

"Must be true, I read it at Brietbart."

[ashling]

12. Neal Boortz was on CNN this evening

spouting this sort of crap...about how the Dem's will not bypass the opportunity to benefit from a tragedy.

[LynneSin]

2. Seriously did these assholes sleep thru all 8 years of Bush

I still remember when he used 9/11 photos to help raise money for campaigns.

[Last_Stand]

3. What the fuck do right-wingers know about "decency?"

[Mz Pip]

4. The GOP used 9/11 for nearly 10 years

but I would really be curious to see what went out and if it really was a fundraising letter. Tacky if it were, but I'd like to see the text before passing judgment.

[eleny]

5. At the 21st entury Dems site they ask people to join them in prayer for the victims

http://21stcenturydems.org/
P.S. Founded by Tom Harkin and Jim Hightower. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Democrats

[rucky]

6. The email is on the website.

There was no fundraising pitch.

[Barack_America]

7. I was half expecting them to be bitching about the Red Cross asking for blood. nt

[Historic NY]

10. Its Bullshit ...their own site has not been active since Dec 2009,,,

last blog entries. They had some 2010 election picks nothing even close to Arizona

[jillan]

11. Here is the letter - it's asking to send your prayers to Gabrielle.

http://21stcenturydems.org/

How dare them try to take away our prayers!

[Pryderi]

13. I don't see anything on the site, just a navigation menu.

[Pryderi]

14. I can see it now. For some reason the page was blank to me. Here's the text:

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share with you the message that I sent out to our supporters this evening regarding the shooting in Tucson Saturday morning.

Sincerely,

Jim Scheibel, Chair


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why did he shoot Rep Giffords?

We don't know yet.

But we do know that she seems to be surviving this outrageous attempted murder. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, however, was only one victim of this shocking attack, she along with eighteen others were wounded while six others were killed. The details of what happened are just now becoming available, but we are united in our grief and disbelief over these unfolding events. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this senseless act of violence.

We also know that Sarah Palin and Rep. Giffords' opponent used violent imagery last year urging her opponents to "target" her. Last spring, after she voted to expand health insurance coverage to working families and cut drug costs for senior citizens her office was violently attacked.

Members of 21st Century Democrats helped elect Rep. Giffords in 2006 and re-elect her 2010 because she wasn't afraid to fight for working people -- or listen to them at the neighborhood supermarket. She voted for health care; Wall Street reform, job creation, and much more.

She stood with us -- and we need to stand with her in her toughest hours.

Please join us in sharing your thoughts and prayers to the Congresswoman and her family by visiting our website where we have set up a page for you to do so.

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there's no fundraising going on.

[SnakeEyes]

15. well there is a donate button

on the page they link you too. They should remove that. And knowing how all these groups, left and right, operate you can bet you're going on a mailing list for future solicitations.

[Fuzz]

16. A Tea Party Express Email.

This weekend we all were horrified to hear the news of the violent shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several others in Arizona.

One thing that surprised us was how many in the news media and liberal political figures and organizations immediately launched into an attack on the tea party movement - assigning blame for the shooting to our grass roots, Constitutionalist movement in general, and Gov. Sarah Palin in particular.

Friends, this is outrageous.

It is quite clear that liberals are trying to exploit this shooting for their own political benefit, and they used deception and dishonesty to try and smear all of us and our beliefs.

You know what the truth is? The truth is that the shooter, Jared Loughner is the one responsible for this atrocity. But liberals are trying to place the blame on society for embracing the tea party movement.

We here at the Tea Party Express find that disgusting and revolting.

This isn't a new concept for liberals. Let us harken back to the words of Ronald Reagan when he called out the Left for similar behavior in years past:

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."

- Ronald Reagan

If Jared Loughner does have a definable political ideology it is that of a far Left anarchist. Loughner is a mentally disturbed young man who sought his ideological fulfillment from the Communist Manifesto - hardly the Bible of the Tea Party movement. He posted videos of flag burning on his YouTube channel - again, antics more consistent with Blame America First liberals, not the tea party movement.

In fact, Loughner's interactions with Congresswoman Giffords date all the way back to 2007 when he confronted her with a question he had, and received an answer he found unacceptable. You read that right - Loughner's interactions with Congresswoman Giffords date back to 2007 - well before the tea party movement had even been launched.

This was all an effort to try and demean us and diminish support for the tea party movement, since the Left could not beat us at the ballot box. Sadly way too many people in the media cooperated with this smear campaign.

The media didn't tell you that the left-wing website, DailyKos, had targeted Congresswoman Giffords, putting a BULLSEYE on her, did they? But that's just what happened.

Instead they tried to blame Gov. Sarah Palin. Friends, their hypocrisy and double standards are appalling.

This kind of media bias is a large part of why our tea party movement exists - because the voices of We The People have not been represented fairly by the news media, and listened to by our elected officials.

Well guess what: to those liberals in the news media and on the political Left who think you can silence us, you are wrong! Your efforts to try and smear us and shut us up will fail.

We have nothing to do with this awful, tragic event in Arizona. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords and the victims and families of this massacre.

But we will still fight just as passionately for this country we love, and the vision of our Founding Fathers as outlined by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

We're taking our country back through the ballot box and in the public square - through peaceful means. And we will prevail, because our ideas and ideals are stronger than the scare/smear/defame tactics of the leftists we face.

We ask you to please stand with the Tea Party Express and show your support for our efforts.

You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express - CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.