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Yesterday, the Republican softball team was practicing about 10 miles from the Capitol, preparing for their annual game against the Democratic team, when James T. Hodgkinson entered the practice field asking if this was the Republican or Democrat team.
Realizing he had the right guys, he opened fire with his rifle. Rand Paul says, "We were sitting ducks---would have been a massacre except for the Capitol Police being present"---two of whom were shot.
Upon learning the man worked on Bernie Sanders' campaign, Bernie said he is "sickened by this despicable act."
We are all sickened--- but should we be surprised?
Yesterday morning, James T. Hodgkinson opened fire on GOP lawmakers and staffers with a rifle as they prepared for the annual summer baseball game between Republicans and Democrats.
The shooter wounded several victims, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and a staffer for Texas Rep. Roger Williams, before being taken down by the Capitol Police, who were there because Scalise's position requires personal security.
Sen. Rand Paul, who avoided getting shot, said had the security detail not been there with there guns, "It would have been a massacre."
Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup said, "I felt like I was back in Iraq, but without my weapon."
Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) said the gunman was there to kill as many Republicans as possible.
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) said he had an "odd" encounter as he was leaving the baseball field. This guy walked up to him asking which team this was---Democrat or Republican.
New York Rep. Claudia Tenney received an email shortly after the shooting that read, "One down 216 to go."
There are 217 Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Tenney.
The email continued, "Did you NOT expect this? When you take away ordinary people's very lives in order to pay off the wealthiest among us, your own lives are the forfeit. Certainly, your souls and morality were lost long before. Good riddance."
The 66 year old Hodgkinson worked in the Bernie Sander's campaign as a volunteer. In March he posted on social media, "It's time to destroy Trump and company."
When Bernie Sanders learned the man was a supporter of his, Sanders issued a statement that says in part, "I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms."
Certainly all of us would agree that this is unacceptable.
However, what got us to this point is very troubling.
James Hodgkinson does not typically appear to be someone suffering from acute mental disorder---with the ramblings that often accompany their thinking.
Hodgkinson was a big fan of far left Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, and has written a number of letters to his hometown newspaper, the Belleville News--Democrat (Illinois) in which he laid out his far left ideology, his support for Bernie, and his hate toward Republicans in clear, articulate terms.
The newspaper published a number of these letters to the editor yesterday afternoon.
While many of his fellow believers on the far left are rushing to blame "guns," calling for more gun control before they knew the profile of the shooter----that demand subsided a bit as we learned what the shooter actually believed---the "elephant in the room," as they say, is the fact that words have consequences.
The Daily Caller has compiled an overview of the events leading up to this tragic event yesterday. I encourage you to read it.
Before this shooting, Republicans were becoming increasingly concerned because of the growing violence toward them individually.
At one of Virginia Rep. Tom Garret's town hall meetings last month, heavy police presence was assigned because he had received repeated death threats, including some directed at his wife and children. One message read, "This is how we are going to kill your wife..."
A Tucson Unified School District employee was recently arrested for making violent threats against Arizona Rep. Martha McSally. Days after that arrest, 58 year old Steve Martan was arrested for leaving voice mail messages for McSally that said, "Your days are numbered."
Last month, police in Tennessee charged 35-year-old Wendi Wright with felony reckless endangerment for allegedly trying to run Republican Congressman David Kustoff off the road after a town hall meeting.
The same day Wright was charged, police in North Dakota escorted a man from a town hall with Rep. Kevin Cramer after the man became physical with the Republican congressman.
All four tires were slashed on California Rep. Tom McClintock's car while he was holding a town hall.
In February, a 71 year old female staffer for California Rep. Dana Rohrbacher was knocked unconscious during an angry protest activists staged outside the office.
A number of Republican congressmen are now putting a hold on their town hall meetings.
Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, hold public meetings without much concern. However, both have been critical---especially Murray, of Rep. Dave Reichert's caution in scheduling public meetings.
The press has been relentless on Reichert. This KING 5 TV story is one of dozens of critical stories written and/or televised about Reichert's hesitancy to hold public meetings.
There was good reason for the concern.
Sam (Samantha) Sorbo, wife of actor Kevin Sorbo who played the professor in the film "God is Not Dead," wrote a poignant article about how the far left is agitating anger and violence with their constant attack on the president and those who support him.
Her article was written June 5---more than a week before yesterday's rifle attack on Republicans. I encourage you to read it.
In it she says, "America cherishes freedom and respects all human life because of our Judeo-Christian heritage. These God-given moral laws are an inherited legacy---a gift---that many other nations and political ideologies do not all share, one we are squandering."
She says, "Without objective morality, ISIS's beheadings are simply survival of the fittest in superb triumph, and using racial epithets and calling the president vulgar things is perfectly reasonable."
Then she writes: "Expect the rationalization and justification for misbehavior."
Prophetic.
Bernie Sanders and the rest of the far left crew should not be surprised at yesterday's violence.
With so-called comedian Kathy Griffin posting a picture on social media of herself holding a blood soaked replica of the decapitated head of President Donald Trump, Madonna telling a crowd of far left activists at the Capitol she has considered blowing up the White House, and President Trump receiving more than 12,000 death threats---the far Left is outraged at what happened yesterday?
What kind of response did they expect? Words become actions.
Sorbo says, "Democrats incensed anger [over loosing the election] leads them to speak in vulgarity. They may retract statements, or apologize for misbehavior, but fundamentally, they deny the very humanity of their opposition."
She concludes with this: "Another night of long knives may not be far off."
A week later, Republicans practicing for a baseball game are attacked by a Bernie Sanders follower who claims, "1 down, 216 to go."
Pray for America and for all those who publicly stand for Judeo-Christian values.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Bold. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.