In a country rife with gun violence, it’s disgusting when a political party talks about “second amendment remedies” or uses gun-related imagery to prove a point. That, however, is exactly what the Arizona GOP just did.
GOP’s “Wanted” Poster Invokes Wild West Violence
John McCain is in trouble. Though he won his primary last week, he still has to face Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) in November. Kirkpatrick, who currently serves in the House of Representatives, is leveraging McCain’s support of Trump in trying to gain the Hispanic vote in Arizona.
The Arizona GOP is taking drastic measures in light of this problem. They released a poster featuring Kirkpatrick’s face surrounded by bullet holes in a Wild West-type “Wanted” poster.
I’m sure, if they were called on it, the Arizona GOP would say something like, “Oh, we didn’t mean it like THAT!” However, they’d be saying it from the same state in which Gabby Giffords was shot in a parking lot.
As R. Muse wrote for PoliticsUSA,
“Recall that the official Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump suggested those ‘Second Amendment’ folks were the only remedy to a Hillary Clinton presidency and the appointment of a non-conservative Supreme Court Justice. Now, Arizona Republicans have adopted the ‘we’re only suggesting gun violence’ tactic and targeted the candidate challenging the one-time sane Republican Senator John McCain for his seat in the upper chamber of Congress.”
By the way, the Arizona GOP sent this poster directly to Kirkpatrick’s office, according to PoliticsUSA. Was that a veiled threat?
STOP With The Gun Violence Imagery!
This is not the first time that the GOP has used this type of imagery with their opponents.
In 2010, Sarah Palin’s PAC put gun sights on a map of the United States, showing which Democrats they was “targeting” in that election.
Also in 2010, Sharron Angle talked about “second amendment remedies” as a way to “control” Congress.
Former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson joked about shooting his opponent. Twice.
And just a little over a week ago, Maine governor Paul LePage told a local newspaper that he wished “it were 1825” so he could “duel” a journalist.
The thing is, there are people out there who take these things literally. We know this, as a society. It has happened more than once. There are more guns in this country than there are people. This type of violent imagery has NO PLACE in a civilized society.
Since she is the one being attacked this time, go ahead and watch one of Kirkpatrick’s ads here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNk-cTbipkg
Featured Image screen shot via PoliticsUSA.
