You have seen me call, long and often, for the Republican Party to stop making calls for violence, especially gun violence, as a way to solve the differences that exist between themselves and the Democratic Party. I know that I am one small voice of many. Sadly those voices have fallen on deaf ears as yet another Republican US Representative has suggested shooting Senators who disagree with him.

Are the infamous “2nd Amendment remedies” once advocated by former Nevada Senatorial candidate Sharron Angle coming back into vogue? Oklahoma Republican John Sullivan seems to think so, telling a town hall audience that the only way the budget proposal authored by Rep. Paul Ryan would pass is if a few Democratic Senators got shot first. According to Talking Points Memo, Sullivan told the crowd, “Like I said, after this last election, the first order of business is pass a budget. Now, I believe that. I supported the Paul Ryan budget and sent it over to the Senate. Now I live with some Senators, I yell at them all the time, I grabbed one of them the other day and shook him and I’d love to get them to vote for it — boy I’d love that. You know but other than me going over there with a gun and holding it to their head and maybe killing a couple of them, I don’t think they’re going to listen unless they get beat.”… [emphasis added]

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To be fair, Sullivan has apologized and stated that he had no serious intent to shoot anyone or belief that violence is a proper solution to conflict. I have no reason to doubt him here. Nevertheless his apology does not excuse his offence. I say this, because such jokes are pandering to the dregs of our culture that do believe that violence is a proper solution to conflict. And amid those dregs are even more deranged individuals who will take such statements to heart and act on them.