Because only Democrats face political harassment …

Audio of the unedited call to Rep. Jean Schmidt’s (R-OH) office (asterisks added by me for clean-up purposes):

Speaker: β€œYeah, I’m glad the president passed health care. Yeah. Funky a**, racist-a** Republicans hate that, don’t you? Jean Schmitt, when you got hit by that car, you should’ve broke your back, b*tch. And Boehner, motherf*cker…that Mitch McConnell. All you racist f*cking Republicans. Why don’t you just change your party name to racist? Cuz if one of those f*cking Tea baggers had spit on me, I’d have shot all them in the f*cking face with my f*cking 9 millimeter. F*ck all you racist motherf*ckers.”

The audio is at that same link.

So far, I’ve only seen this reported via one MSM outlet – Fox. Wonder why other MSM outlets have failed to report this? Well, not really. I know why. x( Surprisingly, the AP reported on this but made it a minor part of their reporting on recent political harassment and threats.

This is just getting nuts. The violence and the threats need to stop. So does the left’s demagoguing them for political gain.

I appreciate how Rep. Cantor used the opportunity to today after the reporting of the shot fired at his campaign office not to politicize but instead to condemn Democrat politicizing of some people crossing the line:

At his news conference, Cantor went on to scold Democrats, saying some were trying to use the threats and violence to make political hay. Such β€œlegitimate threats should be treated as security issues. …It is reckless to use these incidents as media vehicles for political gain.” He named Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Democratic National Campaign Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, saying the two β€œare dangerously fanning the flames by suggesting that these incidents be used as a political weapon.”

Both Van Hollen and Kaine have decried the heated statements from health care opponents.

Democrats shot back. β€œLet’s be clear: calling on Republican leaders who have contributed in part to this anger by wildly mischaracterizing the substance and motives of health reform to condemn these acts is entirely appropriate,” DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. He called on Republicans to β€œratchet down the rhetoric, condemn deplorable behavior.”

Van Hollen’s office had no immediate comment.

UPDATE: The Richmond Police Department released the following statement:

The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism at the Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia. A first floor window was struck by a bullet at approximately 1 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23. The building, which has several tenants including an office used by Congressman Eric Cantor, was unoccupied at the time.

A Richmond Police detective was assigned to the case. A preliminary investigation shows that a bullet was fired into the air and struck the window in a downward direction, landing on the floor about a foot from the window. The round struck with enough force to break the windowpane but did not penetrate the window blinds. There was no other damage to the room, which is used occasionally for meetings by the congressman.

The Richmond Police Department is sharing information about the incident with appropriate law enforcement agencies.

At this time there are no suspects.

UPDATE #2: Van Hollen spokesman Doug Thornell released this statement: β€œYesterday, Congressman Van Hollen called upon Republican leaders to condemn the harsh rhetoric that is fanning the flames of extremism around the country. Today, Mr. Cantor had the opportunity to join Mr. Van Hollen in calling for restraint. Instead, he chose to use his press conference to level false accusations. This is straight out of the Republicans’ political playbook of deflecting responsibility and distracting attention away from a serious issue.”

UPDATE #3: Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring responds: β€œWith all due respect, perhaps the DCCC Chairman should listen to Mr. Cantor’s statement where he repeatedly called for restraint and condemned violence. It’s very simple. If Chairman Van Hollen misspoke, he should correct the record, and if not, he and the DCCC should accept responsibility for their actions.”

Won’t happen.

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