GOP official resigns after flap over Republican candidate shooting at Debbie Wasserman Schultz

GOP official resigns after flap over Republican candidate shooting at Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s likeness.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/26/wasserman-shoot-resign/

Earlier this month, the South Florida-based Southeast Broward Republican Club held an event at a gun range where targets included silhouettes of Muslim stereotypes and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). At the gathering, Wasserman Schultz’s GOP competitor “fired at a full-body silhouette with ‘DWS’ written next to its head.” The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that the Republican activist Ed Napolitano, who was in charge of the club, has resigned from all his party positions, saying he was “pushed to quit”:

While he’s stepping away from the party, Napolitano said today he’s not ending his political activism. “I’m not going to be going away. You’re still going to see me around.”

He expressed frustration with Republican Party leadership, which he said doesn’t stand by and defend volunteer Republican activists – like himself – when they’re attacked.

“The leadership in the Republican Party is lacking in courage, and they do not stand by their people,” Napolitano said. “We’re volunteers. We volunteer our time and we volunteer our money. They’re there to facilitate us. We’re not there to facilitate them. They act like we’re their servants.”

The Florida Republican Party says it didn’t call on Napolitano to resign. Although Napolitano has apologized to Wasserman Schultz for the incident, Lowry has not.



Congresswoman’s initials on target at gun range prompts Republican activist’s resignation
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/10/download_file.html

get busted.

An understatement, I know, yet did no one speak up to say beforehand that it was totally inappropriate to have a politician's silhouette at a shooting range? Amazing. Just amazing.

It was a generic target silhouette with her initials on it.

--imm

That seems a likely scenario. Bottom line's the same though, no?

It's over the line.

It seems kind of incremental to me. Having a rally at a gun range is not my taste, but there is an appeal to the machismo that fits the "battle" of the campaign, especially to Repubs, especially against DWS, who is as strong an incumbent as you'll find. Then, and I'm guessing it was spontaneous, someone chalked in Debbie's initials on the target. Pep rally stuff. Hyperbole.

They got carried away, but just where is the line. Is a DWS dartboard OK? With suction cups? Always a tough call with symbolic stuff. Exactly where is, "beyond the pale?"

-imm

GOP events, threatening GOP officials. They've created a monster. Good luck with that.

They have a combined mental age of about twelve:eyes: