I spoke with U.S. Rep. Bob Brady yesterday about how rhetoric between/by politicians has led to a breakdown in respect for public office and, tragically, human life. He said Tucson is a reality check, and a call that things must change. From the story…
“A lot of this is our own doing. If both sides of the aisle aren’t civil to each other, people think they don’t have to be civil to us. If we did things respectfully, people would have respect for the office,” he said. “All we’re doing is firing people up.”
This is from hours after I spoke to Brady. Via NY Times …
6:26 P.M. |Bill to Ban Crosshairs
Representative Bob Brady of Pennsylvania told The Caucus he plans to introduce a bill that would ban symbols like that now-infamous campaign crosshair map.
“You can’t threaten the president with a bullseye or a crosshair,” Mr. Brady, a Democrat, said, and his measure would make it a crime to do so to a member of Congress or federal employee, as well.
Asked if he believed the map incited the gunman in Tucson, he replied, “I don’t know what’s in that nut’s head. I would rather be safe than sorry.”
He continued, “This is not a wakeup call. This is a major alarm going off. We need to be more civil with each other. We need to tone down this rhetoric.”