December 3, 2015 8:49 AM

That awkward moment when Republican Presidential candidates speak out of both sides of their mouth

After Robert Lewis Dear was arrested for opening fire inside a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic on Friday, he reportedly made a remark about “no more baby parts,” according to a law enforcement official. The revelation prompted a heated debate about what motivated Dear to allegedly target a reproductive health provider that has been under near-constant assault from Republicans in recent months. Some GOP presidential candidates rushed to argue that the killings have nothing to do with the anti-abortion movement or with the political campaign against Planned Parenthood, which has hinged upon a series of heavily edited sting videos that purport to show staff members discussing the donation of fetal tissue. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz claimed that the rampage was carried out by a “deranged individual,” not a “pro-life” activist. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said the attacks were not something that the anti-abortion movement would condone, though he went on to say it was too early to jump to conclusions about the attacker’s motive and called the shooting an act of terrorism.

Judging by the reactions of some occupants of the GOP Presidential clown car (and the silence of others), one could be forgiven for wondering if the candidates aren’t calculating how to play the attack on the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic for maximum political advantage. How do they pander to the rabidly anti-abortion wing of the Rabid Religious Right without looking as if they approve of the attack? What sort of dog whistle might they employ to sound appropriately grave and disapproving of violence against a provider of reproductive health care while making it clear to the faithful that they’re all in?

If this sounds as if it’s an invitation to political doublespeak, that’s because it really, truly is. Candidates know they can’t simply come out and applaud Robert Lewis Dear, but some are willing to do everything short of that. A scant eight days prior to Colorado Springs, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Mordor) celebrated the endorsement of Troy Newman, head of the radical anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. Newman has openly called for the mass execution of abortion providers and those who seek their services (VERY pro-life, don’tchathink??). An excerpt from Newman’s book, Their Blood Cries Out, provides a chilling look into the mind of a zealot who believes that mass murder is a GREAT way to protect the lives of innocent babies:

When moms, dads, abortionists are added together, well over 100,000,000 people bear personal bloodguilt for at least one abortion. The doctrine of community bloodguilt found in Scripture further implicates the entire nation. The perpetrators are far too numerous and the bloodguilt has spread too far. We deserve God’s judgment.

In addition to our personal guilt in abortion, the United States government has abrogated its responsibility to properly deal with the blood-guilty. This responsibility rightly involves executing convicted murderers, including abortionists, for their crimes in order to expunge bloodguilt from the land and people.

Operation Rescue, known for its radical and occasionally violent protest efforts, has been led by people willing to try to blow up abortion clinics. In the wake of Colorado Springs, the group’s leadership has endeavored to strike a more reasonable, measured tone, stating that Operation Rescue “unequivocally deplores and denounces all violence at abortion clinics.”

Right…and I suspect they were trading high-fives when the news of the attacked on the Planned Parenthood clinic broke.

If you believe that leopards don’t change their stripes, then like me you believe the membership (and leadership) of Operation Rescue are every bit as privately gleeful as the are publicly circumspect. And Ted Cruz is proud of his association with this motley collection of violent zealots. It’s what Jesus would do, no?

Stay classy, eh??

Earlier this month, both Cruz and Huckabee — as well as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has since dropped out of the presidential race — attended a conference hosted by pastor Kevin Swanson. At the time, Swanson attracted criticism for his vehemently anti-gay views. But as Right Wing Watch pointed out earlier this month, in 2009, Swanson also hailed the actions of Scott Roeder, the anti-abortion extremist who was later found guilty of murdering Kansas abortion provider George Tiller.

“If anybody’s keeping count … Let’s see, Tiller killed 60,000 babies, so that’s 60,000 dead babies and one dead abortionist,” Swanson said on his radio show. “So, let’s just say, the abortionists are still ahead on this one.”

“It is interesting that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword,” the pastor continued. “Wasn’t that what Jesus said? And this is really, pretty much, what happens. People tend to get their upcommance, and that’s precisely what happened to Tiller the Killer.”

Both Huckabee and Cruz have endeavored to distance themselves from Swanson’s (who’s truly an execrable excuse for humanity, never mind a Christian) hateful lunacy, but the fact is that they’ve willingly associated themselves with someone who openly advocates for executing homosexuals and abortion providers (Again, how very pro-life, eh??). For people who wish to be the President of ALL Americans and to win election to that office with a plurality of votes from ALL Americans, they certainly have a damned poor way of displaying their (non-existent) devotion to diversity, acceptance, and tolerance.

Of course, even worse is the enforced silence emanating from the rest of the occupants of the GOP clown car. Those reprobates lack even the simple human decency to express their condolences to the families of those killed. They had a clear, undeniable opportunity to let Americans know in no uncertain terms that they don’t condone violence…and they’ve punted.

Yes, Virginia, these are the moral midgets who believe they’ve been called by God to lead this country to the Promised Land….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 3, 2015 8:49 AM.

Prayer: When you're not motivated or concerned enough to actually DO something was the previous entry in this blog.

Another mass shooting? Leave a message at the beep. is the next entry in this blog.

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