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As the hysterical rhetoric surrounding health care reform escalates, many lawmakers are reporting receiving violent threats. Like Eric Cantor , Republican Minority Whip, who says someone totally shot his office , with a gun. [Update: Police confirm an attack on Cantor’s airspace!] Cantor is mad that Democrats are scoring political points by being the victims of actual vandalism and receiving violent threats from crazy people riled up by the out-of-line apocalyptic rhetoric of Republicans and their media allies. So he’s like, hey people are totally threatening to kill me too, so shut up. “I’ve received threats since I assumed elected office, not only because of my position but also because I’m Jewish,” Cantor said. “Any suggestion that a leader in this body would incite threats… is akin to saying I would endanger myself, my wife or my children.” Cantor said he has also received threatening e-mails but will not release them lest they spur any further hostility. By contrast, Cantor said he has “deep concerns” that some in the Democratic party — particularly Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee — are “dangerously fanning the flames by suggesting these incidents be used as a political weapon.” Yes. Right. By publicizing the violent hysteria that’s been whipped up by cynical manipulators of the forces of popular outrage, Democrats are in fact fanning the flames. Just like that guy with Parkinsons was totally asking for it by having Parkinsons and supporting health care reform in public. Cantor also claims that a bullet was shot through the window of his Richmond, VA office this week. Let’s just get the obvious arguments out of the way first: liberals are not the ones carrying firearms to angry public demonstrations. In fact, liberals are not attending angry public demonstrations, because right now liberals don’t actually have anything to be angry about. Liberals just won! Why the hell would they be angrily threatening anyone? If someone did shoot Eric Cantor’s window in Richmond, Virginia, this week, it is exponentially more likely that it was a Tea Party sympathizer than some Obama-voting NoVa yuppie enraged by Cantor’s attempts to obstruct legislation in the House (which he’s failed at again and again and again). An angry, armed liberal would not shoot the House minority whip. They would be more likely to shoot Harry Reid. Or Bart Stupak, who no longer has any friends on any end of the political spectrum. (And honestly—if this theoretical armed and dangerous libtard isn’t shooting some turncoat Democrat, he’s much more likely to go after a right-wing media figure than some loser GOP congressman.) It’s the pissed-off raging teabaggers who are furious with the Republicans right now, for failing to stop the thing they promised they would stop. But we are not even going to blame some stupid Teabagger for shooting Eric Cantor’s office. Because no one gives a shit about Eric Cantor. No one is shooting him or threatening him. He is just another asshole. Meanwhile, in reality: Bart Stupak released the actual tapes of the insane and violent threats he got from right-wing (pro-life!) nuts. Louise Slaughter and Gabrielle Giffords had their offices actually vandalized, for real. (And Slaughter got some crazy voicemail about snipers.) James Clyburn got a fax of a noose. Some asshole teabagger attempted to post the home address of Rep. Tom Perriello on the internet, so that people could harrass him. But he posted the address of Perriello’s brother. And then someone went to Perrillo’s brother’s house and cut the gas line to his grill. Why do Democrats keep fanning the flames by telling people about these things? Sorry Republicans, I know playing the victim is the one thing you guys love doing even more than attacking actual victims of things like hate crimes and economic disadvantages, but no one wants to shoot any of you. [ Photo via Getty Images ] Update: Hah. 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. Yep, just some health care reform-supporting enraged loony lefitst, wandering around Richmond, Virginia, firing guns in the air near buildings where the House Minority Whip has offices.

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Republican Totally Wants In On This Violent Threat Scare Trend (Updated) [Me Too]