Our descent into vitriol began long before Trump — and Democrats are culpable too

Washington Post  "After a deranged Democrat living in his van nearly assassinated Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) firing more than 70 rounds at House Republicans practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declared it “outrageous” that anyone would blame Democrats’ rhetoric for inspiring the shooter. “How dare they say such a thing!” Pelosi thundered. Never mind that the shooter echoed Democratic vitriol against the president, ranting on Facebook that “Trump is Guilty & Should Go to Prison for Treason” and that “Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.”
"Now Democrats are doing exactly what they condemned, blaming President Trump’s divisive rhetoric for the recent spate of mail bomb attacks and the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The truth is they ceded the moral high ground years ago. Our descent into vitriol began long before Trump — and Democrats and their allies are as culpable as the president.
"Recall that in 2000, the NAACP spent millions on ugly ads accusing George W. Bush of moral equivalence with white supremacists who brutally lynched James Byrd in 1998. “My father was . . . beaten, chained, and then dragged three miles to his death, all because he was black,” said Byrd’s daughter, as the screen flashed grainy images of a chain dragging a body behind a pickup truck. “So, when Governor George W. Bush refused to support hate-crime legislation, it was like my father was killed all over again.”  
"Barack Obama set the tone for his 2008 campaign against John McCain when he declared, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) answered that call when he compared McCain to segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace and declared that McCain was replicating the climate of “hatred and division” that led to attacks on civil rights workers. Four years later, a pro-Obama super PAC ran ads showing GOP vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan pushing an old lady in a wheelchair over the side of a cliff, while another ran false ads blaming Mitt Romney for a woman’s death from cancer.
"During the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton compared Republicans to Nazis, saying in regard to illegal immigrants they wanted to “round them up” and put them in “boxcars.” She also compared the GOP to terrorists, declaring, “Now, extreme views on women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups, we expect that from people who don’t want to live in the modern world, but it’s a little hard to take from Republicans.” And she listed Republicans alongside the Iranians among the “enemies” she was most proud of making." . . .

The American Catholic

MSNBC Guest Elie Mystal: ‘I Want Pitchforks and Torches Outside’ Trump Donor’s House in the Hamptons   "Thursday on MSNBC’s “All In,” network regular and Above the Law executive editor Elie Mystal called for aggressive protesting outside of the home of Stephen Ross, the owner of SoulCycle and the Miami Dolphins, for holding a fundraiser for President Donald Trump." . . . MSNBC's Chris Hayes calls protester shouting threats against McConnell 'peaceful'



Tommy Lee’s Nasty Diatribe Against Conservatives: ‘You Trumpsters Better Pray Liberals Never Gain Control Of The White House Again’
. . . "Need more encouragement to vote red in 2020? Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee shows the damage drugs due to a brain and what he thinks liberals would really do if they had complete power."   Weasel Zippers

The Babylon Bee reports:  Dems Criticize Trump For Not Taking Ownership Of The Sinking Of The Titanic  Still awaiting verification of this story as to whether it is satire or not. We do rank the Bee above CNN and MSNBC for accuracy and honesty. TD

"Democratic leaders across the country have called on Trump to take responsibility for his part in the sinking of the Titanic, which occurred in April of 1912. 

" 'Until Trump admits that his hateful rhetoric led to this horrible tragedy, we will not be able to heal as a nation," said Rep. Adam Schiff of California. "We must get to the root causes of nautical disasters like this one, and we all know what the main root cause is: Donald J. Trump.' " . . .