You wouldn't guess it from reading a post on the Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party page, but President Obama has condemned attacks on police officers, after he made a condolence call to the widow of a deputy sheriff murdered in Texas.
What President Obama said
The Washington Times staff writer Ben Wolfgang reports in Obama calls widow of slain Texas deputy, calls shooting ‘an affront to civilized society’:
President Obama on Monday condemned last week’s cold-blooded murder of a Texas sheriff’s deputy, calling the killing “an affront to civilized society.”
Mr. Obama called Kathleen Goforth, the widow of Harris Count Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth, while on Air Force One en route to Alaska. Deputy Goforth was shot 15 times while pumping gas Friday night, and investigators believe he was targeted simply because he was a law enforcement officer.
“On behalf of the American people, I offered Mrs. Goforth my condolences, and told her that Michelle and I would keep her and her family in our prayers. I also promised that I would continue to highlight the uncommon bravery that police officers show in our communities every single day,” the president said in a statement.
“They put their lives on the line for our safety. Targeting police officers is completely unacceptable — an affront to civilized society. As I said in my State of the Union Address, we’ve got to be able to put ourselves in the shoes of the wife who won’t rest until the police officer she married walks through the door at the end of his shift. That comfort has been taken from Mrs. Goforth. So we must offer her our comfort — and continue to stand up for the safety of police officers wherever they serve,” Mr. Obama said.
Here's the relevant paragraph in the 2015 State of the Union Address:
We may have different takes on the events of Ferguson and New York. But surely we can understand a father who fears his son can’t walk home without being harassed. And surely we can understand the wife who won’t rest until the police officer she married walks through the front door at the end of his shift. (Applause.) And surely we can agree that it’s a good thing that for the first time in 40 years, the crime rate and the incarceration rate have come down together, and use that as a starting point for Democrats and Republicans, community leaders and law enforcement, to reform America’s criminal justice system so that it protects and serves all of us. (Applause.)
What the CD07 Republican Party secretary wrote
Apparently those messages didn't make it to Fergus Falls, home to Dave Adams, secretary of the MN07 Republican Party. The Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party pinned this post to the top of its timeline:
Here's what Dave Adams, Secretary of Minnesota CD7 Republicans, posted (or had posted) on the CD7 GOP's Facebook page on Monday:
What Lives Matter??
Just hours after individuals claiming to be associated with the “Black Lives Matters” Movement went on a triad [sic] on Internet Radio, openly calling for the murder and death of white police officers, a Married Texas Deputy Sheriff is executed while pumping gas into his car. For President Obama, his close friends Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, and Louis Farrakhan, this killing, this wanton execution of a white law enforcement officer is a telling moment for all American Conservatives and Independents. For some Democrats, it is also disgusting. However, we note strongly the “silence” from the socialist and ultra-left side of the Democratic Party. Their silence is deafening, a hard reflection of their disregard for normal culture and American norms. They refuse to pay heed to what they have inspired. Sadly, it seems as if Democrats want to close their eyes to the blood on the street from those who serve the community, only to scream murder when that blood comes from a black criminal. Obama sends his D.O.J. and personal Attorney General to hunt down local Law Enforcement. Al and Jessie take the usual Television Race Baiting Tour, arm-twisting companies for donations while lending their fictitious anger towards the woes of police brutality. Farrakhan exhorts his Black-Muslim minions to stalk, hunt down, and kill all whites. When White Officers are killed, they say nothing, they do nothing, and they see nothing. Yet, since Ferguson, MO, it is their voices that have uniquely inspired the creation and the conflicts brought on by the “Black Lives Matter Movement” that is now openly calling on the death of whites. This time however, the silence coming from all Democrats is earsplitting . . . – Dave Adams Secretary of Minnesota CD7 Republicans
Yeah, you read that right:
. . . When White Officers are killed, they say nothing, they do nothing, and they see nothing. Yet, since Ferguson, MO, it is their voices that have uniquely inspired the creation and the conflicts brought on by the “Black Lives Matter Movement” that is now openly calling on the death of whites. . . .
The Associated Press reviews the facts in A look at slaying of Houston-area sheriff's deputy, comments about Black Lives Matter movement. Vox has more in There's nothing linking Black Lives Matter to a Texas cop's death. Fox News did it anyway.
As far that "silence from all Democrats" goes, Adams may simply be hearing impaired or not looking for anything other than that sweet spot of outrage he wants the entire world to adopt, and in newer posts, the congressional party unit's Facebook page itself is now extending the bashing of Democrats and Black Lives Matter as if the two are one monolith. Perhaps we can revive Will Rogers to help out with the first misconception about Democrats. As for thinking that all Black Lives Matter participants think alike? Enough said.
What Governor Dayton said
First, the "silent" Democrats. We've already reviewed what the President said about the murder. Closer to home in Minnesota, Governor Dayton has objected to a short chant at the end of the Black Fair protest.
Mara Gottfried's piece in the Pioneer Press, Mark Dayton: Black Lives Matter's 'pigs' chant 'terrible' to say, doesn't seem like silence:
Gov. Mark Dayton thinks a chant of "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon," during a Black Lives Matter St. Paul march to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds "was a terrible thing to say," his press secretary said Tuesday.
His comment came in response to Rep. Tony Cornish calling on Dayton on Tuesday to not meet with the group unless they apologize for the chant that law enforcement groups have called threatening. . . .
What the #BlackFair organizer said
Nor is the organizer of the march to the fair calling for the murder of police officers. In the Star Tribune article, Police union official critical of 'disgusting' chant at Black Lives Matter march, Nicole Norfleet reports:
When asked by CNN if the chant by protesters in St. Paul Saturday incites violence, Turner said that the Black Lives Matter movement does not condone violent acts.
“We do not want to see black people being killed,” Turner told the Star Tribune. “We don’t want to see cops being killed.”
What the videographer said
Norfleet's article describes the context of the clip:
The man who shot the video, who wanted to be identified only as Niko, said the chant occurred near the end of the demonstration as protesters walked away from the fairgrounds. He said it lasted about 30 seconds, and he added that when the chanting ended, a police officer laughed and made a joke about bacon.
Perhaps that's why other news reports and participants like journalist blogger Mary missed it in first hand accounts like Black Lives Matter goes to the Minnesota State Fair. It doesn't seem to have been at the center of the messaging.
Whatever the case, nothing is getting through the filter to Mr. Adams in Fergus Falls other than outrage. So it goes.
Represented in Congress by conservative Democrat Collin Peterson, the Seventh Congressional District is a target for the NRCC. In the second quarter of 2015, Peterson's last opponent raised $0, for a total of $2355.00, so perhaps the national Republicans need to find another candidate. We'll let readers know if this district heats up beyond the phantoms on the district Republicans' Facebook page.
Photo: The image used in a Facebook post attributed to Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party secretary Dave Adams..
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