We listed many of Republican Representative Steve Stockman’s deficiencies yesterday, but we take special notice of the especially gun-nutty flavor of his rhetoric. Once described as the closest thing to a gun that America had ever elected, his career has been marked by over-the-top statements about federal firearms legislation meant to elicit the outrage of decent people. The objective is to “stand up” against “liberal political correctness” to win approval from the sort of voter who thinks coward George Zimmerman should get a medal for shooting Trayvon Martin.
Our campaign bumper sticker: If babies had guns, they wouldn’t be aborted. stockman2014.com #gosnell #tcot twitter.com/ReElectStockma…
— Rep. Steve Stockman (@ReElectStockman) April 12, 2013
Maybe Stockman’s next Democratic opponent should try the slogan “If abortions are outlawed, only outlaws will have abortions.”
During her post-Sandy Hook coverage, Rachel Maddow has described the National Rifle Association’s public relations campaign as “trolling.” We have noted her using the meme once or twice since then while discussing Republicans and guns and suggest the case of Steve Stockman, typical of political trolling, demonstrates that such behavior predates social media. Twitter did not create trolls, it has merely empowered them.
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