Yes, it's true. Never let a fund-raising opportunity pass you by.
I'm too sad and frustrated to say much more. Will simply post the text of the e-mail, which I found on a link to Talking Points Memo
Sometimes it seems things are just too bleak, that people are so short-sighted, so angry and so poorly educated, find it so easy to believe such stupid stuff, that there's just no way to make things better.
This weekend we all were horrified to hear the news of the violent shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several others in Arizona.
One thing that surprised us was how many in the news media and liberal political figures and organizations immediately launched into an attack on the tea party movement - assigning blame for the shooting to our grass roots, Constitutionalist movement in general, and Gov. Sarah Palin in particular.
Friends, this is outrageous.
It is quite clear that liberals are trying to exploit this shooting for their own political benefit, and they used deception and dishonesty to try and smear all of us and our beliefs.
You know what the truth is? The truth is that the shooter, Jared Loughner is the one responsible for this atrocity. But liberals are trying to place the blame on society for embracing the tea party movement.
We here at the Tea Party Express find that disgusting and revolting.
This isn't a new concept for liberals. Let us harken back to the words of Ronald Reagan when he called out the Left for similar behavior in years past:
"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."
- Ronald Reagan
If Jared Loughner does have a definable political ideology it is that of a far Left anarchist. Loughner is a mentally disturbed young man who sought his ideological fulfillment from the Communist Manifesto - hardly the Bible of the Tea Party movement. He posted videos of flag burning on his YouTube channel - again, antics more consistent with Blame America First liberals, not the tea party movement.
In fact, Loughner's interactions with Congresswoman Giffords date all the way back to 2007 when he confronted her with a question he had, and received an answer he found unacceptable. You read that right - Loughner's interactions with Congresswoman Giffords date back to 2007 - well before the tea party movement had even been launched.
This was all an effort to try and demean us and diminish support for the tea party movement, since the Left could not beat us at the ballot box. Sadly way too many people in the media cooperated with this smear campaign.
The media didn't tell you that the left-wing website, DailyKos, had targeted Congresswoman Giffords, putting a BULLSEYE on her, did they? But that's just what happened.
Instead they tried to blame Gov. Sarah Palin. Friends, their hypocrisy and double standards are appalling.
This kind of media bias is a large part of why our tea party movement exists - because the voices of We The People have not been represented fairly by the news media, and listened to by our elected officials.
Well guess what: to those liberals in the news media and on the political Left who think you can silence us, you are wrong! Your efforts to try and smear us and shut us up will fail.
We have nothing to do with this awful, tragic event in Arizona. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords and the victims and families of this massacre.
But we will still fight just as passionately for this country we love, and the vision of our Founding Fathers as outlined by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
We're taking our country back through the ballot box and in the public square - through peaceful means. And we will prevail, because our ideas and ideals are stronger than the scare/smear/defame tactics of the leftists we face.
We ask you to please stand with the Tea Party Express and show your support for our efforts.
You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express - CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.
In case people missed it, here is what I consider a courageous apology to the site and Giffords posted yesterday by BoyBlue for his previous diary using the unfortunate headline Giffords Dead To Me or something like that.
He was angry after Giffords, in his eyes, dissed Nancy Pelosi by not voting for her for... what is she now? Minority Leader? Anyway, a single person posted a diary like this a few days ago on DK and is now being trotted out as the false equivalency of Sarah Palin and her cross-hairs target map.
BlueBoy came here like a grown-up and sincerely apoligized.
Sarah Palin fawned outrage and swore through surrogates that her cross-hairs were not anything like cross-hairs.
And the Tea Party movement is outraged and trying to raise money off their outrage over people saying they have some responsibility for Gifford's shooting.
Also, please see Jane Hamsher's excellent piece at Fire Dog Lake (yes, I know, Jane went a little crazy over health care reform, and I haven't been to her site in ages, but saw it reposted at Huffington Post -- well worth a read) where she provides telling context to the timing of Sarah Palin releasing her target list, along with the cross-hairs map.
Palin didn't just step into it in a void. Look at this list of events compiled by Jane from the spring of 2010:
* Friday, March 19: Mike Vanderboegh of Pinson, Alabama, the former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia, puts out a call for modern "Sons of Liberty" to break the windows of Democratic Party offices nationwide in opposition to health care bill.
* Friday morning: Brick thrown through the Niagra Falls office of Rep. Louise Slaughter, who was also receiving threatening voice mail messages referring to a sniper.
* Friday night or Saturday morning: Brick thrown through the Democratic Party headquarters window in Wichita, Kansas with anti-Obama rhetoric written on it.
* Saturday, March 20: Brick thrown through the window of the Rochester, NY Democratic headquarters. Attached is a note with a Barry Goldwater quote: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."
* Sunday, March 21: A fist sized rock thrown through the window of the Hamilton County Democratic Party headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio after the health care bill passes.
* Sunday, March 21: Front door of Gabby Giffords office smashed out, presumably by a brick or a pellet gun.
* Monday, March 22: Propane gas line severed at the house of Tom Periello’s brother by a self-identified Tea Party activist who believed Periello lived there.
* Following the health care vote: Bart Stupak receives a fax with with a drawing of a noose and an anonymous voice mail saying: "You’re dead. We know where you live. We’ll get you." Betsy Markey receives telephone threats of violence. A man threatens to burn down John Boccieri’s house.
All of this was already happening, and in that context, on March 23, Sarah Palin put Gabby Giffords and 19 other lawmakers in her cross-hairs map.
When criticized for it and told that might be not only irresponsible, but dangerous, Sarah Tweeted:
Commonsense conservatives and lovers of America: Don't retreat -- instead Reload!
There we go. If you have commonsense (sic) and love America, you will be reloading.