{"id":15044,"date":"2010-03-25T13:06:08","date_gmt":"2010-03-25T19:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=15044"},"modified":"2010-03-29T01:47:58","modified_gmt":"2010-03-29T07:47:58","slug":"gop-congressional-hopefuls-denounce-threats-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/03\/gop-congressional-hopefuls-denounce-threats-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressional hopefuls denounce threats, violence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Steve Pearce (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Three Republican congressional candidates from New Mexico are denouncing acts and threats of violence that, thus far, have been aimed mostly at House Democrats who have supported health-care reform legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI condemn any violent acts and making threats against elected officials \u2013 of either party \u2013 and their family members. The lawbreakers should be fully investigated and prosecuted,\u201d said Steve Pearce<\/a>, the Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Harry Teague<\/a>, D-N.M., in the 2nd Congressional District.<\/p>\n

\u201cViolence only begets more violence. We must express ourselves through the ballot box and the written word. We can do that without violence,\u201d said Tom Mullins<\/a>, one of two Republicans challenging U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n<\/a> in the 3rd District.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Tom Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

Mullins\u2019 primary opponent, Adam Kokesh<\/a>, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile recent political debates have gotten understandably heated, there is no excuse for turning to violence or\u00a0personal attacks\u00a0to make a point,\u201d he said. \u201cThe founders of this country blessed us with a system through which all debates can be settled peacefully, through the ballot box. Let us honor them and our Constitution\u00a0by keeping our discourse civil, lobbying our representatives respectfully, and seeking change by changing\u00a0hearts and minds\u00a0through inspiration, not fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pearce, Mullins and Kokesh join many Republicans and Democrats in Washington in denouncing the threats and violence<\/a> that have been grabbing headlines since the president signed the health-care legislation into law on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Adam Kokesh<\/p><\/div>\n

At least 10 House Democrats have reported \u201cdeath threats or incidents of harassment or vandalism at their district offices over the past week,\u201d the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a> is reporting. One member had a coffin left on the lawn in front of his home. The brother of another had a gas line cut at his home.<\/p>\n

But Democrats may not be the only ones targeted. Rep. Eric Cantor<\/a>, R-Virginia and the minority whip, said at a news conference today that he had also received a threatening e-mail. And a Republican congresswoman from Ohio has reportedly received a threatening phone message.<\/p>\n

Cantor also said a bullet had been fired into his campaign office building sometime in the last two days. Police later said the bullet had been randomly fired skyward and came down through a window and landed a foot inside the building, The Associated Press<\/a> is reporting.<\/p>\n

While condemning the threats and violence, Mullins said New Mexicans, \u201clike many Americans, feel like their voices have not been heard. They are frustrated, angry, and frankly very disappointed with our elected officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has received threats on the campaign trail, but wouldn\u2019t elaborate beyond saying there have been two or three instances in which there were \u201cthreats of physical abuse if we don\u2019t leave town or an area.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve asked New Mexico\u2019s congressmen and the other congressional candidates for comment on the situation. If I receive additional statements, you\u2019ll see them here.<\/p>\n

Update, 1:15 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Green Party 1st Congressional District candidate Alan Woodruff<\/a> had this to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe threats of violence and personal attacks on members of Congress is the inevitable consequence of negative rhetoric of the Republican opposition to everything President Obama and the Democrats are doing. I don\u2019t agree with everything the administration is doing, but I deplore the negative, attack tactics that have come to characterize the political process – including campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, as political candidates, must do everything we can to bring the country together by promoting rational debate and a full discussion of the issues.\u00a0 The example set by political \u2018leaders\u2019 is a disgrace.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Update, 8:25 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Republican 1st District candidate Jon Barela<\/a> had this to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe violence and threats of physical harm that have been levied against\u00a0members of Congress\u00a0are deplorable, and the perpetrators should be punished.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are privileged to live in a peaceful democracy, where we can express our grievances and opinions about government activities in a myriad of legitimate ways, violence never being one of them; and, ultimately, we are blessed to have the right and responsibility to select those we send to Washington to represent us.\u00a0These senseless threats and acts must stop immediately.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luj\u00e1n spokesman Mark Nicastre said this:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to maintain a healthy, respectful debate free from heated rhetoric, violence and intimidation. It\u2019s what the people of New Mexico and the people of our country deserve. Anything less is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Update, March 26, 7:30 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Teague said this:<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the course of the last year I held over 100\u00a0public meetings\u00a0throughout the\u00a02nd\u00a0Congressional District\u00a0and health-care reform\u00a0was almost always a topic of discussion. Southern New Mexicans on both sides of the issue were passionate about their beliefs, but things never got out of control and no one resorted to violence. I do think that these recent incidents of hate filled speech, violence and other threats against\u00a0elected officials\u00a0and their families are dangerous and only serve to undermine the\u00a0public debate.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly identified Woodruff as a Libertarian. This article has been updated to reflect new information about the situation involving Cantor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: Three Republican congressional candidates and a Libertarian candidate from New Mexico are denouncing acts and threats of violence that, thus far, have been aimed mostly at House Democrats who have supported health-care reform legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[108,117,116],"class_list":["post-15044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-2010-election","tag-health-care","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}