Right-wing death threats rise: Republicans should condemn Rush Limbaugh

One House Republican leader referred to a Democratic member and said he can’t go
home; he’s a “dead man.” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) did not
mean a physical threat with this comment, but it demonstrated extremely bad judgment
and further inflames very dangerous tendencies within certain extreme circles.

Republican leaders in Congress and potential Republican presidential candidates
should publicly condemn Limbaugh’s language and publicly call on him to cease and
desist from using any incendiary language that could incite violence. They should
condemn all incendiary language from anyone in right-wing media or politics.

It is repellant enough, and highly damaging to Republicans, for their supporters
to use racist slurs against African-Americans, to use bigoted slurs against gay
Americans and to spit on members of Congress. Shame on Republicans who refuse to
strongly condemn this and limit their remarks to further inciting this behavior,
or weakly criticizing it alongside incendiary rhetoric that implicitly excuses it.

When Rush Limbaugh uses language about wiping out political opponents, and language
that could well incite acts of physical and criminal violence, he is taking this
campaign to a whole new and darker level.

Republican leaders in Congress should condemn Limbaugh for language of hate that
could well inspire violence.

Republican presidential candidates should condemn Limbaugh for language of hate.

All Republicans in positions of leadership should strongly and unequivocally condemn
the hatred, the bigotry and the potential incitements to violence that are coming
from extreme elements of the radical right that are now becoming voices for the
Republican Party.