Rick Perry Trying to Get Democratic Representatives Killed

It started with Rick Perry wanting to play internet tough guy pistolier, and ended in gunfire into the office of Democratic Representative Gene Green. The story really begins back in 2010, when Texas added metal detectors to its capitol building. The security measures, which are standard pretty much everywhere other than Texas, came about after a psycho emptied a clip on the capitol steps. Moments before, he had been visiting the office of Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick. Another man was arrested after dropping an 8-inch knife during a committee meeting. Texas Senators and Representatives, not keen on becoming target practice for the state's mostly armed and unhinged "Alamo Forever" citizenry, decided they wanted some minimal safeguards at work, and had the metal detectors installed. Perry, either because he is a posturing jackass or perhaps because he is truly incapable of rational thought, decided he was against the metal detectors. Safety is for yankees and wussies, right Rick? And so Perry, being Perry, pushed through a law that set up a fast-track lane for concealed weapons carriers to avoid the metal detectors. For those playing along at home, Perry set up a system whereby the people guaranteed to be armed could bypass security. How long until one of the Texas reps gets shot in his or her office? A month? We know damn well it will be a Democrat who gets whacked. Texas has long had a love affair with driving bullets into the skulls of Democrats it does not like (see Kennedy, John). Today's shots fired at Gene Green's office should serve as a reminder that the right wing in this country is completely unhinged. Before you fire off that hate mail, consider the words of Tea Party darling Sharron Angle, the unsuccessful candidate for Harry Reid's Senate seat. She suggested "Second Amendment remedies" for Congressmen who didn't legislate to her liking. Six months later, anti-government nutjob Jared Loughner killed six people as he attempted to assassinate Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords at a rally in Arizona. And now, someone has done the same to Democratic Representative Gene Green. When are Republicans going to realize that their constant calls for armed violence and insurrection against the government is getting people killed, and will result in more violence, more gunfire, and more deaths? Rick Perry, for example, is already on record stating that he's considered having Texas secede from the United States. You can't go anywhere in the South, a Republican stronghold, without seeing a confederate flag orgy — a "proud" reminder of their insistence that their precious, biblically mandated slavery was more legitimate than the government that tried to abolish it. And now, they're at it again, with Perry insisting on the "right" of Texans to terrorize their elected officials by carrying guns into the very building where democracy happens. You cannot have reasoned debate where armed men lurk around every corner. And you cannot have a functioning democracy when cowards like Rick Perry would apparently prefer a bullet to a ballot. You can reach the author by email john@benzinga.com or on twitter @johndthorpe.