An editor for a left-wing website said that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise should be nominated for a "Darwin Award" because of his opposition to gun control policies.
The Raw Story senior editor Martin Cizmar tweeted out the remark after Scalise denounced the threats of violence toward Republican officials.
When a politician opposes all reasonable gun control and gets shot he deserves a Darwin award nomination not a sympathy card.
— Martin Cizmar (@martincizmar) October 8, 2018
Cizmar drew an immediate backlash for going after Scalise (R-La.), who was severely wounded by a Bernie Sanders supporter last year on a practice field ahead of the congressional baseball game.
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Scalise's tweet was sent out after Republican Sen. Cory Gardner's wife was sent a text message that included a video depicting a beheading, following Gardner's support of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
These vicious threats have to stop. This cannot be the new normal—there is absolutely no place for violence in our political discourse. Democratic leaders need to denounce this behavior. https://t.co/SRjDwdGval
— Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 7, 2018
The text also said that someone posted the names and addresses of Gardner's family members.
Cizmar initially tweeted "Boo boo little baby" to Scalise and then called him a "whiny" Republican.
Boo boo little baby https://t.co/HInJ6Yidh5
— Martin Cizmar (@martincizmar) October 7, 2018
"To all the unhinged wingnuts angry about my calling a whiny Republic man a little baby... do you support gun control? If so, please keep talking. If not, why do I care about some guy grazed by a bullet who allows children to die because of his dumb and extremist policies?" Cizmar said.
His remarks were met with conservative backlash, with many saying he shamed Scalise for being a victim of a shooting.
He was the victim of an attempted massacre by a crazed, leftwing gunman. I kind of think he has grounds for complaint against violent rhetoric. What's your angle here? I can tell you, whatever it is, it's wrong. And bad.
— Susan_Wright [Insufficiently Partisan] (@SweetieWalker) October 8, 2018
In a world of insensitive, tone deaf posts, this literally might be the Gold Medal winner. I hope you never walk in the shoes of @SteveScalise who fell victim to someone stirred up by the likes of you and your ilk.
— Michael Lewis (@MichaelLewis73) October 8, 2018
Great example of the kind of quarter you can expect from leftists in the culture war. @SteveScalise already a survivor of attempted murder by an anti-gun fanatic is belittled because he fears for his colleagues safety.
— Mark Rothschild #FreeJulian (@RothschildMark) October 8, 2018
Cizmar responded by saying that Scalise was "an accomplice" to the 2017 incident.
He’s not a “survivor” he’s an accomplice.
— Martin Cizmar (@martincizmar) October 8, 2018
Scalise later responded after Cizmar's comments started to make headlines, tweeting "praying for him."
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