On Saturday, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) used violent language to predict a “blue wave” in November. He suggested Democrats won’t just win, they’ll “totally kick the sh*t out of the Republicans.”
“Guys and ladies, we are less than 60 days from totally kicking the sh*t out of the Republicans,” Gallego declared Saturday, in remarks first reported by the Washington Free Beacon’s Andrew Kugle. Gallego gave the menacing prediction at a Get Out the Vote event with the Maricopa County Democratic Party.
The congressman suggested the “blue wave” will prevail across Arizona, even in red districts.
“I’m not just talking in the blue districts. I’m not just talking the fight in the 28 where they’re always fighting. I’m talking we’re gonna win here in Chandler. We’re gonna win Oro Valley. We’re gonna win in Chino Valley. We’re gonna win in anything that has a valley. We are going to win and turn this state blue,” Gallego said.
Trump only won Arizona by 4 percent in 2016, but five of the state’s nine representatives in Congress are Republican, as are both of the state’s members of the U.S. Senate. Even if Democrats win impressive victories across the country, it is extremely unlikely they will turn Arizona completely blue.
Gallego’s remarks clearly referred to a Democratic victory in November, but their aggressive nature seems rather ominous, given the worrying uptick in political violence in recent years. After the Congressional Baseball Game shooting last year, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) called on Democrats to denounce threats against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) last week. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) received a threat from a man saying he would “kill me and chop up my family with an ax.” Democrats have also mocked Paul for getting attacked from behind by his neighbor.
Pro-life commentator Denise McAllister, a rape survivor, has received serious rape and death threats, driving her into hiding. As PJ Media’s Deb Heine noted, other attacks also came last week: a truck rammed into a Fox News affiliate, a knife-wielding man attacked a Republican congressional candidate in California, a tweet threatened mass murder against a gathering of Trump supporters in Washington, D.C., and an arsonist attacked a GOP office.
In this climate, Gallego’s prediction that Democrats will “totally kick the sh*t out” of Republicans sounds particularly ominous. As Kugle pointed out, Gallego himself has called President Donald Trump a“psychopath,” told immigration officials they wouldn’t be safe, and said the Republicans’ health care plan would “kill people.”
If you are a US government official and you are deporting Americans be warned. When the worm turns you will not be safe because you were just following orders. You do not have to take part in illegal acts ordered by this President's administration. https://t.co/BLq48HRkbH
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) August 30, 2018
Watch his remarks below.
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