Liberal website editor defends tweets mocking Rep. Steve Scalise for getting shot

Liberal website editor defends tweets mocking Rep. Steve Scalise for getting shot
A senior editor of a left-wing website is defending inflammatory comments he made on Twitter against House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who was critically shot last year by an attacker while practicing for the Congressional baseball game. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The senior editor of left-wing website Raw Story is defending inflammatory comments he made on Twitter, including his statement that House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) “deserves a Darwin award nomination” for continuing to support gun rights after being critically shot by an attacker last year.

What are the details?

Responding to a report that Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)’s wife was sent a text message showing someone being beheaded following the lawmaker’s vote to confirm U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Scalise tweeted on Sunday, “These vicious threats have to stop. This cannot be the new normal.” He called on Democrats to condemn the continued threats against Republicans.

Raw Story senior editor Martin Cizmar retweeted Scalise’s message, responding “boo boo little baby.”

Twitter users then criticized Cizmar for mocking Scalise, with conservative writer Susan Wright firing back, “[Scalise] was a 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?”

Then Cizmar doubled down, saying, “Steve was a victim of a shooting by a crazy person who should not have had a gun. Steve did not die. Steve opposes any changes to the laws that would keep crazy people from getting guns. Innocent children are routinely slaughtered in their schools because of Steve’s policies.”

He then tweeted, “To all the unhinged wingnuts angry about my calling a whiny Republican man a little baby…do you support gun control? If so, 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 added, speaking of Scalise that, “When a politician opposes all reasonable gun control and gets shot he deserves a Darwin award nomination not a sympathy card.”

According to his Twitter feed, Cizmar seems to be enjoying the attention he’s received from the backlash of his comments. On Monday, he stated that his goal was to get over one million impressions from his top tweet about Scalise, egging on right-wing critics by saying, “Let the rage flow through you, my conservative friends. JUST THINK OF THE SHEER LACK OF CIVILITY!!”

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