Idaho GOP leaders criticize Rex Rammell for his ‘joke’ about hunting Obama.
Idaho GOP leaders criticize Rex Rammell for his ‘joke’ about hunting Obama.
Despite coming under widespread criticism for his “joke” about hunting President Obama, Idaho Republican gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell wrote a tweet this morning doubling down on his own tasteless humor:
Rammell is facing fire from allies in his own state. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) issued this statement:
Rex Rammell’s comments are in very poor taste and should not have been said. … Remarks like these should not even be made jokingly. We are engaged in a critical national debate over many major issues facing our country today. Remarks like these are not only unhelpful in that debate, but they undermine it. He should apologize for those remarks and for the perception they may have created.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) added, “It is absolutely irresponsible to say such inflammatory things, especially for someone who seeks to be a leader in Idaho.” Even the Idaho Republican Party said it “does not condone Rex Rammell’s comments, whether in jest or not.” Nevertheless, Rammell refuses to apologize.
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I’m sure this Neanderthal will be a hit with Beck and Limpballs and the rest of the hate nation at fix news.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:36 pmRemarks like these are not only unhelpful in that debate, but they undermine it.
No, they accurately portray the unhinged Right, and make it harder for you to recruit others to your debased party.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:36 pmWow…….putting my dropped jaw back in place! TWO Republicans chastising one of their own? ABOUT TIME!
August 28th, 2009 at 4:37 pm“Rammellrex”??? Sounds like some kind of pill you take when you’re constipated…
Hmmmm…is THAT why he’s against health care reform???
August 28th, 2009 at 4:38 pmI do hope these guys that came out and spoke the truth about this GOP idiot do not backtrack on their comments.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:39 pmMaybe that light at the end of the tunnel isn’t a train?
Time will tell.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:40 pmOoww. They CRITIZED him. Wow, I’m sure he is repentant! What are they going to do? Make him sit in time-out? They should DENOUNCE him for this rhetoric! This is serious sh*t! These Righties are like children playing with matches around a propane tank for God’s sake! These people are waiting for somebody to tell them to do something stupid. Look at Tiller’s murderer. They used hateful rhetoric to inflame these people and he acted. Of course, they dropped the guy after he killed that man. That’s because they are cowards. Sigh.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:40 pmNevertheless, Rammell refuses to apologize.
could it be cause he feels this way, and it was not a joke at all.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pmI think the latter myself.
Nevertheless, Rammell refuses to apologize.
– - Attaboy Rex. You’re makin’ Sarah Palin moist.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:42 pmI would rather Rammell not apologize. If that is how he feels, that is his right. But I am heartened that he has been called on it and hope the good people of Idaho recognize an insensitive racist doesn’t deserve to be elected to public office.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:42 pmUh oh, some of the Repukes are seeing a backlash to the Republic Fascist Party on their hate speak…
….good that only means that some of the neutrals are starting to pay attention.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:45 pm.
If the G(no)P had brains… (IF!)
… Then they would run Rex Rammell out of town and tar & feather his behind for inciting others to want to assassinate the President of the USA.
.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:46 pmEveryone here knows how I take great pride in my reputation as Mr Positive” , so I’ll go ahead and state for the record, that those GOP “leaders” criticized Rammell with a wink and a nod
August 28th, 2009 at 4:46 pmHood@10, I hope you are right. But this is a state that gave us good ole Sen. Larry Craig. Even though he got busted toe-tapping he still wouldn’t ease his blantant adversity to gays. Sometimes I don’t want to get up in the morning anymore. Between the racist rhetoric, to the hysteria at the Town Halls, to the wackos carry guns to Obama speeches, I really think we as a country are heading for a free-for-all.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:48 pmThey think they are so witty! They think they are funny!
They are fomenting violence, encouraging any lunatic to take action, and then they will tsk-tsk when someone commits murder.
Democrats must unite and call for an end to this kind of talk, but more importantly, all republicans should do so.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:49 pmEven if they don’t give a damn about the country or Democrats or Obama, there must be some of them who see that this is harming their party – and we know that is paramount to them.
I’m starting to think that the FBI and the Secret Service must be on a real hiring push right now — they’ve just GOT to be needing a lot more agents to deal with teh crazees that are coming outa the woodwork…
August 28th, 2009 at 4:51 pm.
Let me guess…
… If the President is tagged, will Rex Rammell be dancing in the street?
.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:51 pmTHERE are the rebukes I have been looking for from GOP leaders.
It IS absolutely irresponsible to say such inflammatory things, NOT ONLY for someone who seeks to be a leader in Idaho, but for anyone who CLAIMS to want to hold a thoughtful debate to come to a reasonable solution.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:52 pmHe won’t back down from it becacuse he knows it will guarantee him the Governor’s mansion in that State, best known for potatos (white potatos), and White Supremacist Militia Compounds.
(no offense to the good folks here who happen to live there – it is a beautiful place, “morans” notwithstanding)
August 28th, 2009 at 4:53 pmPD, I tend to agree but it is the first time anyone has stood up and called foul on this sort of behavior on the Republican side. We need lots more of it.
It is way past time to shut this insanity down and every little bit helps.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:56 pmMan, if you’re going to call what you said a joke, it should have been funny. And it’s not funny if the only people laughing are those who agree with your hatefulness against whoever you were proposing be murdered. That’s something different than comedy altogether.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:56 pmThe Democrats are involved in a “critical national debate”, the Republicans not so much.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:59 pmWhy would he apologize? The so-called national GNOP leaders love this type of ish, he is just saying what the use to say in private and occasionally let slip, but now since the Repuppetcans have found the First Amendment, he is just exercising his right, no matter how wrong or stupid it is.
What needs to be done is we need to save all of the hate rhetoric from the net, radio, tv, everything from everywhere, so when/if something happens to our President we can trace it back to all who are complicit every damn one of them. So-called media, so-called journalist, so-called Dems, so-called whoever.
If you really think that there are some Repuppetcans out there who dont believe in this then you are wrong, there is no longer such a thing as a responsible moderate Republican, the party has no use for them so they comform or become Dem’s (Spector is not a Dem), not Blue Dog’s those are full blown R’s, Repuppetcans no longer are bound by decency and respect, they have been emboldened by a weak Democratic Party and a compliant press.
“If for one day, everybody in Washington tried to do the “right thing”, you’d come into both Houses of Congress, there’d be mass suicide!”
Roy Cohn
RIP
August 28th, 2009 at 5:00 pmSGT Stephen R. Sherman
C CO 1-5 IN (STRYKER)
KIA 3 Feb 2005
Mosul, Iraq
ElBruce@21, And you have to ask yourself, who thinks this is funny? If a Democrat said something like this, I would feel the same way. Since when is it funny to joke about hunting our first Black president? I remember how people would bash Bush and the Righties were practcallt foaming at the mouths. If you said something about hunting Bush, the feds would be at your door busting your skull. WTF? NOW it’s acceptible to threaten a President?
August 28th, 2009 at 5:01 pmRex Rommell, The Desert Rat.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:04 pmI’m glad that Crapo, Simpson, and the Idaho Republican Party recognize vile taste in humor when they see it, and are concerned enough with the image of Idaho Republicans they’re trying to do some damage control.
I’m sorry that Rammell can’t see how his “joke” was offensive, and that his only justification that it shouldn’t be taken seriously is that “Idaho has no jurisdiction to issue tags in Washington, DC”??? WTF???
Look, you twit — you just condoned the murder of the president, whether you think it was funny or not. Apparently, you don’t think that was offensive. I hope the people of Idaho feel differently.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:05 pmGood on you Mike Crapo.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:06 pmThese types are very lucky. I wonder how Rammell would feel if the climate were a bit different and his opponent declared open season on Republican bigots?
August 28th, 2009 at 5:07 pmThe reason, I say, that these representatives of the people use this tyoe of spiteful rhetoric, and jokes, is because they have sold their power to the corporate/market titans for campaign bucks, they know they are strumpets. So, in order to regain some semblance of power from the people they use fear.
I can save you from ________, vote for me, follow me, I will do my best to defeat the ebil ebil boogeyman!
August 28th, 2009 at 5:22 pmRepublicans are a joke. Republicans are a vile, tasteless, unfunny joke.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:43 pmI think there is a difference between “Hunting” and “Assassinating”.
Rammell was clearly using Hunting terminology….Obama Tags.
Frankly , I don’t Know which is worse :(
August 28th, 2009 at 5:45 pmWell, he’s a shoo in for the governorship of Idaho.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:49 pmThank you to Republicans who blast this sort of behavior. It’s about time. Maybe if more of you actually blasted all your hate-filled, violence-inciting, racist base, you’d be a party again.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:54 pmI knew they were famous for potatoes in Idaho. I had no clue they had so many potato heads, however … in this case, of the mashed variety.
America, please welcome the 21st Century version of the GOP! All the hate and bigotry, but now with ten times the stupid!
And please remember all of this in 2010 …
August 28th, 2009 at 5:55 pmGiven the tension and violence at the town hall meetings any insinuations in regard to killing the President should be taken seriously and denounced by the GOP.
NOT everything you utter is a joke just because you say it is.
August 28th, 2009 at 6:00 pmDOCTOR Keith Ablow is a Leather Daddy Warbucks
August 28th, 2009 at 6:09 pmYeah, we gotta give props to Crapo and Simpson for being decent about this.
Of course the fact that being basically human is worthy of any unusual amount of respect says something in itself…
August 28th, 2009 at 6:14 pmRammell is a veterinarian. He’s used to dealing with elk and cows — not people. :-D
August 28th, 2009 at 6:52 pmElBruce,it’s not necessary for a Republican comment to be funny to be called a “joke”. All that’s necessary is that it draws a negative backlash from sane people for some breach of common decency.
August 28th, 2009 at 6:52 pmThis doesn’t surprise me all that much. It’s distasteful and Mr. Rammell needs some adult supervision, but on the other hand, Idaho gave us Ruby Ridge, Richard Butler, Aryan Nations, etc.
Of course, Idaho didn’t really give us those, but the Weavers at Ruby Ridge and Butler and his Aryan Nations followers found Idaho congenial, probably because they could isolate themselves. The issue is that the politics and mindset for those extemists isn’t really isolated. It bleeds out into whatever community they’re in, and it’s particularly contagious among people who have a sense of disempowerment. Regardless of the source of that feeling, people will grasp at certainties, and having someone around telling them that it’s all someone else’s fault can play well.
I can’t see things improving at all around Mr. Rammell. He thinks he’s clever and he’s going to push this until it singes him.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:16 pmIt’s hard to believe that it’s actually legal for Rex Rammell to encourage Americans to kill President Obama.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:18 pmSen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) issued this statement: “Rex Rammell’s comments are in very poor taste and should not have been said…Remarks like these should not even be made jokingly. We are engaged in a critical national debate over many major issues facing our country today. Remarks like these are not only unhelpful in that debate, but they undermine it. He should apologize for those remarks and for the perception they may have created. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) added, “It is absolutely irresponsible to say such inflammatory things, especially for someone who seeks to be a leader in Idaho.”
*******************************************************
So Rammel’s getting roasted by members of his own party for implying that Obama should be a target for hunters?
In a word…WONDERFUL.
Yes, I know I’ve got a bad case of schadenfreude right now — but at least in my opinion, any person in his or her right mind would agree that Rammel is getting no more than he deserves. Rammel can try to claim that he made the comment in jest, but there’s nothing even minutely or remotely humorous about the implication that any public official — never mind the President of the United States — should be shot.
I know I’ve said this before, but I think it bears repeating — perhaps this is a result of the fact that so many of my psychology professors in college were Freudians, but I for one believe that the use of mean-spirited “humor” like this (and I’m using the quotation marks deliberately) says a great deal about a person’s character. The person might actually think it’s funny — but in fact, it’s nothing but a form of emotional guerrilla warfare. The mouth is not the organ which truly controls what people do or do not choose to say — the brain and the heart do that. If the words come out of the mouth, they were already in the head and in the heart — if the person didn’t mean them, they would not have chosen to express them. Mean-spirited humor is the recourse of someone who very probably feels tremendous rage and hostility towards the person who is the subject of the so-called “joke” but who doesn’t have the courage and the integrity to express that hostility openly and face the consequences thereof, so they express it covertly and attempt to avoid the consequences by calling it a “joke”.
I have to give Crapo and Simpson a bit of credit for their condemnation of Rammle’s remarks — especially since I gather that he, as a gubernatorial candidate, posed no competition to either one of them. However, much as I’d like to believe that their remarks demonstrate the existence of some decency and integrity among Idaho Republicans, I nevertheless find myself thinking that this probably sprang from self-interest — an attempt to distance themselves from a fellow Republican who might inadvertently taint them by association — far more than it did from any desire to defend the dignity of the President. For all we know, Crapo and Simpson may share Rammel’s sentiments — this is Idaho we’re talking about, and it’s by no means known as being a bastion of tolerance! — but they’re simply not stupid enough to say so on the record. I mean, let’s face it…Rammel totally shot himself in the foot. Unfortunately for him, his foot was still in his mouth!
August 28th, 2009 at 7:46 pmZooey @ 38:
“Rammell is a veterinarian….”
I wouldn’t let him within 100 miles of a dead skunk; much less my beloved furbabies.
August 28th, 2009 at 7:57 pmZooey says:
Rammell is a veterinarian. He’s used to dealing with elk and cows — not people. :-D
And I’ll bet he knew of several mad cows in Idaho and other places, but that was all swept under the rug in order to maintain the competitive advantage over Canada when they had their mad cow problems.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:32 pmObama hunting tags was just a joke! Everyone knows Idaho has no jurisdiction to issue tags in Washington D.C.
What he’s saying with that Tweet is that Obama had better not step foot in Idaho. Just wanted to clarify the translation there.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:11 pmBastard.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:32 amSHAME, SHAME on Rex Rammell!!! And he wants to GOVERN??? He isn’t worthy to govern! How about we issue the American Indians tags to hunt Rex!! Now that would be worth tweeting and blogging about!
August 29th, 2009 at 2:42 amIt’s time to prosecute those who utter threats against the President…
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 41 > § 871
§ 871. Threats against President and successors to the Presidency
(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(b) The terms “President-elect” and “Vice President-elect” as used in this section shall mean such persons as are the apparent successful candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained from the results of the general elections held to determine the electors of President and Vice President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 1 and 2. The phrase “other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President” as used in this section shall mean the person next in the order of succession to act as President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 19 and 20.
Find it at:
http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/t028.htm
If that doesn’t work for you then consider this:
What are the Elements of a “Terrorist Threat?”
The most commonly used definition of a terrorist or criminal threat has five elements:
1. Someone willfully threatens to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily harm. This means that the threat obviously has to be of a highly dangerous nature. Threatening to slash someones tires, for instance, would probably not be sufficient. However, the threat can be made in any medium, written, orally, or electronically transmitted.
2. The threat was made with the specific intent that it be taken as a threat. Although this certainly seems like a redundant sentence, it is meant to convey that the threat is a crime even if there is no actual intent to carry it out. The only intent you need is the intent to make the threat itself. So if you threaten to blow up a school, you will still be guilty of this crime even if you are completely unarmed and have no means of accomplishing this at all.
3. The threat is so unequivocal, unconditional, and specific as to convey a gravity of purpose and immediate prospect of execution. This extremely complicated sounding sentence is very important to the law, so let’s break it down. Remember you must satisfy ALL of these requirements.
Unequivocal: This means that the threat must be a direct statement of what you WILL do, as opposed to CAN do (i.e. “I could be the next man to blow up the federal building” does NOT count).
Unconditional: This word is very bizarrely used here, because the courts have directly held that conditional threats (”If you touch me again I’ll kill you”) DO qualify. It is a gray area, but presumably, the fewer conditions used, the more likely the court will rule that it is a threat.
Specific: The threat cannot be vague (”if you don’t give me a million dollars, something bad will happen”).
4. The threat actually caused fear in the victim. People must actually believe your threat for you to be arrested for it.
5. The fear was reasonable. If you said that you are going to blow up the White House with your spaceship, it is unlikely that any reasonable person could take this seriously.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:50 amThe racist Reich and their HYPOCTICAL Christianity……..it`s got to be run by scared WHITE guys!
August 29th, 2009 at 12:12 pmCorrect me if I am wrong but doesn’t this smack of a “threat to the President ” ? And I thought that was illegal.
Aside : Barfly if you are reading…I apologize for misunderstanding a statement you made on another post, my mistake.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:50 pmI am getting damn sick and tired of veiled threats to President Obama, then “it is just a joke.” This President unlike the previous one has a clean slate. During bush’s term even wearing t-shirts against the war, people were detained for quite awhile and questioned. Talk about double standard ! And these comments from people who are suppose to be an example of good citizens !
August 29th, 2009 at 3:56 pmGOP to Rex Rammell:
OOoooOOOh now, Rexxie, we *always* cover our mouths when we cough!! There’s a good boy.
*eyes rolling*
August 29th, 2009 at 4:45 pmHeh. It’s hilarious that an internet blogging company is more knowledgeable about US law than a gubernatorial candidate. LiveJournal specifically states they will ban you if you make ANY kind of threat against the President because it’s against the law.
http://www.livejournal.com/abuse/policy.bml
August 29th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
This was no “JOKE”, it was a direct threat to the President of the United States of America. At some point in the very near future, some one will attempt to carry-out that Threat. Rex Rammell, should consider moving to another country or the Moon, if that should ever happen.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:56 amIdaho should elect or even nominate a candidate Rex Rammell that is a tad bit serious about making law for this country and should display the ability to do the job instead of making up smears to deflect the fact he would do nothing or would fail at it miserabley because he is a candidate who wants your vote but is not adult enough to perform the duty of the elected office.
August 31st, 2009 at 2:55 amRex,
Your comments are racist, unAmerican, and unChristian. So, if you are neither of these, please explain yourself and publically apologize. Otherwise, we must assume you are all of these.
Hunting a black man has been around since the slave days and lasted through the civil rights era and the only connotation can be racist. Christians do not abide racism. Americans abhor racism.
So please come clean and show yourself. Admit your racism or apologize.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:00 amThis guy is getting more attention for being a butthead than he ever could running a serious campaign. He should be ignored. I stopped taking him serious the moment his campaign bus pulled into town. Somebody needs to take this guy aside and explain to him that the Teton’s are in WYOMING. I understand that the picture was taken from Idaho, but why would plaster a picture of the most scenic WYOMING mountain range on an IDAHO campaign bus. Maybe he just plans to move onto a Wyoming office once he fails in Idaho. Meanwhile he keeps making our state look horrible. Please move on.
September 2nd, 2009 at 6:07 pm