Reporters should dig into Brophy claim that Dems are using Newtown to "permanently injure" the GOP

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by: Jason Salzman

(Yeesh. The people who are doing the most harm to the Republican Party are usually Republicans – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Reporters covering the local fallout of the Newtown tragedy should dig into statements percolating through the media, and exmplified by comments like state Sen. Greg Brophy’s below, that Democrats are using the tragedy simply to bring down Republicans.

“And there’s a lot of–and this is going to sound terrible, but it’s the truth–there’s a lot of politicians and leftist activists who see this as an opportunity to permanently injure the Republican Party and make it more likely that Democrats will win elections,” Brophy told KFTM radio’s John Waters this morning. “And I think there’s a lot of people pushing it, especially their media allies that are pushing this notion from that perspective.”

It’s not the kind of comment that should be thrown in the pile of political-discourse-as-usual. What would Brophy have Democrats do? Be mute? Blame the media, as he does? Talk about mental health issues, as if guns had no role? Why does mentioning the word “guns” equal an attack on the GOP?

Brophy thinks the focus should be on the mentally ill, with no discussion of guns:

“And I’ve got to tell you, if the leftist activists and their allies in the media concentrate only on beating up Republicans over our principled stand on the Second Amendment, then we may not have the discussion that we need to have over all of these other issues [like treatment for mental illnesses],” he told Waters.

Brophy’s unsubstantiated accusation of Democratic politicking contrasts with another strand of thinking by local politicians, like Colorado Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman quoted below, who argue that politicians can do nothing at all.

“The real bottom line here, is there is 300 million people in this country. Someone, somewhere is planning to do harm to somebody at any given day, and all the laws in the world aren’t going to stop it,” Cadman said at a Denver-Press-Club forum, as reported by Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Bente Berkeland. “Criminals will still do criminal acts.”

So, if he really thinks nothing can be done, does Cadman also think the Dems are all about politics too, like Brophy does?

19 thoughts on “Reporters should dig into Brophy claim that Dems are using Newtown to “permanently injure” the GOP”

harrydoby says:

December 18, 2012 at 3:26 pm

They certainly don’t need our help.

And it seems as though deep thinkers in the GOP like Bill Cadman are advocating pure anarchy:

…all the laws in the world aren’t going to stop it

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Half Glass Full says:

December 18, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Yes, “this is going to sound terrible.”

And his comment about a “principled stand on the 2nd Amendment” is ludicrous. Talking about banning a specific type of weapon, and clips over 10 rounds, has nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment – unless Brophy claims that every American has the Constitutional right to carry around fully automatic machine guns.

Does he believe that? Wouldn’t surprise me one bit. The guy is totally irrational, not to mention incredibly offensive, mean-spirited, and tone-deaf.

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Gray in Mountains says:

December 18, 2012 at 5:33 pm

makes it hard for Brophy to think or speak coherently

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Diogenesdemar says:

December 18, 2012 at 7:01 pm

in Brophy’s pocket, or is he just happy to be blathering on the radio?

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BlueCat says:

December 18, 2012 at 7:08 pm

Rs have been so supportive of spending money on the mentally ill.

I do believe we need to better address mental illness especially as it intersects with acts of mass violence. However, people will always slip through the cracks so let’s make sure weapons whose only purpose is killing lots of people quickly and easily are not available.

This is a completely different issue from crime as we understand it and a completely different set of perpetrators. After all, American professional hitmen, who will always be able get whatever weaponry they want through illegal channels, aren’t going berserk in schools, malls and theaters.

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allyncooper says:

December 18, 2012 at 7:19 pm

So true Pols. Republicans like Scott McInnis, who scuttled any chance of Republicans winning the Guvs office, or maybe ex-Speaker McNulty, with his brilliant parliamentary skills (sic) are perfect examples. These guys didn’t use a .22 to shoot themselves in the foot, they used an AK-47.

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parsingreality says:

December 19, 2012 at 6:49 am

Whatever it takes.

Lie down next to the Whigs.

Let the moderate conservatives – any left? – step up.

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rattus says:

December 19, 2012 at 6:39 pm

Is it just me, or are the CO GOP’ers using a new form of grammar, like the White Man’s Ebonics – Ivonics?

Brophy: “…there’s a lot of politicians and leftist activists who see this…”

“And I think there’s a lot of people pushing it…”

where “there’s” = “there is”

Cadman: “The real bottom line here, is there is 300 million people in this country…”

Conjugation of the verb “to be”:

Ebonics Ivonics

I be I is

you be you is

he be he is

we be we is

you be you is

they be they is

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