Family Research Council exploits shooting for sleazy attack on Obama and SPLC

The Family Research Council pointed a finger to Obama for today's tragedy/

In light of this morning's terrible shooting, a lot of issues need to be up for discussion, from political affiliation, to nasty rhetoric, to gun control (which does not get talked about enough when these incidents take place.) But what doesn't need to happen is for anyone to exploit this morning's events for potshots and payback.

I wish someone would have told this to the Family Research Council:

Early reports are that Congressman Scalise is in critical condition after undergoing surgery earlier today. As his office said, "He is grateful for the brave actions of U.S. Capitol Police, first responders, and colleagues." But it was a sobering reminder of the days in which we live. Every generation has its differences, but America is experiencing time of sustained hostility. The cloud of vitriol that grew under Barack Obama has so poisoned our dialogue that it may have once again driven a man to target innocent people -- this time public servants whose only crime was gearing up for one of the few moments of comradery and bipartisanship left in the city. Late this afternoon, the media confirmed that in addition to his anti-Trump rants, this gunman had liked the Southern Poverty Law Center's page on Facebook, the same organization tied to domestic terrorism in federal court for inspiring the shooting at FRC. This is where the path of intolerance can lead. And in a country spewing inflamed rhetoric from Broadway to the Beltway, it's time for reasonable people to step in and say, "enough."

What's the deal with the semantic attack on Obama, i.e. the ever so slight dog whistle that FRC supporters will pick up on?  Neither Obama nor his presidency had anything to do with today's events, except - if you really want to go there - how his opponents ran  over all levels of decency and decorum to make him look like a sepia Damien Thorne from "The Omen" trilogy.

But that doesn't even to begin to describe FRC's mention of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Connecting SPLC to today's tragedy by claiming that the shooter was a fan of its webpage is just tacky. But it's not surprising.  The Family Research Council has been angry at SPLC ever since the organization accurately named FRC as an anti-lgbtq hate group in 2010 because of its deliberate lies about the gay community.

Then, in 2012, a mentally ill young man named Floyd Corkins attempted to invade FRC's office in order to shoot employees. He was stopped by a security guard and a tragedy was averted. Since that time, however, FRC hasn't wasted a single opportunity to connect Corkins with SPLC . And the organization does this even though Corkins had no connection with SPLC except for reading its articles about FRC's anti-lgbtq rhetoric; articles which did not lie.

According to the Huffington Post:

Corkins was “experiencing auditory hallucinations” and had “thoughts of killing his parents and conservative right-wing Christians” in the months leading up to his crime, his lawyer argued. The day before the shooting took place, he missed his monthly shot of an anti-depressant drug.

I guess the point I am making is that regardless of which side of the political fence you are on, there is no excuse to exploit today's events to build up your own sense of victimhood and to tear others down. Especially in the case of Obama and SPLC because neither had anything to do with  what happened today.