A New Jersey Democratic strategist is capitalizing on the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) by launching the hashtags #HuntRepublicans and #HuntRepublicanCongressmen, and he is showing no signs of backing down, claiming “the chickens came home to roost.”
James Devine, a longtime political strategist in the Garden State, tweeted in the wake of the shooting at a Republican baseball practice in Alexandria on Wednesday that “we are in a war with selfish, foolish & narcissistic rich people”:
We are in a war with selfish, foolish & narcissistic rich people. Why is it a shock when things turn violent? #HuntRepublicanCongressmen
— James Devine (@James_J_Devine) June 14, 2017
After provoking a furious reaction to the tweet, sent as Scalise was still in critical condition, he followed up decrying “hand wringing on Fox News”:
I can only stand so much hand wringing on Fox News #HuntRepublicanCongressmen https://t.co/f5I6JOsH4p
— James Devine (@James_J_Devine) June 14, 2017
Perhaps responding to the anger directed at him online, he then clumsily tried to justify the hateful tweets by repeating a tired Democratic talking point, attempting to link Scalise to David Duke:
In 2002, Scalise was a speaker at the European-American Unity & Rights Organization (EURO), a group founded by David Duke. #HuntRepublicans
— James Devine (@James_J_Devine) June 14, 2017
Amazingly, in light of his tweets, he told MyCentralJersey.com that the shooting was the result of “escalating rhetoric and vitriol that has been evident in our political system culminating with the election of our president and the chickens came home to roost, you know?”
While he said he does not condone violent acts, in apparent contradiction to his hashtags, he told the outlet, “If you want to behave in an uncivilized and violent manner, which I do not condone, but if you want to operate under those circumstances then you have to be prepared to accept those consequences.”
He also accused Republicans of starting a “class war.”
“If you want to invite a class war,” he said, “then you have to expect people to fight back at some point.”
On his website, Devine claims to have served in multiple roles in the state, including as the Democratic State Committee political director between 1992-3, where he “authored the coordinated campaign plan that helped Bill Clinton become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win New Jersey since 1964.”
On Thursday, he offered a snarky apology, saying, “I am sorry if my #HuntRepublicanCongressmen hashtag hurt the feelings of any GOP snowflakes but you have not engaged in civil discourse.”
Devine compared his hashtag to previous postings from Republicans:
Complain about #HuntRepublicans hashtag only if you rebuked @SarahPalinUSA's crosshairs on @GabbyGiffords or the image below Otherwise #GFYS pic.twitter.com/7fPhRljhgM
— James Devine (@James_J_Devine) June 15, 2017
Other New Jersey Democrats quickly distanced themselves from Devine’s apparent incitement, with a spokesman for New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman John Currie claiming to MyCentralJersey.com to be “in no way associated with Mr. Devine’s hashtag.”
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
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