Hillary Clinton stepped up to the plate on Wednesday to offer the unifying message the nation needed after a man opened fire on a group of GOP members of Congress holding baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia.
Responding to the news that the pre-scheduled congressional baseball game is still on for Thursday, Clinton said Americans are “all ultimately on one team,” regardless of politics.
Tweet:
2 sides take the field tomorrow, but we’re all ultimately on one team.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
My thoughts are with the members of Congress, staff & heroic police. https://t.co/YwrEBbeDok
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 14, 2017
Clinton’s tweet came hours after James Hodgkinson, a man with strong anti-Trump views, shot four people, including GOP Rep. Steve Scalise.
While partisans on both sides of the aisle have been using the opportunity to point fingers and blame their political opponents for today’s shooting, Clinton’s message struck exactly the right tone at exactly the right time.
Violence carried out on anybody because of their political beliefs is unacceptable, especially in the United States of America.
As Clinton said, Americans may have sharp political disagreements, but it should never rise to the level of violence that members of Congress, their staff, and law enforcement witnessed today on a baseball field in Virginia.
Instead of using Wednesday’s shooting to further deepen our political divisions, lawmakers and voters on both sides of the aisle should come together and call for smarter – no, not tyrannical – gun laws that could save lives and prevent these types of tragedies in the future.
Today isn’t about scoring political points – it’s about coming together as one country, or team, and figuring out how we can curb the obscene amount of gun violence in the United States.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
