Yesterday, several hours after the Pennsylvania Police arrested a man for allegedly firing a gun at the White House, Lauren Pierce, president of the College Republicans at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote on Twitter that it might be tempting to shoot President Obama.
According to an article in the Austin American-Statesman:
Lauren Pierce, who is also the state chapter’s secretary, wrote on Twitter: “Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012.”
Her deputy, Vice President Cassie Wright, later explained that:
“Insofar as she’s a representative [of the College Republicans], maybe it shouldn’t be said, but she’s made a positive statement in a way, ” said Cassie Wright, the group’s vice president.
“I don’t really see anything wrong with it,” Wright added. “It’s just a personal comment, not representative of any group. Just freedom of speech, you know?”
What? No one was trying to censor Pierce, the point is to emphasize that Pierce said something really disturbing.
It is, in general, a very bad idea to talk about assassinating a president (especially if you’re in Texas). Saying that you think it might be tempting to murder a sitting president emphasizes nothing about the president and his policies; it says a lot about you.
The Texas College Republicans have apparently called on Pierce to resign her position, explaining that “TCR respects the sanctity of human life, and although we may disagree politically with President Obama, our organization respects President Obama and the position he holds as our chief executive and commander in chief.”
If Pierce resigns that will make Cassie, “Just freedom of speech, you know,” Wright acting president of the group.
