Obama calls on Democrats to stop violence at Trump rallies

[StarTrombone]

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times - Friday, June 3, 2016
President Obama said Friday night that Democrats should stop assaulting Donald Trump supporters at political rallies, even as the president told wealthy donors that Mr. Trump is exploiting voters’ resentment of immigrants and gays.

The president said opponents of Mr. Trump shouldn’t resort to violence, as occurred at a rally in San Jose this week, where a mob of anti-Trump demonstrators terrorized supporters, throwing punches, hurling eggs and intimidating them.
*snip*
“We saw in San Jose these protesters starting to pelt stuff and Trump supporters,” Mr. Obama said at a fundraiser near Biscayne Bay, Florida. “That’s not what our democracy is about. That’s not what you do. There’s no room for violence. There’s no place for shouting. There’s no room for a politics that fails to at least listen to the other side — even if you vehemently disagree.”

The president said Democrats must “remind ourselves of who we are and what is best about American democracy, and not slip into some of the bad habits that currently manifest themselves in the other party.”

“I believe if you’ve got the better argument, then you don’t need to do that [engage in violence],” Mr. Obama said. “Just go out there and organize and persuade.”

The fundraiser was hosted at the home of personal injury lawyer Robert Rubenstein; tickets ranged from $10,000 to $30,000.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/3/obama-calls-democrats-stop-violence-trump-rallies/

Some sanity being injected into the chaos

[rogerashton]

1. Is there any evidence that the attackers were Democrats? nt

[Trust Buster]

3. Yes, your eyes.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. I thought Sanders supporters were all overprivileged white male millennials

and closet white supremacists, to boot.

Why were these protesters waving Mexican flags, then?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/donald-trump-california-protesters/

[EL34x4]

7. Maybe they were angry Jeb Bush supporters.

[NobodyHere]

14. Can't be

There were more than 5 people there.

[Trust Buster]

2. It's shameful that the President felt compelled to say this because of such horrendous behavior.

[ananda]

21. What if they were not Dems?

Just sayin

[Trust Buster]

22. If you have eyes and watched all the videos, you're not saying much.

[frazzled]

4. This is what Sanders should be saying

Not the man who is in no way responsible for engendering attitudes of anger and vague notions of "revolution."

These kids are most likely not Democrats, and they are certainly not going to listen to Obama. They are the new breed of young independents flocking to the Sanders campaign, and it is morally incumbent upon Sanders to talk directly to them. That's what leaders do. And when you don't rise to doing it, you're in no way a leader.

Thank goodness Obama is a real leader. Unfortunately, I think his sound pronouncements will fall on deaf ears.

[Albertoo]

13. ^^^ well put ^^^

[Warren DeMontague]

17. Oh, baloney. There is ZERO evidence any of this has to do with Bernie Sanders.

But it's not surprising that Clinton people will use any and every excuse to try and catapult their nasty narratives about "Berniebros".

Fact of the matter is, Donald Trump has said some extremely incendiary things about Latinos and undocumented immigrants from Mexico, and California happens to have a large number of both.

That is why you're seeing this stuff, reprehensible as it is, at his rallies. It has jack diddly shit to do with Bernie Sanders or a "new breed of young independents".

[roamer65]

5. Should the German people have stood still in 1932?

I think we are nearing that type of inflection point.

I am not condoning the violence, but there are two distinct paths in front of us.

[EL34x4]

8. And how are these rioters going to prevent Trump

from being elected?

Do you think beating up his supporters while waving Mexican flags (and burning American ones) will discourage people from voting for him?

[StarTrombone]

9. Are you saying that President Obama doesn't have the sources

To know WTF is going on?

Has he ever been known to go off half cocked before

I would like to think he knows what's going on

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Yes, fuck the facts, keep pushing the "BernieBro" narrative, huh?

Derp.

[awoke_in_2003]

10. It is funny...

that the word "democrat" is not in the quoted words of Obama. Was the paper inserting that?

[KelleyKramer]

15. Yes, it's a righwing rag owned by Moonie

The Washington times is garbage

[awoke_in_2003]

16. I figured that was what they were doing...

if he actually said democrats need to chill, instead of people need to chill, they would have direct quoted it.

[Warpy]

11. Anti Trump demonstrators need to STAY HOME

The man preaches hate and violence. The LAST thing we should be doing it giving it to him.

I remember all too well what role the 1968 riots paid in giving us 8 years (6 served) of Richard Nixon.

Yes, we all hate what Trump stands for. However, indifference is the way to hurt a narcissist. Give that to him.

[mopinko]

20. funny you should mention that.

smelled like cointelpro to me.
police riots, agents provocateurs, rat fuckers everywhere.
twerent so much the hippies that were starting the fights.
still a great way to smear a people's movement, apparently.

watching it live on msnbc, it was said that there was "a second group of protesters that had nothing to do with the rally who just showed up" and bingo, the trouble started.

things that make you go hmmmm.

[Warpy]

23. Yepper, and these passionate young folks need to know it WORKED

and all the horrors since then got their start in Nixon's administration including Rumsfeld and Cheney.

If they keep feeding into this bullshit, they'd better practice saying "President Trump."

[mopinko]

24. yup.

dont get played kids. we oldsters have seen this movie before.

[pampango]

12. "Even as he called for cooler heads to prevail, Mr. Obama said Mr. Trump and his party are trying to

divide Americans with ugly tactics.

“Being able to say that it’s immigrants or it’s gays or it’s somebody that is taking something away from you — that’s the essence of the message that the Republican nominee is delivering,” Mr. Obama said. “The appeal that is being made is not primarily an economic one, but rather it is feeding resentments.”

The president said Democrats must “remind ourselves of who we are and what is best about American democracy, and not slip into some of the bad habits that currently manifest themselves in the other party.”

“I believe if you’ve got the better argument, then you don’t need to do that [engage in violence],” Mr. Obama said. “Just go out there and organize and persuade.”