Gabby Giffords gets mean.

[elleng]

Gabby Giffords, irreproachable figure of sympathy, has fashioned an improbable new role for herself this election year: ruthless attack dog.

The former Democratic congresswoman, whose recovery from a gunshot wound to the head captivated the country, has unleashed some of the nastiest ads of the campaign season, going after GOP candidates in Arizona and New Hampshire with attacks even some left-leaning commentators say go too far. And Republicans on the receiving end are largely helpless to hit back, knowing a fight with the much-admired survivor is not one they’re likely to win.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/gabby-giffords-2014-elections-111180.html?hp=t1

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Based on the linked article, I wouldn't call it 'mean'.

She's simply pointing out that when you craft policies that put guns easily into the hands of violent people, you're enabling them to use those guns to murder. And that's reality.

[quadrature]

15. are you referring to 'Fast and Furious' ?

really really bad.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

16. No I wasn't.

Although that certainly sounded pretty dumb when it was in the news.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. Wow, that's all there is to the story at the link. No more details.

So some anonymous "left-leaning commentators" think Gabby's hittin' too hard. No examples. (Wouldn't want to give her any free coverage on this one; all you sheep have to know is that she's gone "too far.&quot Well, the truth not only has a liberal bias, it has an outright prejudice against the Right Wing, and is always saying mean things about it. So they need to take it up with Truth, not with Gabby, god bless her Blue Dog soul.

[elleng]

4. more from the article:

'Some of the toughest spots from Giffords’ newly formed pro-gun-control super PAC, Americans for Responsible Solutions, hammer Republican Martha McSally, a retired Air Force pilot who is running for the Arizona seat Giffords once held. . .

It’s no accident that Giffords is singling out McSally, people close to the former congresswoman say.
During her unsuccessful 2012 campaign, McSally ran TV commercials comparing herself to Giffords. The Giffords team fumed, and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, released a terse statement declaring, “Martha McSally is no Gabby Giffords.”

Another anti-McSally ad features a woman named Carol who says her daughter was killed by a criminal who bought a firearm at a gun show and didn’t receive a background check — a check, she states, that McSally would oppose. . .

Giffords also is going after Marilinda Garcia, a New Hampshire congressional candidate who, viewers are told, has “strange ideas” on gun laws. Another GOP hopeful in the Granite State, Frank Guinta, is ripped for “support[ing] the loophole that lets stalkers buy guns without a background check, no questions asked.”

In a midterm cluttered with negative ads, many of them seemingly crafted with the same cookie-cutter approach, Giffords’ commercials stand out for their intensity. Vicki’s emotional display, for instance, is something rarely seen in political ads.
Giffords is launching her campaign in parts of the country that have been affected by high-profile incidents of gun violence.'

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Thanks--I'm on slow-loading internet, that stopped loading

after the first paragraph so I thought I had seen all there was to see. The rest has now loaded.

Gabby has done nothing wrong. She puts out passionate ads about an issue concerning which she has passionate feelings. My comment on truth stands, regardless of what the editorial page of the Arizona Republic thinks.

[elleng]

9. Thanks. I'm glad there's wasn't a problem with the link.

Of course she's done nothing wrong!

[world wide wally]

3. This isn't mean at all. Just simple truth and Dems should be using it in thousands of other ads

[elleng]

6. Right, but headlines are often like that,

attention grabbers.

[Gothmog]

4. Politico is a hack publication

IT is silly using the "mean" terminology in this context

[elleng]

7. Right.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Ergo the attempt to portray her as "having gone too far."

It's what they do; try to take the edge off the attack.

[elleng]

11. Of course,

and they get paid for it, you and I just putter with our computers!!!

[DFW]

12. I happen to know Gabby. Both before and after. There is no "mean" in her.

Anyone using that word and Gabby in the same sentence has no idea whatsoever what Gabby is about.

Before she was shot, when introduced to new people, some would stick their hands out. Gabby would usually say, "I don't do handshakes, I do hugs."

Mean? Politico is mean, maybe. Gabby is 180° degrees from Politico--to her credit.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

Gabby gets mean like Sarah Palin gets a doctorate in molecular biology.

[AndyTiedye]

13. That Big Bad Bully Gabby Giffords is Being Mean to the Poor Little Defenseless NRA and its Hacks?

awww

You Rock, Gabby!

[radiclib]

14. Dems should take a lesson

This is how you fight. Show them reality, and if they're too sensitive for it, rub their face in it until they fucking get it.
As for Gabby laying the blame at McSally, if the shoe fits...

[sendero]

17. EXACTLY..

.... Dems have always campaigned with one hand tied behind their back. WHY? I totally believe that these sorts of negative ads work damn well for the GOP and they can work for us too.

[Paladin]

18. Amen.

The gun rights movement has no interest whatsoever in compromise or polite interaction. The reasoned, well-mannered approach has been attempted for decades by control advocates, and it has gotten us pretty much nowhere. If Gabby Giffords is ready to lead a bare-knuckles effort against the NRA et al, I'm with her.

[AZ Progressive]

19. Democrats and Progressives historically have been aggressive

Theodore Roosevelt, the founder of the progressive movement, was one of America's most aggressive leaders. Democrats like FDR and Truman presided over major wars and were aggressive in dealing with the Republicans. LBJ was aggressive in getting major civil rights and anti-poverty programs passed.