Why the hate filled rhetoric against Trump matters

There are people out there that do not need much to push them over the edge as is probably the case with the Virginia shooter, Hodgkinson.  This shooter had nothing but praise for Sanders and what Sanders said.  He took it a little to far.  Below is an excerpt from a Sanders speech on June 10, 2017.  Although I believe all speech is covered under the 1st Amendment including hate speech, people in the public eye should think before they speak since what they say can have consequences.  If you do not like a particular elected official you find a candidate to run against that individual or party, but not use hate and masked threats to accomplish this. 

Sanders also took a series of stinging shots at Trump, labeling him "perhaps the worst and most dangerous president in the history of our country" and a habitual liar.

He argued that the Republican's populist campaign pitch was a deception, a Trojan horse that opened the White House doors to a parade of plutocrats.  But I guess if you are a progressive (new name for communism) it is a way to silence the opposition or rid the country of them.  Where are the democrats speaking out against the hateful, viral rhetoric their party and followers are using?

The suspect in the shooting in Virginia put a new spotlight on the rage buried in some corners of the progressive left.

Hodgkinson filled his Facebook page with photographs of the senator and quotes from his speeches. Hodgkinson also wrote messages filled with expletives directed at the president, and a post in March said: “Trump is a traitor. Trump has destroyed our democracy. It’s time to destroy Trump & co.”

On Tuesday, Hodgkinson posted a cartoon on Facebook explaining “How does a bill work?” “That’s an easy one, Billy,” the cartoon reads. “Corporations write the bill and then bribe Congress until it becomes law.”

“That’s Exactly How It Works. ….” Hodgkinson wrote.

That is not far from Sanders’ own message. On Saturday, during a conference in Chicago filled with Sanders supporters, he thundered, “Today in the White House, we have perhaps the worst and most dangerous president in the history of our country,” to cheers from thousands. “And we also have, not to be forgotten, extreme right-wing leadership in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.”