NAPERVILLE - The Illinois Republican Party has pointed out comments made by 13th CD Democrat candidate Bill Foster (photo right), who connected the shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) to the Tea Party.
In remarks at a Naperville town hall event last night, Foster linked to Giffords shooting to the Tea Party, saying:
“It was a Congress on Your Corner event where Gabby Giffords was shot down by that crazy person,” said at the event, according to audio obtained by the Free Beacon. “And I used to talk to Gabby. We both lived in districts where there was a substantial Tea Party presence, and we would have substantial fraction of people who would show up there and [audio unclear]. And I would talk to Gabby about how we deal with these people, and what you do when you have to move on to the next person. It had a tremendous effect on my staff when Gabby was shot. It was something I always thought about late at night.”
Foster’s comments were first noted by the Naperville Sun. When pressed by the paper on his comments, Foster disavowed them:
Foster seemed to link the shooting with the Tea Party movement, saying some of his conversations with Giffords were about how to respond to criticisms from the group.
When asked if he had any knowledge of a connection between Gifford’s alleged shooter and the Tea Party, Foster backed off.
“I don’t believe there’s any connection,” he said, admitting that the individual was simply deranged.
But he maintained his position that the country was extremely polarized politically.
“The level of discourse in politics has gotten really unpleasant these days,” he said.
