The other side on Hoffa comments

Fact-free Republican tea party supporter Randy Rossi is at it again in Fence Post. This time (Sept. 10) he employed a selectively edited and out-of-context quote by Teamster President James Hoffa.

Mr. Hoffa did use a war metaphor and called for his “army” of union workers to “take the SOBs out,” but the entire framework of his Labor Day speech about workers going to the polls to vote out anti-union, anti-middle class governors and lawmakers was left out. Not too coincidentally, this same edited version of his remarks played for a couple of days on Fox (Faux) News and right-wing radio.

Mr. Rossi characterizes Hoffa’s words as “vile” and “hateful,” but unless I missed it, he had no problem with Republican candidates for high public office calling for their adherents to become “armed and dangerous” and to seek “Second Amendment remedies.”

In addition, Mr. Rossi’s assertion that mass murderer Jared Loughner is a liberal, even though his gun-nut and extremist anti-government views mirror much of the tea party “patriot” movement, is completely spurious. Apparently, Mr. Rossi is attempting to sidestep the fact that Loughner specifically targeted a liberal Democratic congresswoman and her followers for assassination.

Thorn Randall

Libertyville