And that scares me a great deal. But yes I had a deep sigh of relief this morning upon reading that 20 year old Thomas Matthew Crooks was registered as Republican but at age 17 donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project. Does that make him either/or? Or perhaps an Independent?
So this got me to thinking. Have any of the other US Presidential assassins been party affiliation identified? Here is what I have found thus far.
Richard Lawrence tried to assassinate President Andrew Jackson (D) on Friday January 30 1835. It seems the guns misfired and Lawrence was found insane perhaps due to paint fumes. No political party affiliation to be found.
John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln (Whig then Republican) on Good Friday April 14 1865. I for one do not label Confederate sympathizer nor pro-slaver as a political party.
Charles J. Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield (R) on July 2 1881. They were both Republicans. It took a few months for President Garfield to die from infection. Guiteau was pissed off at not being rewarded for his help during the election.
Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, shot President William McKinley (R) on September 6 1901.
John Schrank shot former President Teddy Roosevelt (R then Bull Moose) on October 14 1912. Schrank was clearly insane and claimed that the ghost of President William McKinley told him that Roosevelt was his murderer, and the ghost asked Schrank to avenge his death. No party affiliation found for Schrank but he was very keen on politics.
Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Kennedy (D) on November 22 1963. Oswald. Troubled childhood. Marine at 17. Twice court-martialed. Claimed he was a Communist. And a bunch of other well researched stuff. Hard to determine actual party affiliation.
John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan (R) on March 30 1981. Hinckley was nuts and in love with Jodie Foster. No party affiliation found.
There have been many more attempts and it seems most of them were due to insanity. But here we are today. The first early headlines, before the bomb materials found in the car, were all Party affiliation. That troubles me. Or is this now the new normal? On the other hand, perhaps we should praise the press for coming to our defense so quickly, if you know what I mean. I must admit that I was worried that the shooter would end up to be a registered Democrat even though I kept telling myself that “No. People on our side don’t do that.”
Bottom line. This snowball will melt in hell dam fast. But the rolling down this hill of what-the-fuckery is adding a great deal of mass to it. And we do not yet know when and where the bottom is.