Bishop Says "Our Democracy Won't Survive" If Political Incivility Continues
June 15, 2017
A charity baseball game between Congressional Republicans and Democrats will go on tonight as scheduled; including 8th District Congressman Mike Bishop who was one of those pinned down Wednesday by a shooter during a practice session.
Bishop says he and other GOP lawmakers were taking batting practice at the field in Alexandria, Virginia when shots rang out. The shooter was identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson of Illinois, an outspoken opponent of President Trump and the Republican Party. Bishop told WHMI’s Mike & Jon in the Morning that the brave actions of GOP Whip Steve Scalise's security detail allowed him and others to escape.
"They knew full well when they came around the corner where he was and the fact that (the) weapon they had in their hands...was not compatible with the shot they had. I'm sure they didn't have any expectation of taking him out from that distance. It was just an effort to give us cover to get up and go and that's exactly what they were doing."
Both of the Capitol police officers were injured. Scalise was critically wounded as was Matt Mika, a former congressional aide, who now works for Tyson Foods in its Washington office. Bishop says while he has no fear about security at tonight’s charity game, he does worry about the future of the country if the rhetoric isn’t toned down, adding that, “people we have to be able to disagree with each other without being angry and violent.” (JK)