Arson At FW Democrat's Office

Is this what the state of politics is devolving into in Texas these days? If you can't vote someone out of office, you try to burn them out? The picture above shows the front door of the office of State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth). About 4:00pm on Tuesday, someone set fire to the outside door of the Democrat's office, probably with a Molotov cocktail. The senator called it a "homemade explosive device".

It could have been even worse if the fire hadn't been quickly discovered. Instead of just arson, it could have resulted in arson and murder -- because there were two workers in the office when the fire was set. Fortunately, they heard the device hit and one of them quickly put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.

The arson is being investigated by the Fort Worth Fire and Police Departments, and they are being aided in that investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety (State Troopers -- who investigate any attack on a state official). I hope they are able to quickly apprehend this criminal (or criminals) and deal out a severe punishment.This is not a political act, but a criminal act.

But it may well have been a criminal act based on some political beliefs. Davis has been a thorn in the side of right-wing Republicans since being elected. She opposed their deep cuts to Texas' already poorly funded schools, and she has strongly defended women's health and Planned Parenthood. She also took the state to court when the Republican legislature tried to gerrymander her district to prevent her re-election (and she won).

I don't think Republican officials had anything to do with this crime, but their over-the-top political rhetoric could well have persuaded some right-wing teabagging nut-job to do it. This is the kind of thing that can happen when you label political opponents as "enemies" of the state or country.