Trumpists Want To See Executions Before Trials? Is That Deplorable?

A couple of weeks ago, WBUR did a poll for the 2018 Massachusetts Senate race, which may wind up as Elizabeth Warren versus notorious former Boston Red Sox pitcher, and outspoken Trumpist, Curt Schilling. No one was surprised that the results showed Warren way out ahead with 54% to Schilling's 29%. Schilling is an extreme right-wing psycho who hates Elizabeth Warren-- bad motivation for a senatorial run, but what does the GOP have to lose? Schilling, who was fired by ESPN a few months ago, is now a hate talk radio host who debuted his show a couple weeks ago with an interview with another extremist crackpot, Ann Coulter.

Sunday night Schilling posted a hate-filled screed on this Facebook page that certainly explains what he has in common with Herr Trumpf.

[S]omeone just asked me "Well what would your solution be"? With regards to yesterdays violence. Sitting in my officer here's what came to mind just spitballing. "Solution" denotes a remedy or cure. It won't be that quick. You must, immediately, suspend immigration. You must, immediately, deploy national guard to points of entry and border crossings. You must immediately stop ALL foreign nationals from entering this country via air. You must then gut the dept of immigration of corruption and other forms of illegal activity, you must create a set of NEW rules regarding immigrants emanating from countries that support terrorism. Unless an immigrant can PROVE beyond a shadow of a doubt no links with terrorism, they cannot come here. You must immediately detain ANY and ALL illegal aliens linked to terrorism or terrorists, and ANY and ALL illegal aliens who have a felony on their record. You immediately return these illegals to their "home country". You must immediately create a bidding process for the private sector to construct their version of the Berlin Wall on our southern border. You pay for that with money and assets seized around the country in criminal arrests. Last year it was just north of 5 billion dollars. That should begin to cover the bill. We're america, we will take "your tired, your hungry and your poor" but NOT at the expense of American citizens safety and lives. Also? Anyone doing ANYTHING resembling the events of yesterday? You do NOT get your 'rights' under the law, you become an enemy combatant. Which means “No alien unlawful enemy combatant subject to trial by military commission under this chapter may invoke the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights.” The defendant does not have the right to file Habeas Corpus petitions and can receive the death penalty."

Now there's a brouhaha because Schilling has accused the Washington Post of lying about his post, inserting the word "accused" in a story entitled Curt Schilling’s solution for terrorism: Executions without trial. The Post lede was "The New York City bombing and other incidents over the weekend prompted Curt Schilling, the former Major League Baseball pitcher whose outspokenness led to his dismissal by ESPN, to take to Facebook to offer his solution to terror: suspend immigration and subject people accused of terrorism to execution without benefit of a trial."

OK, now you sort it out. I'd say Schiller's screed speaks for itself. I'd also say that he should be lots of fun for Elizabeth Warren. Thanks for reading DWT. Here's today's bonus-- a video that you might want to show your friends and family.

Confidential to Curt S: Do you want to wind up a pathetic old stumblebum like Jim B?

Yes, it's the famous bloody sock in which Curt
Schilling, torn tendon sheath and all, beat the
Yankees in game six of the 2004 AL LCS.

"Curt Schilling, the former major league pitcher who won the allegiance of Bostonians by leading the Red Sox to the 2004 World Series, said Wednesday that he has 'some interest' in running for the seat held for nearly 50 years by Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy."

-- the AP, yesterday

by Ken

"That being said," the great ex-hurler went on, "to get to there, from where I am today, many, many things would have to happen." Nevertheless, according to the AP report: "Schilling told New England Cable News that he has been contacted 'by people whose opinion I give credence to,' but he did not elaborate. He declined to comment when The Associated Press called his office."

Let's give the guy a break. This is his first season in retirement (though not his first season out of uniform -- he missed all of last season with his shoulder problems), and it doesn't seem likely that he's settled into the kind of beer-distributorship situation that a player might once have been thrilled to retire to.

I can't imagine that anyone is serious about our Curt making a run for the Massachusetts Senate vacancy. But I am overtaken with dread that we are now doomed to a lifetime of speculation about his running for office -- until he either gets it out of his system or (cringe) does it.

Curt has been outspoken in his support for right-wing pols, and I would just encourage him to consider the cautionary example of another onetime Philadelphia Phillie, Jim Bunning, whose second career as a public crazyperson, now drawing to a humiliatingly pathetic close, may have caused people to forget what a truly stupendous pitcher he was. (At the same time, Bunning's heartbreaking descent into mental darkness, apparently already well advanced by the time of his 2004 reelection campaign, has tended to make people forget how crazy he was when he was still sane.)

Unlike Curt, who for all his prodigious gifts needed some swift kicks in the butt to become the pitcher he finally did (question: although he's unquestionably a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher, with only 216 wins to show for his 20 seasons is he even a legitimate candidate for the Hall?), Bunning was simply a master of his craft. If you never saw him on the mound, well, you missed something. And I speak as a fan who mostly saw him against my Mets, who would have done little worse if they simply didn't show up on the days he pitched against them. The man was an artist with a baseball in his pitching hand. If he'd had Curt's arm and his stuff, he woulda won, I don't know, maybe 400 games. Make it 500 if he'd played on teams as good as Curt did.

I understand that when you've had an athletic career as successful as Curt Schilling has, it must be hellishly difficult to figure out what you do with the rest of your life. And it can't help when you've got foolish people telling you you're a natural to replace Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate. What I'm trying to suggest to you, Curt, is that as you try to decide where you go from here, this ain't it.

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