Hans Tanzler attacks John Rutherford on death penalty opposition

The Congressional District 4 GOP race thus far has been a race to the right. And in that context comes Hans Tanzler‘s recent attacks on John Rutherford for the former Jacksonville sheriff’s opposition to the death penalty.

On Wednesday morning, Tanzler sent out a press release saying “I am not sure that with a blanket approach to this [death penalty] issue, Rutherford can be trusted to protect America.”

“In light of recent terror attacks on our own soil and overseas, it is more important than ever that leaders be willing to take out evildoers to prevent greater harm to the innocent. We must prosecute the War on Terror as aggressively as possible, which includes the death penalty for terrorists. I am not sure that with a blanket approach to this issue, Rutherford can be trusted to protect America,” Tanzler said.

“Any indication of weakness that we give our enemies is a green light to them for their murderous plans,” Tanzler added.

Rutherford’s position on the death penalty was voiced at a recent Republican forum, in which he talked of the “culture of death” in our country. He said he sees the death penalty and abortion as linked.

“I’m adamantly opposed to abortion,” Rutherford said, adding that “all life is sacred” and “that is why I’m no longer supportive of the death penalty.”

There is, said Rutherford, no “qualifier on the sanctity of life.”

“I do not believe in the death penalty because it weakens our position on abortion,” Rutherford added.

This position is not new for Rutherford; he said the same thing in January 2015.

“I think the first degradation of the sanctity of life began with Roe v. Wade,” Rutherford said. “It goes on, and you see the movies, the games the kids play. The video games, the violence in those games, all of that contributes to what I call a culture of death.

“And I believe in the sanctity of life. Whether you kill a baby in the womb or you kill a baby … neither one of those respects the sanctity of life, and that has been an issue with me for a long time. And that changed my position on the death penalty, because every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

Rutherford, with over three decades in law enforcement, has seen the consequences of the “culture of death” (as he calls it) more closely than most.

Certainly more than the other candidates in the race … unless those board room meetings of Tanzler’s were more interesting than the minutes would have let on.

However, this is not an election cycle where nuanced positions are allowed at the table. It is a dialogue of grievance and bold strokes, and a dialogue in which simplistic solutions are routinely touted as answers for complex questions.