From Links to Lucifer to Calls for Execution, Republicans Seethe at Hillary Clinton New York Times

There have been aerial signs reading “Hillary for Prison,” rallying cries of “lock her up,” misogynistic souvenir swag mocking her body parts and, in a violent turn, a public call for Hillary Clinton to be executed.

Political conventions are usually a mix of talking up the party’s nominee and denouncing the opponent. But as Republicans gather in Cleveland to nominate Donald J. Trump, the venom being directed at Mrs. Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has taken a strikingly sinister tone that makes the days of Swift-boating and Bush-bashing at past conventions seem tame.

Here are some of the harshest attacks leveled at Mrs. Clinton this week.

Christie Conducts Mock Persecution of Clinton

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie conducted a mock trial of Hillary Clinton in his speech before the RNC on Tuesday, one so ruthless that it sent chills down my spine and reminded me why so many women have an aversion to American politics.

Hillary got a considerably warmer reception from her executioner in February when the two appeared on CNN and met behind the scenes. In the footage, Christie leaves so space in his Hillary hug, wishes her luck in the primary and even suggests Clinton should also get her own flavor of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Unfortunately, the Vermont-original brand was committed to Sen. Bernie Sanders had.

To understand that just five months later would stand on a Cleveland stage, leading the audience in a chant of "Lock Her Up" made me think of the Salem Witch Trials. ~ Anne

"Lock Her Up!" The bloodlust in Chris Christie's speech against Hillary Clinton is not normal. It's sick. by Michelle Goldberg Slate

Christie’s speech was logically incoherent. Even if you buy his damning interpretation of Clinton’s foreign policy errors, it doesn't make sense to discuss them as matters of criminal malfeasance. Emotionally, though, that’s in keeping with how Clinton’s bitterest foes talk about her: as a person of absolute corruption, who, through some sort of occult trick, moves through the world with intolerable impunity. As many people pointed out on Twitter, the way that Christie punctuated his inquisitorial brief with the crowd’s cries of “Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!” made him sound less like a contemporary politician than a magistrate condemning a witch.

Hating Hillary is the great theme of this gathering. T-shirts and buttons for sale around the convention revel in it: “Hillary for Prison,” “Life’s a Bitch—Don’t Vote For One,” “I Don’t Often Hate, but When I Do… I Prefer To Hate Hillary Clinton.” It’s the one thing that binds together the GOP now that its nominee has blithely jettisoned many of the party’s central principles. It is also, in its dehumanizing fervor, inescapably intertwined with misogyny. It’s not that Republicans don’t hate men—they obviously despise Barack Obama. But their loathing of Clinton is even more primal. They want to see her not just beaten but destroyed and humiliated, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and locked away.