A Few Thoughts on Reaction to the Tucson Shootings by Certain Members of the Press

Every time I think the left wing of the American political spectrum has reached a new low in political discourse, and they couldn't possibly go any lower, they do something else to prove me wrong.  Before I expound on this latest wave of leftist duplicity (and downright stupidity), I want to say my family and I are praying for the full recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and the others that were wounded in that absolutely senseless shooting in Tucson.  In addition, our heartfelt condolences go to the families of the nine-year old girl, the federal judge, and the other four folks who were killed by this idiot.

Now down to business.  During crises, the rhetoric frequently becomes heated and the emotional part of the brain takes over the logical part.  The same often happens during political campaigns. This is no excuse, of course, for irresponsible accusations, hate speech, etc., but it happens just the same.  Having said that, I must point out that the phrase "targeting" an opposition candidate or incumbent is commonly used in campaigns, by both Democrats and Republicans, not to mention other political parties around the world.  After the atrocious "health care" care bill was passed last year, politicians on the right side of the ledger, such as former Governor Sarah Palin,  "targeted" some members of congress who had supported the bill, including the unfortunate Representative Giffords.  What this meant was the Republicans (and members of the Tea Party) were focusing on campaigning against these people in the next election.  That's it.  Nothing more.  They weren't targeting them for assassination or some other heinous deed.  To suggest anything else is to give new meaning to the word "asinine."

In the last 20-30 years, some more strident voices on the right side of the political spectrum have emerged, such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, etc.  These have all been accused of being "extremists" and, in some cases, have been blamed, indirectly of course, for bombings, shootings, assassination attempts, etc.
They supposedly "created an environment" for right-wing lunatics to come out of the woodwork and kill people (see Timothy McVeigh). It is tempting to dismiss such opinions as being too stupid to even comment on, but, all too often, these accusations come from members of the press who command a certain portion of the public's attention.  Some of the opinions expressed by economist Paul Krugman, and talk show host Keith Olbermann during the last three days (not to mention that dimwit sheriff in Tucson) have been nothing short of ludicrous.  I should be used to it by now, as it happens every time. An obviously mentally-deranged individual takes it upon himself to attack a congresswoman for God knows whatever reason, and the "holier-than-thou" preachers of "progressivism" get on their soapboxes and blame everybody but the one who actually committed the deed - the shooter.

 In a nation of 300 million people there are many who are just plain nuts.  It's as simple as that. To blame the actions of these maniacs on conservative political discourse is, well, loopy.  (After listening to Rush Limbaugh for a couple of hours, don't you just want to machine-gun a few liberals?  Hell, let's get 'em - lock and load!)  What a joke.

I'm old enough to remember the 1960s when leftist political rhetoric reached levels of absurdity that make people like Coulter, Limbaugh, etc. seem overly polite.  (How many of you fondly remember "Hey Hey LBJ!  How many kids did you kill today?")  And not just in the 1960s.  Some of the remonstrances against President Reagan were equally repugnant.  Much more recently, we had the phrase "Bush Lied, Children Died."  Ah yes, the "polite" political discourse of the American left - it NEVER goes over the top. 

It is high time that we all realize that the blame for extreme acts of violence rests squarely on the shoulders of the person or persons who committed the violence.  We simply have to stop using these incidents as an excuse to attack our political adversaries.  It won't happen, of course, because, historically, extreme rhetoric and even the use of violence itself has been the hallmark of left-wing politics.  (Ah, I can hear you say, but what about the extreme right, such as the Nazis?  The actual name of the Nazi Party was the National Socialist German Workers Party. Hmmm . . . "Socialist."  "Workers."  Does that sound "right-wing" to you?  Anyone who studies the politics of the twentieth-century will soon realize that Naziism and Fascism were actually leftist ideologies, focusing on concentrations of state power versus empowering the individual.  It is my contention, and I am not alone in this, that Communism and Fascism are two sides of the same coin.)
So the beat goes on.  And it will happen again when the next cuckoo-clock takes a shot at somebody (unless, of course, the target is a conservative). 

Oh, by the way, lock up the kids and bolt the doors tonight at 5 PM.  That's when the Glenn Beck show is on the Fox News Channel.  God knows what extreme reactions we'll see when he speaks.

Sigh.