Clearing The Record On The Shooting

You've probably heard about the mass shooting in Arizona over the weekend.  The short version is that a nutjob opened fire in a grocery store and killed or wounded over a dozen people, including a federal judge and a Congresswoman (the last I saw, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is in critical but stable condition after having brain surgery).  While it would be nice if everyone simply offered prayers, condolences, and support for the victims and their families, that simply isn't the world we live in.  Instead, the nutjobs on the Left (especially in the media) have once again displayed their true despicable stripes.  I hate to drag this sort of personal tragedy into public comment, but when depraved people brazenly attempt to score political points with said tragedy, I believe we need to point it out and soundly denounce the effort, so I'm going to just post once on it and hopefully call it good.

As seems to be standard practice for the Left nowadays, they are doing their best to pin this ugly incident on tea partiers, right-wingers, and conservatives:

** Keith Olbermann tonight displayed a graphic showing Rep. Giffords as one of Sarah Palin's targets.

** Paul Krugman blamed conservatives and Republicans.

** Arizona State Senator Linda Lopez blamed tea party patriots.

** Leading leftist blogs Daily Kos (Markos Moulitsas) and Crooks and Liars blamed Sarah Palin.

** Pima County AZ Sheriff Clarence Dupnik blamed the "prejudice and vitriol" in Arizonafor the shooting today.

** Jane Fonda blamed Sarah Palin.

And so on.  Of course, all this finger-pointing took place before we really knew anything about the shooter or his motivations (never mind the fact that when an avowed Muslim goes on a shooting rampage on an army base while screaming glory to Allah, these same Leftists were quick to caution us about jumping to conclusions).  Now that we have a little bit of that information, it appears that this guy had nursed a serious grudge against Giffords since 2007 - long before Sarah Palin came onto the national scene.  We now also know one of his favorite books was the Communist Manifesto, he had posted a picture on his facebook of American flag-burning, he was anti-religious and had a makeshift Satanic shrine in his home, and one of his heroes was Barack Obama.  A tea partier??  Really?

But don't bother a liberal with facts or truth.  No, instead, they're actively planning how they can politically capitalize on this tragedy, including a fundraising effort.  Unbelievable.

If anyone is guilty of inflammatory rhetoric, it is the Left itself, though they'd never admit it.  Stephanie Herman asks about what the Left might consider 'inflammatory':

Did this qualify as "inflammatory rhetoric"?

Obama to Latinos: "Punish" Your "Enemies" in the Voting Booth

… In a radio interview that aired on Univision on Monday, Mr. Obama sought to assure Hispanics that he would push an immigration overhaul after the midterm elections, despite fierce Republican opposition.

Did this qualify as "inflammatory rhetoric"?

Matthews: 'Someone's Going To Jam a CO2 Pellet Into Rush's Head And He's Going To Explode'

Analogizing Rush Limbaugh to a James Bond villain, Chris Matthews today fantasized: "at some point somebody's going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he's going to explode like a giant blip."

Did this qualify as "inflammatory rhetoric"?

Libtalker Calls For Deaths Of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly

While the right is under fire for supposedly inciting violence against congressional Democrats, libtalkers have pumped up the rhetoric tenfold. Here, Mike Malloy calls for the deaths of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.

Did this qualify as "inflammatory rhetoric"?

Krugman: Hang Lieberman in Effigy, But Don't You Dare "Target" Democratic Seats

 

The Democratic National Committee emails reporters a lot of stories everyday in an attempt to spin a narrative. The narrative of the week, of course, is the supposedly hateful and violent rhetoric espoused by Obamacare opponents. Paul Krugman's column today, like most days, can be stitched together...

Did this qualify as "inflammatory rhetoric"?

WaPo Civility: 'Knock Every Racist and Homophobic Tooth Out of Their Cro-Magnon Heads'

The examples go on for pages.  But how about Barack Obama the Great Uniter himself?  Surely he's not guilty of such 'inflammatory' rhetoric, is he?  Well, let's review some of the things he's said in the last couple years:

• "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun." Barack Obama in July 2008

• "I want you to argue with them and get in their face!" Barack Obama, September 2008

• "Here's the problem: It's almost like they've got — they've got a bomb strapped to them and they've got their hand on the trigger. You don't want them to blow up. But you've got to kind of talk them, ease that finger off the trigger."  Barack Obama on banks, March 2009

• "I don't want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I'm angry!" Barack Obama on ACORN Mobs, March 2010

• "We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick." Barack Obama on the private sector, June 2010

• "A Republican majority in Congress would mean 'hand-to-hand combat' on Capitol Hill for the next two years, threatening policies Democrats have enacted to stabilize the economy." Barack Obama, October 6, 2010

• "We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us." Barack Obama to Latinos, October 2010

Huh.

So, not only is this a sick and disgusting attempt to take political advantage of a real tragedy, but it is also the absolute height of hypocrisy.  Cue the new calls for ridiculous gun control legislation.

Bottom line: this is the American Left, which now dominates the Democrat party and the media establishment.  The sooner you understand this and refuse to accept this behavior -- and spread the truth about these people to others -- the sooner this country will be back on the right track.

Many thoughts and prayers go out to all of the victims and their families.