Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics

[azurnoir]

The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others at a neighborhood meeting in Arizona on Saturday set off what is likely to be a wrenching debate over anger and violence in American politics.

While the exact motivations of the suspect in the shootings remained unclear, an Internet site tied to the man, Jared Lee Loughner, contained antigovernment ramblings. And regardless of what led to the episode, it quickly focused attention on the degree to which inflammatory language, threats and implicit instigations to violence have become a steady undercurrent in the nation’s political culture.

<snip>

“At a time like this, it is terrible that we do have to think about politics, but no matter what the shooter’s motivations were, the left is going to blame this on the Tea Party movement,” Mr. Phillips, from Tea Party Nation, said on his Web site.

“While we need to take a moment to extend our sympathies to the families of those who died, we cannot allow the hard left to do what it tried to do in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing,” he wrote. “Within the entire political spectrum, there are extremists, both on the left and the right. Violence of this nature should be decried by everyone and not used for political gain.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/politics/09capital.html

[Lifelong Protester]

1. Yes, but when the extremism comes from the right, they all

look surprised, and distance themselves as fast as possible, from the perp and the rhetoric.

[Historic NY]

2. you can't gin up your crowd by implying overthrow & targeting w/o having responsibility...

for the actions of those following your words.

[DaveofCali]

3. it is not "seeking political gain"...

...if you use this to decry the Right Wing's even subtly inciting violence on Democratic Politicians, as there should have always been an outcry on this. The intent is for the Right Wing not to intimidate the Democrats and the Left Wing by not only ginning up dangerous levels of hatred on their followers, but also suggesting to their followers even subtly that they do violence, or even subtly encourage violence (as an outlet for their anger) just as a means for them doing whatever it takes to get power. People have to be held accountable and be responsible for what they say and do.

[EFerrari]

4. Where are all the tweets, FB pages, emails, videos of Democrats

using the rhetoric of assassination? I want to see them.

[AsahinaKimi]

5. I don't think the vitriol will stop...

After all thats how some of these broadcasters make money. People like Limbaugh, Savage, etc thrive on this crap.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. it was coming and now it is here

[JDPriestly]

7. Any examples of political violence from the left in the US over the

past thirty years?

Same for the right?

Tally up the acts of violence on each side and then see who is violent and who is not.