Question: if Giffords' opponent had won the election ....

[MH1]

... would Loughner have targeted him?

Would he have gone after Giffords anyway?


The most likely answers to these questions are no and no, right?

So if anyone claims this wasn't political .... then why are those answers 'no'?

[davepc]

1. Sure, his writings are crystal clear that he thinks only Democrats are using lingustic mind control

the obvious takeaway from that is he wouldn't have touched the hair on the head of a Republican.

[el_bryanto]

2. Well, it depends on whether you think he was sane or not

If he was sane or "sane enough" than this was a targeted political assassination, and clearly political.

If he was insane, than the logic is that he would have fixated on someone else and gone after that person.

Bryant

[MH1]

4. But the other target he fixated on would still have been someone 'on the map' as a liberal

I don't doubt the guy is mentally disturbed at some level ... of course my opinion has no relevance to any legal determination.

That said, he could be completely insane and still more likely to pick one type of target over another.

If that likelihood is based on politics - and I think his writings suggest that it is - then this is a political act, and the guy being sane or insane doesn't change that.

[onehandle]

3. No. Palin would have declared her 'neutralized' and the crosshairs would be off the SarahPAC target.

See how I used Palin's lingo.

Now don't anyone shoot anyone because I did that.