It is NOT the ''Tone'' of the Rhetoric...

[OneAngryDemocrat]

It is the psychology of the modern conservative philosophy.

Conservatives will blame anything and everything for the Tucson Massacre but modern-day conservatism, which preaches that liberals and democrats are the enemies of America and a bona fide threat to the nation's very existence.

And as long as that is the case, as long as they believe that liberals and democrats are the enemies of America and a bona fide threat to the nation's very existence, the bodies will continue to pile up.

Discussing the ''tone'' of today's political discourse merely leads into the false moral equivalency argument about how "both sides do it."

Pretending that liberals are shooting conservatives plays into the conservative mind-set that liberals are a threat to them, which is precisely why conservaties ARE (in fact) shooting liberals, in the first place.

Therefore, even discussing the ''tone'' reinforces, in the conservative psyche, that liberals are out to get them.

It is the conservative belief that liberals are a threat that HAS to be dispelled, and that will not happen by RE-INFORCING conservative fallacies.

Got it?

[Solly Mack]

1. k/r

[OneAngryDemocrat]

20. bump

[Heidi]

2. Recommended.

:kick:

[Chorophyll]

3. K&R.

Excellent.

[FSogol]

4. K & R. Well said. n/t

[sarge43]

5. Read you loud and clear. n/t

[Skidmore]

6. "Both sides do it" is a variation of "fair and balanced."

[tom_paine]

9. RW "Fair and balanced" = A kayak and an aircraft carrier are the same, they're both ships.

"But, one is so much larger than the other, how can you say they are the same?"

THEY ARE BOTH SHIPS. What about that don't you understand, moonbat?

"But, one is mechanized with a massive engine, the other is plastic with no engine ro moving parts, how can you say they are the same?"

THEY ARE BOTH SHIPS. What about that don't you understand, moonbat?

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

It's amazing how well and often this lying false equivalency works for RW propagandists.

[On the Road]

10. +1

Best and most succinct description of the meme.

[cilla4progress]

7. Yes, DAMMIT!

This wave now, 24+ hours later of, "oh the poor right-wingers, they shouldn't get the blame...," SHEEIT, FOLKS - Gabby WARNED of this last Spring when the map with the crosshairs over her district first went up! This was BEFORE anyone (eg Dems) started trying to "politicize" this for their own advantage.

The political correctness that pervades the media AND the left - not to push accountability whereEVER they find it for this, which is primarily on the "2nd amendment" right - is frustrating, and just plain denial.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

8. Moments of clarity are so f'ing cool...

The thought that inspired this thread just popped into my head.

And it just made so much f'ing sense, I had to post it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Good observation.

Just the word "Liberal" gets them shaking in their boots.

I'm see a move by Centrists that bothers me. It sounds like they would be happy if they could neutralized both the right and the left with the aftermath of this shooting. But it would be disingenuous since they benefit politically and they're not exactly pure.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x172710

[randr]

12. Precisely

Not only is it not only the tone, it is the FACT that people on the left have been under attack. The recent compilations of incidents have astounded me, and I think I keep track. It needs to be brought to nations attention that the frequency of incidents is increasing and they are all directed in toward on party

[OneAngryDemocrat]

18. Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

Not only is it not only the tone, it is the FACT that people on the left have been under attack. The recent compilations of incidents have astounded me, and I think I keep track. It needs to be brought to nations attention that the frequency of incidents is increasing and they are all directed in toward on party

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x172306

[randr]

19. k/r

[kctim]

13. "conservaties ARE (in fact) shooting liberals"

Examples?

[OneAngryDemocrat]

21. Push on, lil' troll...

We have seen Jim David Adkisson open fire upon the congregation of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church with a sawed-off shotgun, killing two, simply because he opposed the all-inclusive nature of the church, and of the church's liberal teachings. Adkisson wrote in a letter which he assumed would be his last, "I thought I’d do something good for this country — kill Democrats ‘til (sic) the cops kill me.” His hatred for his fellow Americans could not be contained: “Liberals are a pest like termites, millions of them … the only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is kill them in the streets, kill them where they gather.”

James von Brunn, a radical right-winger from Maryland sought to turn the nation's Holocaust Museum into a symbol for his particular brand of racism, when he went there with the intent to kill blacks and Jews, as an example to the rest of white America to emulate. Luckily for those visitors inside of the museum, the first man von Brunn decided to open fire upon was a black man who had the ability to return the favor, and so no one besides than the very heroic Stephen T. Johns died that day.

Shawna Forde, and two other members of the anti-immigrant Minutman group which she founded, the ''Minutemen American Defense,'' decided that one way to finance her burgeoning organization was to dress up as law enforcement agents, and to rob Mexican immigrants. When Shawna and her compatriots illegally entered the home of Raul Flores, and demanded money, the head of the family ordered the trio to leave, prompting the radical right-wingers to put a bullet into the head of little 9 year old Brisenia Flores, and into the head of her father. Unluckily for the conservative killers, Brisenia's mother was able to barricade herself in her bedroom, where she kept a handgun, and she was able to keep at bay her would be assassins until the real police arrived.

Richard Poplawski opened fire on police officers during a domestic disturbance call, in April of 2009, killing three of them. Why? The 23 year-old right-winger feared that the President was poised to take away his hand guns.

Just a few days after that shoot-out, two sheriff’s deputies in northern Florida were shot and killed by Joshua Cartwright who later was fatally shot by other deputies. The reason, according to Cartright's wife, was because Joshua "believed that the US Government was conspiring against him," and, according to her, he had been severely disturbed that Barack Obama had been elected President.

Passing the hate down from one generation to the next, the father and son team of Bruce and Joshua Turnidge blew up a homemade bomb in December of 2008 which killed state police bomb technician William Hakim, who was trying to dismantle it, and Woodburn Police Capt. Tom Tennant, who was helping, during bank robbery in Woodburn, Oregon. The completely unrepentent Turnidges' plan was to rob banks to finance an anti-government militia group, and killing two police officers was small beans compared to what they really wanted to do to the Democratic majority in Washington DC.

The list of victims from right-wing terror does not stop there.

It goes on, and on.

Doctor George Tiller.

Arkansas Democratic Chairman Bill Gwatney.

Congresswoman Giffords and the other victims of the Tucson shooting are but the latest victims of this madness.

[kctim]

24. Adkisson is a valid example

The rest, not so much. And that is where people have a problem with generalizations such as yours.
von Brunn was a racist who's intent was to kill black Americans and Jews, NOT liberals.
Fordes targets were illegal immigrants, NOT liberals.
Poplawski was a paranoid conspiracy dumbass, but his target was not liberals.
Cartwright? Same as Poplawski it seems.
Turnidges' were robbing a bank, NOT targeting liberals.
Tiller? Killed because he performed abortions, NOT because he was a liberal.

Giffords is a moderate Democrat, NOT a liberal.

Rather than shouting 'troll' in hopes of dismissing those who dare question you, you should listen so that you may understand the point. They are NOT saying those people were not right-wingers, they are saying going to extreme links to lump them all together as some vast right-wing conspiracy to kill liberals is ridiculous. Especially when you guys try to make it seem like ALL Republicans encourage and support such behavior.

[Little Star]

14. I agree with you. However...

tone does matter, imo.

It is a fact that our side has not been as outrageous as their side. But we have not been perfect either. So how do you expect to have a honest conversation with the hope of stopping this dangerous language (isn't that our objective after last saturday?) Are we suppose to just point our self righteous fingers at them? Are we never to take their accusations against us seriously? Do we never accept responsibility for our part (even though it is much smaller than their side)?

I am going to state two examples (though there are more) of our own sides horrible language. President Obama has (on more than one occasion) used over the top vitriol. The most egregious was when he said (I paraphrase) they bring a knive we bring a gun. He needs to address his own lapse of good speech if he intends to call for others to tone it down. Then there is Keith who said that (I paraphrase) someone needs to take Hillary into the back room and only one of them should come out. Keith has admirably owned this and apologized for it. You can't get anymore our side than President Obama and Keith Olbermann.

My point is that our side is not without ANY blame. If we want them to own their shit, we should do the same. Lead by example.

[AspenRose]

15. True.

[catzies]

16. Yep, got it. Well said. n/t

[OneAngryDemocrat]

17. .

[NYC Liberal]

22. That lie is what they use to point to innocuous things like

"We're going to bring a knife to a gun fight" and scream that both sides do it.

No. Because the difference is that liberals are not *actually* carrying around guns.

Palin's "target map" would have had a totally different meaning if it hadn't been backed up by mainstream conservatives talking about a "second amendment solution" and yelling "Kill him!" at rallies, referencing Obama, and trying to bring guns to Obama rallies and stocking up on guns and ammo when he got elected.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

23. bump

[lonestarnot]

25. K & R!