Since the tragic shooting of Arizona Representative Gabriel Giffords there has been much talk about the heated rhetoric,and,vitriol of recent campaigns being responsible for the shooting of Ms. Giffords and the killing and injury of several others.
One person in particular-Sarah Palin-has been singled out as the "poster girl" if you will of what is wrong with the highly charged atmosphere of current American politics because of her use of such terms as "targeting,don't retreat reload, and other firearms related references!
Well guess what seems the Democrats are as guilty as anyone else of using this kind of "firearms related speech" in political campaigns. In fact according to some sources they have used maps depicting targets against their political opposition since at least as far back as 2004.
As I was preparing for this post I recalled Bush years when it was common to see liberal activists hanging George Bush in effigy,displaying posters calling for Bush to be killed ,and,others calling him a terrorist and calling for his death!
etc,etc
Where was all the concern and outrage on the left over hate filled rhetoric then? I remember Bush being asked by reporters how he felt about such incendiary language at the time and his reply was usually that they had a right to their opinions under the principle of free speech.
Political language in American politics has historically been quite heated and charged with vitriol. We are told by the talking heads on television that the political climate has never been as overheated and highly charged as it is today. Nonsense!
What of the era running up to the Civil War when the rhetoric became so violent and hateful the it wasn't deranged lunatics killing people for unknown reasons but sane people taking up arms against their own neighbors!!
You see I live in Missouri and it is an historical fact that because of the political climate prior to the Civil War their was a very bloody "Border War" going on between Kansas and Missouri. There was also an incident on the steps of this Nation's Capitol where one Senator nearly caned another to death!
No the current political climate,and, the speech of the Tea Party or anyone else is not to blame for Sunday's tragedy. The blame lies solely with a deranged lunatic who decided to grab a semi-automatic pistol and open fire on a group of unarmed and innocent people!
