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January 11, 2011 08:24 PM UTC

You're Not the Victim

  • 29 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

From MSNBC’s First Read:

What was particularly striking to us is how activists, especially on the right, were playing the victim when there are so many actual victims — the deceased, the wounded, the grieving — in Arizona. And here’s our point from yesterday: Although it appears that Jared Lee Loughner had nothing to do with mainstream conservatism or liberalism, can’t we all agree to condemn violent, de-humanizing, or de-legitimizing rhetoric — “2nd Amendment remedies,” “Don’t retreat, instead reload,” “Gather your armies” “facism/socialism,” etc. — aimed at our politicians and government institutions?

In today’s political climate, as we pointed out, opponents just don’t disagree, they de-humanize each other; they just don’t question those in power, they de-legitimize them; and we in the media just play along, giving attention to the extremes and the shiny metal objects. It’s time for all of us to act more responsibly. [Pols emphasis] But what’s happening in the land of opinion is cringe-worthy. There are so many folks in search of a high horse to mount. Those poor horses.

Hear, hear! As we wrote yesterday, the Tucson shootings should be a wake-up-call to all politicos to stop using violent rhetoric. Period.

There’s been plenty of defensive posturing from the Right as they accuse the Left of “blaming them” for the shootings, but are some missing a bigger opportunity? Again, from First Read:

By the way, the silence from Sarah Palin — besides her offer of condolences on Saturday and her email to Glenn Beck — has been deafening. As Republican David Frum said in Andrea Mitchell’s “TODAY” piece this morning, “You can hunker down, and you say, ‘It’s not my fault.” And, of course, she’s right — it’s not her fault. Or you can be bigger than that. You can go out and…you can be the leader that Americans want to see.”

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29 thoughts on “You’re Not the Victim”

  1. The Tea Party Express is already fundraising off the incident. From a letter they just sent:

    It is quite clear that liberals are trying to exploit this shooting for their own political benefit, and they used deception and dishonesty to try and smear all of us and our beliefs. You know what the truth is? The truth is that the shooter, Jared Loughner is the one responsible for this atrocity. But liberals are trying to place the blame on society for embracing the tea party movement.

    …

    We’re taking our country back through the ballot box and in the public square – through peaceful means. And we will prevail, because our ideas and ideals are stronger than the scare/smear/defame tactics of the leftists we face. We ask you to please stand with the Tea Party Express and show your support for our efforts. You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express – CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.

  2. It’s funny how the talking heads on the Left are, yes, attacking the rhetoric of the Right, but also are stepping up and saying “the rhetoric has become to strident, and I apologize for anything I’ve said, and I’m going to alter the way I do things.”  See Keith Olbermann and his ending of the Worst Person segment.

    But on the Right what you hear is nothing but DENIAL.  They’ve never done that; this guy had nothing to do with them; they didn’t really say what they said; and, of course, the Left does it, too.

    The Right knows it’s been doing this.  You don’t have to go back and blatantly alter history if you don’t think you did something wrong.  Having a Palin spokesperson say “they’re not crosshairs, they’re surveyor’s marks” insults our intelligence and draws our attention to just how in denial Palin and her attendants are…

  3. From right-wing news source, CBS News.

    This won’t be the “Oklahoma City” some Dems were hoping for, sorry.

    BTW, this was all over the news this morning, and now, I had to scour the Google to find it. I’m guessing that’s because it just didn’t return the results the biased media wanted.  Shocker.

      1. This isn’t personal at you, at all.

        The original Pols article went up at 12:02PM on Saturday, and within 30 minutes, there were comments suggesting Republicans were responsible for it.

        So, I beg to differ from your characterization, and so do most Americans, judging from the poll.

          1. I’m glad that the attempt by some on the left to blame this horrible tragedy perpetrated by a crazy non-political a-hole on people pissed at HCR and other policy.

            BTW, that Sheriff is finished.  It will be the first Sheriff’s campaign in history where millions of dollars are spent.  What an unbelievable jackass.

              1. I didn’t come out, as the chief local investigating officer, within 24 hours of the crime, and blame it on a political party, and then admit that I had no evidence that politics had anything to do with it.

                Shameful.

                  1. This is totally irresponsible.

                    “Not in any way shape or form…It doesn’t surprise me that people from the right would be upset that people like myself, and maybe people from the left, and a whole lot of other people in America feel as I do, that the anger that’s purposefully generated by people who make a living off of it, serves one particular party better than the others.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if it continues through at least 2012.”

                    2. Read this part again.  Keep in mind this was the night of the shooting, and he has admitted that he, as a law enforcement officer, has zero evidence to support this. Emphasis mine.

                      …a whole lot of other people in America feel as I do, that the anger that’s purposefully generated by people who make a living off of it, serves one particular party better than the others.

                    3. It’s time to tone down the freakin’ rhetoric.

                      If you’re one of the politicians who has profited from this style of rhetoric, there’s no running away from it. Cut it out.

                    6. Good. How is it tragic that so many people are taking this to heart and rethinking about how we deal with each other?

                      And yes, I read the linked story and yes, I saw all of his comments and yes, I still give him props for saying what he did and doing so publicly.

                    7. I mean it is tragic that it took this level of horror to motivate him to clamp down on the rhetoric from his highly paid flamethrowers.

                      Shoulda done it long ago.

                      Just sayin’.

                    8. “We looked at the Internet and the first thing we found in 2007, the Democrat Party had a targeted map with targets on it for the Palin district,” Mr. Ailes said. “These maps have been used for for years that I know of. I have two pictures of myself with a bull’s-eye on my head.”

                      WTF??? Someone help me here, because I obviously don’t speak very fluent Ailes.

                      In 2007, wasn’t Sarah Palin Governor of Alaska?  What “Palin district”?  Did anyone even know of Palin (outside of Alaska and outside of GOPdom) until McCain lost control of his own campaign in mid-2008?

                      What fucking gibberish!

    2. … that you can find on their home page? (Under tweets – meaning it went out on Twitter.)

      On on their “complete coverage” page of the shooting?

      Try checking there before spreading that “liberal bias” myth. And keep this in mind before a) assuming that you know just why you couldn’t find something easily, or b) accusing others of being blinded by their biases.

    3. Ever since Saturday morning, the media has been spending an inordinate amount of time saying it’s not about the rhetoric, but that this is just one lone gunman.

      Personally, I don’t care (much) whether or not we get to use this as a political football.  It’s something that we as political activists should discuss regardless.  There is too much vitriol in the air, too many over-the-top statements of hate and distancing.  It needs to be toned down.

  4. Over all of the talk about Sarah Palin.

    The only use I have for her is in a “Wet and Wild” video with the sound off.

    Since that is unlikely to happen, I ignore her, and I wish the rest of you would too.

    And I am a Republican

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