this article said it best for me. http://www.truth-out.org/the-wrath-fools-an-open-letter-to-far-right66686

Thanks Nick. This is a good point and one that I have not seen elsewhere. I think that most of us believed that it was only a matter of time before this happened.

My hope is that this event will tap down the rhetoric, at least for awhile. I also hope that the press will do a better job of calling out those politicians and talk radio hosts that use violent rhetoric in the future. It is my hope, not my expectation.

The reactions to this by some on the right... the Glenn Beck's, Rush Limbaugh's, etc. lead me to the conclusion that there is very little chance that this event will lead to any sort of actual introspection from the folks who make their livings engaging in hate speech and inflammatory rhetoric.

One can only hope that the rest of the country will start shunning these base characters. They are a cancer on the body politic.

Gabrielle Giffords Faced Opposition from Local Anti-War, 9/11 Truth Activists

This is how local antiwar activists in Tucson have viewed Gabrielle Giffords (and her political machine) in the past. We offer our condolences for those who have died, those who were injured, and their families who are left to deal with the aftermath of this horrific tragedy. The fact is there was a lot of opposition to Gifford's stance regarding the wars, torture and rendition, the patriot act and impeachment of the Bush administration.

http://weeklyintercept.blogspot.com/2011/01/gabrielle-giffords-faced-opposition.html

“As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy,” the former classmate, Caitie Parker, wrote in a series of Twitter feeds Saturday. “I haven’t seen him since ’07 though. He became very reclusive.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/politics/09shooter.html?_r=4&hp&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1294549714-lH7JjIAFlv7COh8gCsn03g

Well there is a lot of offensive speech out there. If you want to ban it, it is a two way street. Blame the tea party for something a lefty did? Go figure. Grow up people. Bad things happen, there is not always a simpleton's solution as madman maurer would have it. Get a life and do some fact checking. Your anger will consume you and destroy your ability reason. The difference between a peasant and a man of knowledge is the peasant will stay in the cave and rant and rave about groups pointing fingers while the man of knowledge will question everything searching for truth. This is the work of an individual and should not be used to empower either side's agenda against the other. Though a fool would disagree.

"Bad things happen"... Yup, nothing to be learned here...

Over the last two years we have witnessed an incredible escalation in incendiary political rhetoric from right wing leaders 1) calling for armed response to policies they dislike 2) calling for secession from the United States, 3) using metaphors of assassination. During these two years we have seen right wing leaders organize their followers to disrupt town hall meetings hosted by our representatives, shouting down civil discourse.

This isn't simply objectionable speech, it has been a call to violent action. This is not an exhortation to "kick some butt" at the ballot box, it is the threat that if the votes don't go their way, they will take up arms against their own government. I think the leaders who have profited from this rhetoric should be shunned, and the rhetoric itself be called out for what it is, treasonous.

I have never seen a weapon at an anti-war event.

The practice of teabaggers bringing loaded weapons to political events, and exhorting their followers to do likewise, their advocacy to "second amendment remedies" for political ends, says everything you need to know about their use of gun violence and the threat of gun violence to pursue a political agenda, and incite others to do likewise. This is completely in opposition to everything that makes democracy possible. The whole purpose is to dominate others through the threat of gun violence. They use their hate media to support and incite that violence.

Every organized group has their fanatics who do terrible things. We can't take a broad brush to the group as a whole, however, that being said, if every single leader of that group doesn't take a strong and unequivocal stand against its extremists, then the entire group should be condemned and vilified. And, we should probably take precautions like targeted body searches at public meetings and airports.

And I fully expect the leaders of these groups to strongly condemn not only the fanatics and their actions, but also to scour their movements for hate speech and the self righteousness that leads to fanatical actions and expel these members and turn them into authorities.

We are talking about Muslims right?

“'I have a Glock 9 millimeter, and I’m a pretty good shot.' The quip, by Representative Gabrielle Giffords, was made in an interview last year with The New York Times, when tensions were running high in her district. It speaks not only to her ability to defend herself but also to the passionate gun culture in Arizona, which crosses political lines and is notable for its fierceness, even in the West."

Apparently, that's not the rhetoric you want to condemn, because it doesn't fit with your program to use every opportunity to score political points, however unseemly and inappropriate it might seem to anyone with a modicum of common decency.

As much as I have to thank the likes of Rush Limbaugh for reminding me why I'm not a Republican, I can now thank you, Mr. Christensen, for reminding me why I'm not a Democrat.

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone here at BlueOregon would join the bandwagon and sing along with the chorus of drone media cynics and partisan tools. We can go back and forth over violent rhetoric (believe me, I can match you infinitum point for point). That however is not the point and, as I learned myself yesterday, we are abusing the victims of this shooting by jostling their sacrifice back and forth in the name of politics.

It is disgusting.

We should be ashamed of ourselves when we do this and, somewhere, deep down, I suspect we are.

Kari said it best: "Yeah, maybe he was a left-wing nut. The most plausible explanation is that he was flat-out nuts."

Fools rush in.

Every individual is responsible for their own actions. No one but the shooter is to blame.

If a person is mentally deranged, everyone around him can be discussing the issues as civily as possible and he will still be locked inside his own head. Charles Manson thought the Beatles were transmitting secret messages in their songs. For the left to try and pin this crime on supposed “vitriol” in political discussion is disgusting. There hasn’t ever been a moment in history when political discussion didn’t involve some measure of heated discussion.

It was not political discourse which led to this horrific crime, but a deranged lunatic. Still, if it’s “politicial vitriol” the Left is worried about, perhaps they should start with “toning down” the man in the White House.

Obama: “They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun” Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!” Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!” Obama to supporters: “Hit Back Twice As Hard” Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick.“ Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat” Obama to supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.” Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.” ** Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.”

If you want to fling blame and insist people "own it", it goes both ways. Physician, heal thyself!

I am personally sick and tired of everyone NOT referring to this for what it was: A Terrorist act. If the perp had been a Muslim, I'm sure THAT would have been the lead and headline.

Tomorrow the House of Rep. will pass a Resolution upholding the constitutional right of freedom of assembly without fear of violence or disruption and honor those American citizens who were murdered or injured exercising that right. At the same time we have a major movement in this country on the right, whose defenders are here on this site, who defend the actions of teabaggers in bringing loaded weapons to open political assemblies with the intention of threatening and intimidating free speech, and with the stated goals advocated by their own political party to disrupt these assemblies to obtain political goals.(This was clearly in evidence at the Health Care town hall meetings.) This exercise of violence or the threat of violence for political ends is what this debate is about. It's not about civility, which has long since gone. It's about having the freedom to political expression, and the freedom of duly elected officials to exercise their duties without the threat of violence from gun toting extremists who justify their actions in the name of "constitutionalism" or "second amenedment remedies".

I call on the teabagger defenders here to renounce the use of guns and threats of "second amendment remedies" at political gatherings and against public officials, and to condemn those who do. It seems to me that this should be a consensus among all Americans of left or right.

The thesis of this essay is a real stretch and, in my opinion, a continuation of the "brutish rhetoric" you are rallying against.

You imply the Tea Party uses outlandish speech as a way to 'raise the cash and help elect their candidates' in an essay written to whip up the emotions of the Democratic base in which you command an entire political ideology to embrace the spree murders committed by a delusional. I see that as sadly ironic.

Let us follow our own advice and refrain from practicing divisive politics in this instance.

I think everyone who has allowed his anger to provoke an unwise comment bears some responsibility in the toxic political climate of the early century. (I know where I'm to blame.)

But, let's also look at this with some objectivity. Both Michelle Malkin and Talking Points Memo compiled lists of people using intemperate speech.

Although she didn't intend it, Malkin's list is instructive. She had to root around the netherworlds of celebritydom and the internets to find any real dirt. This is the diffuse hate that bubbles at the fringes of every movement all the time. TPM's list sticks solely to politicians--and could include lots and lots of pundit celebrities over the past decade.

We are all responsible when we say vile things. The difference is, not everyone says vile things with the same regularity. The GOP, who has decided that this "fiery" rhetoric is the stuff of good politics, needs to take Nick Christensen's advice: either abandon it or defend it. The first step, though, is admitting it.

Seems like we blues have struck a nerve. Haven't seen this many trolls on Blue Oregon since we started using our real names.

Truth hurts.

1) "A spoiled child (Bush) is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of 4 gunshots being fired.] Just try it, you little b*stard. [audio of gun being cocked]." -- A "humor bit" from the Randi Rhodes Show

2) "I want to go up to the closest white person and say: 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing' and then slap him, just for my mental health" -- New York city councilman Charles Barron

3) "..And then there's Rumsfeld who said of Iraq 'We have our good days and our bad days.' We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days' and pull the trigger." -- From a fundraising ad put out by the St. Petersburg Democratic Club

4) "I believe in ecoterrorism." -- James Cameron

5) "...In an ideal world, American consumers could be convinced to do the right thing through an appeal to logic with public service messages like the 'What Would Jesus Drive?' TV campaign, but the kind of people who would buy a car that increases the risk to other motorists in an accident can't be reasoned with. They're selfish and stupid. It's unfortunate that drivers must worry that their SUVs are being targeted by insulting stickers and Molotov cocktails, but one thing's for sure: It couldn't be happening to a more deserving group of people." -- Ted Rall winks at ecoterrorism

6) "F God Dmned Joe the God Dmned Motherfcking plumber! I want Motherf*cking Joe the plumber dead." -- Liberal talk show host Charles Karel Bouley on the air.

7) "Republicans don't believe in the imagination, partly because so few of them have one, but mostly because it gets in the way of their chosen work, which is to destroy the human race and the planet. Human beings, who have imaginations, can see a recipe for disaster in the making; Republicans, whose goal in life is to profit from disaster and who don't give a hoot about human beings, either can't or won't. Which is why I personally think they should be exterminated before they cause any more harm." -- The Village Voice's Michael Feingold, in a theater review of all places (Rush Limbaugh)" just wants the country to fail. To me that's treason. He's not saying anything different than what Osama Bin Laden is saying. You might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was just so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight. ... Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that?" -- Wanda Sykes

8) "You guys see Live and Let Die, the great Bond film with Yaphet Kotto as the bad guy, Mr. Big? In the end they jam a big CO2 pellet in his face and he blew up. I have to tell you, Rush Limbaugh is looking more and more like Mr. Big, and at some point somebody’s going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet. But we’ll be there to watch. I think he’s Mr. Big, I think Yaphet Kotto. Are you watching, Rush?" -- Chris Matthews

9) "I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn't be dying needlessly tomorrow....I'm just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That's a fact." -- Bill Maher

10) "If I got (Condi Rice) a— on camera, I would put my Mars Air Jordans so far up her butt that the Mayo Clinic would have to remove them." -- Spike Lee

11) "O&A - 'Condoleezza Rice'" Charlie - "I'd love to f--- that btch dude" (laughter) Charlie - "She's the F---in man" O&A - "yeah" Charlie - "I'd F...that btch...." O&A - "I just imagine the horror in Condoleezza Rice's face...." - "(laughter) ..... as she realizes what's going on" - "...as you were just holding her down and F'n her." Charlie - "punch her all the F'n face, shut the F--- up btch" O&A - "that's exactly what I meant" (laughter in background) Charlie - "you know F--- it .... and George Bush wife? I'd F--- that btch to death" -- "Shock Jocks" Opie & Anthony talk rape & violence with their guest "Homeless Charlie."

13) "Drudge? Aw, Drudge, somebody ought to wrap a strong Republican entrail around his neck and hoist him up about six feet in the air and watch him bounce." -- Liberal radio host, Mike Malloy

14) "I know how the 'tea party' people feel, the anger, venom and bile that many of them showed during the recent House vote on health-care reform. I know because I want to spit on them, take one of their 'Obama Plan White Slavery' signs and knock every racist and homophobic tooth out of their Cro-Magnon heads." -- The Washington Post's Courtland Milloy

Let me know how many of these you want ...I could literally fill your hard drive with the hate speech spewed forth by the left.

When Democrats use language like this—or even harsher language it's just evidence of high spirits, apparently. But if Republicans do it, it somehow creates a climate of hate.

There's a climate of hate out there, all right, but it doesn't derive from the innocuous use of political clichés. And former Gov. Palin and the tea party movement are more the targets than the source

I recommend this column by Michael Kinsley http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47383.html.

Chester's list is instructive. It's mainly filled with comedians and minor radio personalities. A local Democratic party organization. Half the targets refer to other media personalities (e.g. Rush Limbaugh). These are bit players, at best.

These examples, while egregious, hardly rise to the level of governors, members of Congress, candidate for Senate, and the leading intellectual lights of the right wing who speak and major Republican gatherings.

As Kinsley notes, there is hardly balance here.

Malkin's list-sorry stuff, ugly posters and statements made by individuals at rallies and on websites.

TPM's list-quotes from GOP candidates for or current members of Congress at official campaign events and on their websites.

I didn't read this post and string until after I'd heard/seen Obama's speech at the memorial service in Tucson, Wednesday night. I think his appeal for us to engage one another with words that heal, not words that wound can give many of the those writiing comments here plenty to reflect upon.

We all know that the feeling of outrage is momentarily energizing, that besting opponents rhetorically is fun; but we also know, I hope, that Obama is right: the kinds of challenges we have to meet as a society or a body politic will require thoughtful discussion among people of opposing interests and beliefs.

What CAN we each do in our own interactions with others, (including what we post online) to improve the tone and content of our common political culture, while still pursuing humane, just, and sustainable policies?

Nick, you can't be serious with this article, right? How do you associate this particular nut-job shooter with the Tea Party? Get real.

hmmm...

Isn't this the same guy Metro hired as an in house reporter to shill for the public agency he is supposed to "objectively cover?"

I wonder if Metro knows about or supports the anti Tea Party rhetoric spewing from their recently hired "journalist"?

They will soon enough.