The push back by Rightwing Media picks up...

[wowimthere]

And... sadly progressives - in an attempt to heal the country after this violent massacre - will find false equivalence and allow GOP and tea party hate speech to wriggle off the hook. It's playing out in grand fashion on CNN, MSNBC (definitely FOX) with pundits falling all over each other to soak up their share of the blame. "The problem is on both sides".

Well "NO" it's not. I haven't seen a map of lawmakers in cross hairs on a Democratic website. I didn't see democratic congressmen whipping up and encouraging their constituents to spit and hurt other politicians. I didn't hear the kind of rhetoric that may have directly or indirectly influence Gifford's shooting coming from the Democratic side.

In order to stop this kind of stuff from happening again we need to start talking honestly about Republican HATE speech on radio, on television, lying in town halls, and the media covering these events with wrestling-like commentary. The media is - in more ways than one - to blame but they are doing their level best to absolve themselves. They will take no blame for covering it. They will pretend to stay neutral through lenses of subjectivity.

The Right-wing is filled with a venom and hate I've never seen before. They lie ad-nauseum. There is nothing wrong with passion because sometimes Democrats lack passion. On this subject, we must be honest. The violence and the violent imagery has been far more consequential coming from the right. State it plainly. Right wing hate speech has gone too far.

[villager]

1. "well, maybe I *did* deserve the beating, a little"

It's the usual stomach-churning attempts at "reasonableness" and "compromise," etc...

[Lost-in-FL]

2. Just remind those thinking violence is in both parties...

the political afiliation of all politicians murdered in recent times. How many liberals vs conservatives had died recently.

[leftynyc]

5. How recent are you talking?

Both Reagan and Ford were shot.

[Lost-in-FL]

6. Since Palin/Beck duo went mainstream violence against liberal leaning personalities

has gone up. On August 2008, the Arkansas Democratic party chairman was shot and killed in Little Rock by a conservanut.

I should have explained myself better.

[Imajika]

3. How will we stop some crazy person from shooting people...

...by "talking honestly about Republican HATE speech on radio, on television..."?

How?

Where is the connection between Loughner and anything idiots like Palin or Beck have to say? Where is there even the slightest indication Loughner gave a squirt of piss what Caribou Barbie babbles about. Is there even the slightest shred of evidence Loughner ever even saw Palin's stupid target map?

There is none.

Did the "tone of the debate" cause John Hinckley to shoot Reagan? Oops, that's right, he was trying to impress some Hollywood actress.

Your trying to attach political speech to this assassination attempt and it appears extremely unlikely such a connection exists. For all we know this guy was just obsessed with Giffords for some bizarre reason we will never understand because he is crazy.

The crime rate in this country is going DOWN, not up. For decades now the crime rate has mostly been declining. Political speech, no matter how loathsome has not caused some epidemic of violence and I rather suspect most people trying desperately to tie this person to the right are just doing so hoping it limits their ability to communicate their message. It won't work. Period. Taking this line is only going to blowback on us. I want MORE tough talkers on the left, not less. I want MORE Big Ed's, Olbermann's, etc on the left, not some toned down wimpy liberals self censoring in order to "tone down their rhetoric" when the other side clearly never will. Neither side needs to "watch their tone", there is no evidence that ANY of the "heated" political rhetoric we're all supposed to be afraid of is causing violence.

If Loughner is tied to the tea party or some right wing group, that evidence will come out and they will be either shamed or prosecuted. As of now it appears we are dealing with a crazy person not unlike the VT shooter.

All this babble about changing the tone is utter hogwash. The "tone" probably has nothing whatsoever to do with this mass murder, there is likely no serious way to link it to Palin or anyone else on the right, and it will only end up putting Democrats, Progressives and the left in general in the position of having to self censor ourselves in some ridiculous effort to "change the tone".

Something good can come of this. We can lobby hard to get people that have mental health issues help when they need it. It could have saved a lot of lives in this instance, dozens more when the VaTech shooter murdered dozens, and countless other lives taken because someone was sick and needed mental health.

[wowimthere]

4. Wow... crosshairs... Gifford herself explaining that "this has consequences"

and whoa and behold that very same lawmaker is shot and you're telling me that directly or indirectly one has nothing to do with the other. The fact that we are talking about it in regards to political rhetoric is proof enough that the energy of hate in this country toward Democrats specifically and politicians in general is in abundance. That this is not in any way political is a strange to imply. Political speech can be hate speech. In case you didn't know. And no two incidents (Hinkley) should be viewed the same. You sound just like a CNN reporter. The fact that you had to make comparisons actually proves my point. I'm attaching hate speech and assassination because it applies. It doesn't matter what his motives were. They could be mixed. The fact is, he shot a politician at a political rally. That's how you attach the two. Get it?