It seems fairly clear that, whatever his mental state, the guy who killed six people and shot a Congresswoman in Arizona was heavily influenced by right wing crazy talk. He is not the first person to have killed under the influence of Beck, Limbaugh, et. al, and he will most likely not be the last.
Now the right wing apologists will gin up the “both sides do it” meme, and the line will be pushed by a compliant “mainstream” media that these incidents are the result of partisan rhetoric on both sides. My wife tells me that the effort has begun to apply tarnish to the left by, of all crazy things, citing a Kos diarist who stated that someone was “dead to” him or her. That phrase, as I understand it at least, carries not a whiff or implication of violence, but it will no doubt suffice.
Despite the fact that one of their colleagues took a bullet, House Democrats, and national Democrats generally will no doubt either adopt the meme or allow the Republicans claims to go unanswered.
I sincerely hope that I will soon learn I’m dead wrong about this, but …
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