Arizona Shooting Creates Unifying Pause In Confrontational Political Climate

After Arizona Attack, a Leadership Test for Obama, Boehner
WASHINGTON — On opposite sides of the political spectrum, President Barack Obama and new House Speaker John Boehner suddenly face the same challenge: rise above the anger, suspicion and hostility of their liberal and conservative bases to help a rattled nation deal with the deadly outburst of violence in Arizona. [Photo Gallery: Gabrielle Giffords Shooting in Arizona.] But what comes after the easy moment of silence? For now, both men are stepping past the question of what role, if any, ...

Kerry calls on Washington to 'confront' rhetoric
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Tuesday it’s time to tone it down on Capitol Hill. In a Speech to The Progressive Think Tank, Center for American Progress, Kerry called for civil dialogue in the wake of Saturday's shootings in Arizona. “In the weeks and months ahead, the real issue we need to confront isn’t just what role divisive political Rhetoric may have played on Saturday – but it’s the violence divisive, overly simplistic dialogue does to our Democracy every...

Poll: Rhetoric, Arizona Shooting Unrelated
Almost 60 percent of the public believes that heated political Rhetoric has nothing to do with an Arizona Shooting Spree that gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and killed a Federal Judge. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in a new CBS News poll said Rhetoric is unrelated to the shooting, while 32 percent said they believe the two are connected. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to mono...

The Media Is Also Responsible for Heated Political Rhetoric
President Obama pledged to raise the level of dialogue in Washington and ease the bitter Partisanship that has crippled the work of Congress. He has been unable to do so, and it’s not entirely his fault, since the president cannot control the behavior of Congress any more than teachers can control what Students do after school. Speaker John Boehner now has a chance to lessen the vitriol on the Hill, and he’s made at least one gesture of decency so far: Delaying the meaningless vote...

Nearly Six in Ten Americans Say The Country's Heated Political Rhetoric is Not To Blame For Tuscon Shooting
32 percent say it was cbsnews Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country's heated political Rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll. In the wake of the shooting, much focus has been put on the harsh tone of politics in Washington and around the country, particularly after a contentious Midterm Election. Rhetoric and imagery from both Republicans and Democrats have included gun-...

Right Wing Media Vitriol Haunts Us In Arizona Shooting
We all had a finger on the trigger—I.F. Stone wrote those words about the Assassination of John F. Kennedy in the cruel fall of 1963. Now we come to the bleak winter of 2011, and how much has changed? Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords lay near dying in her own blood after a shooting rampage in Arizona left six dead, from a Federal Judge to a girl of nine, and 14 others injured. It all happened in the most American of places: a strip mall Parking Lot on a Saturday morning. That's what th...

Only 32% of Americans Feel Political Rhetoric is to Blame for Jared Loughner Tucson Shooting Massacre
Once again Liberals, Democrats and yhe MSM find themselves on the wrong side with the American People … 57% of Americans believe that political Rhetoric was not to blame for the murderous acts on Saturday by gunman Jared Loughner. Only 32% believe Rhetoric was to blame as many jumped to conclusions and fueled their political agenda like Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. Many Democrats, Liberals and their complicit liberal mouth pieces in the media were quick to exploit the Tucson

Most Americans don't see link between Arizona shootings, political rhetoric, poll finds
A sizable majority of Americans said they did not believe that harsh political Rhetoric was the reason a gunman opened fire over the weekend in Tucson, killing six and wounding 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll released Tuesday. The finding comes as Republicans and Democrats have sparred over whether recent heated political Rhetoric may have been a factor in the shootings. Giffords was among 20 lawmakers targeted in campaign literature by Sarah Palin, the conse...

Times Suggests Toxic Political Stew Contributed to Climate of Violence in AZ
The Times threw in all the potentially combustible ingredients of Arizona politics - guns, border control, Health Care - and tried to make it add up to a stew of violence, in Tuesday’s front-page story from Tucson, the sight of Saturday's shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords: “In Giffords’s District, a Long History of Tension.” The text box: “Area Deeply Divided Over Immigration and Health Care.” The story was reported by Adam Nagourney, Sam Dol...

The Unstable Sheriff of Pima County, AZ
Jim Geraghty in his Morning Jolt email takes on Sheriff Clarence Dupnik (pronounced "Dumbsh....") who has managed both to neglect his duties AND try and dismantle the First Amendment: Say this for Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. He may have dropped the ball on numerous red flags and other signs of a potential threat from the Tucson gunman, and he certainly didn't bother to assign any deputies or other police personnel to the "Congress on Your Corner" event that turned into a massacre, des...

Poll: Most Say Rhetoric, Killings Unrelated
From a deeply saddened CBS News: Poll: Most Americans Feel Rhetoric, Tucson Shooting Unrelated Posted by Daniel Carty January 11, 2011 Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country’s heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll. So either our media master has better ratchet up their efforts or move on to their fall back position - Gun Control. In the wake ...

Majority doesn't blame rhetoric for Giffords shooting
WASHINGTON | Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:46am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Americans reject the view that heated political Rhetoric was a factor in the weekend shootings in Arizona which killed six and critically wounded a congresswoman, a CBS News said on Tuesday. Since the Saturday incident in which Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank range, various politicians and commentators have said a climate in which strong language and ideological polarization is com...

Boehner: Shootings wont sway GOP agenda
House Speaker John Boehner says that the shooting of an Arizona congresswoman won’t stop representatives in Washington from their duties. In a brief statement Sunday morning, the newly sworn speaker said flags on the House side of the Capitol in Washington will be flown at half staff to honor Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ slain aide, Gabe Zimmerman. Thirty-year-old Zimmerman was among six killed Saturday in a Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage that left the Democratic congresswoman among 13 ...

Boehner Passes First Test as Speaker in Handling of Arizona Tragedy
As news of the horrific shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spread over the weekend, Speaker of the House John Boehner rose to the occasion, seeking to calm nerves and reassure members of Congress and their families. Aside from being the first major test handed to the newly elected speaker, Boehner's handling of the situation may have been especially important considering the target of this Assassination was a Democratic congresswoman. And while past Republican leaders would have surely express...

Arizona Republics SCATHING smackdown of Sheriff Clarence Dupnik
Send Sheriff Clarence Dupnik a POSTCARD, not a letter or email, telling him what you think of his job performance. This is one of the most direct and scathing smackdowns I’ve ever seen a newspaper hand an elected official. It’s essentially a bare-bottomed spanking, which Clarence Dupnik may or may not actually enjoy. The Arizona Republic is much more charitable towards this man than we’ve been.  In the article, the paper gives Dupnik a pass for anything he did the day Jar...

Majority doesn't blame rhetoric for Giffords shooting
Since the Saturday incident in which Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank range, various politicians and commentators have said a climate in which strong language and ideological polarization is common may have contributed to the attack. Some of the analysts cited anti-government statements from the man arrested in the shooting, Jared Lee Loughner, as support for that view. But CBS said its nationwide telephone poll found that, "57 percent of respondents said the ha...

'Loughner was crazy' argument misses the point in the Arizona shootings case
Last Saturday Jared Lee Loughner alleged shot and  killed six people and injured another fourteen at public event hosted by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).  Since that time some have claimed that Loughner behavior was caused, at least in part, by the heated political of the past two years.  Others have essentially argued that Loughner was a "nutjob" or "a crazed Lone Wolf", that society had no control over.  Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck both argued that Lougher was s...

Shock, anger and finger-pointing in Washington
On opposite sides of the political spectrum, President Barack Obama and new House Speaker John Boehner suddenly face the same challenge: rise above the anger, suspicion and hostility of their liberal and conservative bases to help a rattled nation deal with the deadly outburst of violence in Arizona. But what comes after the easy moment of silence? For now, both men are stepping past the question of what role, if any, the vitriol of the past election campaign played in Saturday’s shooting ...

Arizona tragedy gives Congress a moment to pause
(01-09) 18:12 PST WASHINGTON, CA (AP) -- The shooting rampage in Arizona seems to have created a reset moment for confrontational politics, as lawmakers reflect on the repercussions of the overheated Rhetoric traded on the airwaves and on the Campaign Trail. Members of Congress from both parties called Sunday for civility over belligerence as the House temporarily shelved the contentious debate over repealing the Health Care law and lawmakers paused to contemplate the tragedy. Critically wound...

Friends, Critics Dispute Arizona Sheriffs Remarks on Political Rhetoric in Wake of Rampage
Just hours after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, was shot in the head by a crazed gunman, Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik — addressing the media for the first time — made headlines for saying that “vitriolic political rhetori......

How Should the Right Respond to the Arizona Shooting?
Download audio here Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed Today on Coffee and Markets we’re talking to Melissa Clouthier of LibertyPundits who shares her views on the political fallout from the Arizona shooting. We also discuss whether Congressional staff should be armed, and how the right should respond to the smears of old media. We’re brought to you as always by Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email u...

Security a top priority at public gatherings
U.S. Reps. Gene Green and Ted Poe tried not to let the cold, gray weather further dampen the mood on an already somber Monday afternoon as they spoke at a ribbon cutting ceremony just two days after a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., left one of their colleagues fighting for her life. Green, D-Houston, and Poe, R-Humble, used pairs of 2-foot-long scissors to cut a ribbon and joked with the two dozen onlookers standing on a towering freeway interchange in Baytown. They were back to business, ...

Video: How MSNBCs Chris Matthews Handled Tucson Shooting vs. Ft. Hood Shooting
Nidal Hassan, who yelled Allah Akbar as he murdered 13 servicemen at Fort Hood - ironically in a no gun zone - was taped murdering 13 people, plus a 14th Victim - an unborn child. A deranged "left-wing pothead" ;lunatic shoots a Congresswoman and a few others over the weekend. Chris Matthews handled both... quite a bit differently: After the Ft. Hood shooting, Chris Matthews went out of his way to find reasons other than Radical Islam for the shooting. And he had a representative of CAIR on his...

In the world of politics, the Monday after the Arizona shooting rampage was all about the right and the left both trying to defi
The right pushes back on the Arizona tragedy… So does the left… Why are partisans playing the Victim card when they’re not really the victim?......

Neighbor Says Arizona Suspect's Parents Blame Selves
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 By Staff, Associated Press Phoenix (AP) - A neighbor says the parents of the suspect in Saturday's Shooting Spree in Tucson are devastated and guilt-ridden. Jared Loughner appeared in court Monday on federal charges that he tried to assassinate U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed a Federal Judge. He is also accused of killing five others and wounding or injuring 13 others. Wayne Smith, who lives across the street from the family, said Randy and Amy Loughner bla...