Arizona Tragedy Gives Congress a Moment to Pause

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...

Pelosi, Boehner invite Congress to bipartisan prayer service (Daily Caller)
Read more stories from The Daily Caller TheDC Exclusive: A secret $6 billion Bailout for Puerto Rico? Campus Progress reports on for-profit schools issue while coordinating with liberal coalition to push regs Author of 'Anti-American Manifesto', Ted Rall, says Loughner's violent attack not part of coming revolution Despite GOP's best efforts, specter of Steele Second Term hangs around Ask Matt Labash Vol. XLVI: Torturing a dog-torture lover, and defending John Boehner's tan Speaker of the Hous...

First Post-Shooting Poll - Most Americans Still Sane
CBS News has released a poll in the wake of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the Murder of several others. The poll results show that the attempts by the left-blogosphere, Mainstream Media and some Democratic politicians to blame right-wing Political Speech and Sarah Palin for the shooting have not worked, so far, with most Americans: 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 ...

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...

Politico gets it exactly backward in calling for a more civil tone
In the aftermath of the Tucson massacre, Politico's Glenn Thrush and Carol E. Lee write one of the most inane responses imaginable: Of all the unfulfilled campaign promises President Barack Obama made in 2008, the one that bothers the president most isn’t any squandered policy priority - it’s his failure to re-civilize what he views as an increasingly savage partisan climate. His failure? The president who reached out to the Republicans on the stimulus, who allowed Republican...

Sherrif Dupnik Links Rush Limbaughs Words To Arizona Shooting Tragedy
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has been a vocal participant in the finger-pointing aftermath of the Arizona Shooting Tragedy, and in fact was the first to call out the “vitriolic Rhetoric” as part of the reason behind the incident. He specifically called out conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, calling him “irresponsible” for the continuing vitriol. During and interview last night with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, Dupnik doubled down on his critique of Limbaugh, t...

Poll: 57% of Americans dont buy media spin on Tucson massacre
CBS polled almost 700 adults in the wake of the mass Murder in Tucson committed by Jared Lee Loughner to determine whether the media spin that the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the murders of six others was a political act had resonated with the public.  Perhaps surprisingly, the spin machine seems to have failed.  A majority of 57% say that politics had nothing to do with the shooting, and even a plurality of 49% of Democrats agree (via Dan Spencer): Nearly six in 10 Americans say...

Arizona tragedy gives Congress a moment to pause
WASHINGTON—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 wounded Rep. Gabrielle Gifford...

The dangers of being disagreeable
Whether Jared Lee Loughner targeted Congresswoman Giffords after listening to extreme Right Wing or extreme Left Wing Rhetoric seems beside the point — the truth is that, like all of us, he’s likely been exposed to a full helping of both. And although we may find that one fanatic group or the other bears a lion’s share of the blame for this particular tragedy, there’s enough incendiary talk burning up our public dialogue that any one (or combination) of them could be resp...

Most Americans Reject Tie Between Political Rhetoric, Arizona Shootings
While the Arizona shootings have triggered a national debate about whether the vitriol in political Rhetoric has gone over the top, 57 percent of Americans do not believe the heated partisan tone of public debate had anything to do with the gun rampage in Tucson, according to a CBS News poll released Tuesday. The connection between the state of political discourse and the shootings that critically wounded Arizon Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, killed six and injured 13 others had perhaps been put most ...

U.S. majority doesn't blame rhetoric for Giffords shooting
WASHINGTON | Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:18am 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 ...

Obama, Boehner Face Leadership Test In Wake Of Arizona Tragedy
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 Satur...

Newspaper Roundup for Tuesday, 1-11-11
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 By Susan Jones Denver Post: Security Breach shadows a major push to digitize patient medical records in Colorado Amid risks, bid to digitize health records continues in new year Providence Journal: R.I. Gov. Chafee says he won't do Talk Radio, and neither will on-duty state workers Refuses to support 'for-profit, Ratings-driven programming' Politico: Ariz. lawmakers introducing a bill Tuesday to create a 'Funeral protection zone' Because the Westboro cult is coming...

James M. Gentile: The Leadership of Gabrielle Giffords
For many of us in Tucson, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a cherished friend long before Saturday's stunning Assassination attempt made her a household name. Our prayers go out to her and to all of the shooting's survivors - for their speedy and full recoveries - and to the loved ones of those who perished. Words simply cannot express the sadness of such a devastating loss. The media coverage of the shootings has rightly highlighted "Gabby" Giffords' extraordinary personal traits: her co...

Keli Goff: Finding Hope in Arizona
More than a year ago former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi generated headlines due to a rare public display of raw emotion. She became visibly choked up while voicing concern that the increasingly heated Rhetoric permeating our political discourse at the height of the Health Care debate could soon turn violent; something she had seen firsthand years before with the 1978 shooting of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, one of the nation's first Openly Gay elected officials. (Click he...

The Vitriol Will Likely Return
With any disturbing event, like the tragic and horrifying shooting in Tucson last Saturday, there is a natural tendency to extrapolate the impact of it for months or even years to come. The unspeakable event cost people from such varying walks of life as a 9-year-old girl and a Federal Judge their lives and has left Rep.Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., fighting for her life. Something like this creates a memory that is certain to be burned into the consciousness of current and former elected offici...

Most from Mass. refuse more security
WASHINGTON — The “Congress on Your Corner’’ meeting for Representative Niki Tsongas and about 40 constituents was just beginning at the Chelmsford Library Saturday when the horrific news came. Her good friend and colleague Gabrielle Giffords had just been shot at an event of the same type in Tucson. “We asked if [an officer] could come and stay with us, because you just don’t know,’’ said Tsongas, who normally doesn’t arrange for police at h...

Arizona Shooting Creates Unifying Pause In Confrontational Political Climate
WASHINGTON — 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 wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giff...

Shooting from hip followed rampage
Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Ariz., have sparked calls for restraining political Rhetoric, but some of the most vociferous groups are the same ones already blamed for the harsh climate, and that's raising deep questions about where robust debate ends and incendiary Speech begins. From MoveOn.org on the left to Tea Party Activists on the right, the shootings - which left six dead, including a 9-year-old girl, and 14 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who wa...

John Boehner's 9/11 Moment
This surely is not how Republican John Boehner expected to launch his new speakership, or open the new 112th Congress. He planned to follow the pomp of the first week with a big, partisan vote Wednesday to Repeal last year's landmark Healthcare Reform law. But then Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was gunned down on Saturday in a Parking Lot in her Tucson, Arizona, district, and everything changed. That Repeal vote was put on hold, as was the rest of the legislative business planned this week in the Ho...

Neighbor says Ariz. suspect's parents blame selves
A neighbor says the parents of the suspect in Saturday's Shooting Spree in Tucson are devastated and guilt-ridden. Jared Loughner (LAWF'-nuhr) 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 blame themselves. Smith said he told the couple they didn't fai...

Accused gunmans parents devastated, father may issue statement (Daily Caller)
Read more stories from The Daily Caller TheDC Exclusive: A secret $6 billion Bailout for Puerto Rico? Campus Progress reports on for-profit schools issue while coordinating with liberal coalition to push regs Author of 'Anti-American Manifesto', Ted Rall, says Loughner's violent attack not part of coming revolution Despite GOP's best efforts, specter of Steele Second Term hangs around Ask Matt Labash Vol. XLVI: Torturing a dog-torture lover, and defending John Boehner's tan Jared Loughner̵...

Tragedy in Arizona
Gabrielle Giffords was doing what members of Congress do every week: She was home in Tucson to meet with her constituents. Today, Giffords lies in critical condition in a Tucson Hospital after one of those constituents opened fire with a semiautomatic Handgun. Six people died in the attack; 14 were injured. The madness at the Tucson shopping center Saturday morning raises old and troubling questions about gun violence in America and threatens a treasured American tradition: the right of the pe...

Arizona tragedy gives Congress a moment to pause
WASHINGTON — 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 wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giff...