Krugman: Climate of Hate

The Lefts Script of Hate
“Just the facts, ma’am,” Dragnet’s Joe Friday famously informed witnesses he interviewed. Oft-interviewed Pima County Sherriff Clarence Dupnik might adopt the catchphrase: “Save the facts, ma’am. Just the narrative.” The narrative of right-wing Rhetoric fueling accused mass-murderer Jared Lee Loughner proved so seductive to partisans that they didn’t wait for the compilation of facts, or burial of the dead, to advance their politically opportunisti...

A tragedy in Tucson, and more arguing on talk TV
In the wake of the Arizona shootings, conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck issued a challenge to all Americans to reject violence. Liberal talk-show host Keith Olbermann voiced his own call for repudiating violence. Has Saturday's rampage inspired a measure of consensus and a softening of Rhetoric among cable TV's more confrontational hosts? Not that you could tell from Monday's clash of TV pundits, even as they reacted to accusations that the polarized environment in which they operate may ha...

False Equivalencies: Right vs. Left
Crazy vs. Not As Crazy Y’all know where I stand on the Tucson shooting.  Those who have used inflammatory Rhetoric bear responsibility. The thing is, they know they bear responsibility.  That’s why they are running full-bore in damage control mode, instead of doing what leaders and human beings do, which is to examine their actions, to think about whether they could have done something differently, and to contemplate what they can do in the future so that they do not cont...

The Dismissal of Sarah Palin
I am neither shocked nor surprised that this nation's most prominent liberals see fit to blame Sarah Palin for causing the shooting in Tucson that severely injured Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and claimed six lives. But it does sadden me. Before the shooter was identified much less his Victims were identified we witnessed the spectacle of a Nobel Laureate and an Academy Award-winning actress amongst many others falling all over themselves to excoriate the former Alaska Governor. Y...

Playing politics with tragedy
Gabrielle Giffords wasn’t even out of the operating room when the rush to judgment began. An unstable 22-year-old College Dropout had pulled the trigger in a devastating attack that left six people dead and more than a dozen wounded outside a Tucson shopping plaza. But the real culprit wasn’t Jared Loughner. It was Sarah Palin – along with the Tea Party, Fox TV and the whole gang of hate-spewing, right-wing fanatics bent on inciting the populace to violent insurrection. The pro...

The Quest for an Obamacare Martyr
Posted by Nichole Hungerford on Jan 11th, 2011 and filed under Daily Mailer, FrontPage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. In 1995, a politically desperate President Clinton brazenly capitalized on the bombing in Oklahoma City, blaming his political opponents and their extreme right-wing Rhetoric for the horrific incident. This was six months after Clinton suffered a stunning rebuke in th...

The left is not about to waste this 'crisis'
Theme: The left's immediate reaction to the Arizona shooting proves, again, that it will not forgo any chance to exploit a tragedy ("crisis"). Minor theme: In the process, mostly through projection of its own perversions, it is setting records for hypocrisy, irrationality and unfairness. Politico reported that after the shootings, one Veteran Democratic operative said that President Obama should "deftly pin this on the tea partiers. Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma...

Hill aide: 'It could have been any of us'
Capitol Hill returned to work Monday with a sense of grief and vulnerability, as thousands of Staffers — those who truly make things run in Congress — tried to cope with the idea that their own people have become targets. Instead of charging into another week of partisan Rhetoric, they bundled up and gathered on the cold marble steps of the Capitol for a moment of silence. They listened to a prayer of hope from ordained minister and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). They signed a book...

Molloy: 'Crazy talk encourages crazy people'
Enough! We've let the haters and bullies lead the political and moral conversation for far too long. The national dialogue has descended into a fusillade of hate from politicians, political operatives and TV and radio pundits. There's no doubt Jared Loughner heard some of it before madness overtook him and he murdered six people and nearly killed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords outside a Tucson Supermarket on Saturday. "People who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol," says Pima County...

When It Comes to the Rhetoric of Rage, the Right Has the Edge
It was inevitable. A horrific shooting in Arizona has prompted a vitriolic debate about vitriolic political discourse. Nanoseconds after Jared Lee Loughner attempted to kill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), murdering six other people and wounding over a dozen, including the congresswoman, commentators on the left accused the right of creating a rage-filled political atmosphere that could lead to violence. Noting that Sarah Palin's political action committee had named Giffords a "target" and li...

Butterflies Taking Turns in Attracting Mates
Jennifer Armstrong provided the link to a story about the squinting bush brown butterflies. From the article: Squinting bush brown butterflies use reflective "eye spots" on their wings to attract potential mates. Males born in the wet season beat their wings to flash their spots but in the dry season females grow brighter spots instead and take the lead. This behaviour could benefit females, allowing them to control mating when fewer food resources are available. Published in the journal Scie...

AZ shootings: McConnell, Yarmuth talk rhetoric and security
Related: Suspect in attack on congresswoman to appear in court McConnell speaks to Students about Tucson shootings Obama: US grieving, shocked over Ariz. rampage Military: alleged Giffords gunman failed Drug Test McConnell calls for review of congressional security (WHAS11) - The Assassination attempt of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that killed six and injured 14 others has sparked a national debate about whether inflammatory political Rhetoric was a factor in the attack. After Pim...

Massacre hero Col. Bill Badger speaks out for better gun regulation
This evening on the Situation Room, Blitzer had on retired Army Colonel Bill Badger, in order to tell the story of his part in the takedown of Jared Loughner. I can't find any video of it, but Badger's composure and recall of detail in retelling the story makes the segment worthwhile on its own. As the interview is wrapping up, the Colonel makes use of his brief moment of fame to actually try and make something good come out of this travesy: BLITZER: Colonel, do you own or carry a gun? BADGE...

Gun control, tone of rhetoric take center stage after Arizona shooting
The Tuscon shooting Saturday that left Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords severely wounded, six dead and 13 others injured, is shaking Washington politically as much as it is emotionally. Health Care is off, for now. A debate about Gun Control may be back on. But the biggest breakdown, it seems, is over conduct rather than content. Several lawmakers (mostly Democrats) are blaming a poisoned political discourse and thinly veiled incitements to violence for having created an environment that...

Stewart, Colbert Draw Contrasts In Response To Tucson Shooting (VIDEO)
On last night's Daily Show, host Jon Stewart began by admitting that he wasn't sure that the evening's show was going to be a particularly good one. "I would love to say that we've got a great show for you tonight," he said, "I'm not sure that's the case." STEWART: It's hard to know what to say. The events this weekend in Arizona weigh heavily. Sadly, it is a feeling that this country has experienced all too often and unfortunately for our show, the closer that we have gotten towards discussin...

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik on Democracy Now
Amy Goodman interviewed Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, Arizona. Dupnik rails against Arizona's extremely liberal Gun Laws and the inflamed political Rhetoric that he believes could have contributed to the shooting that killed several people in Tuscon. Although the link between political discourse and the shooting remains unsubstantiated (many psychotic killers rant about politics), the interview is still an interesting listen. Dupnik also discusses the Mental Health issues the crime ra...

A History Of Assassins And Would-Be Assassins
Check out this post by Beamish of The Crank Files. Excerpt:There’s been a lot of nonsense talk attempting to smear the right-wing for the murderous passions of Jared Lee Loughner, who was arrested on scene for a Killing Spree in Arizona which targeted Democratic Congresswoman Gabreille Giffords. Leftism, the field of inter-related political, social, and economic philosophies which have the collective historical distinction of being responsible for the violent deaths of over 300 million peopl...

School Talk
President Obama will speak at the University of Arizona on Wednesday. As he should. I hope (and expect) that he’ll do a better job with this appearance than Bill Clinton did when he gave the commencement address at Michigan State University in 1995, in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. Clinton saw an opportunity to link his conservative political opponents to bomber Timothy Mcveigh. He seized it. Here are a few excerpts. A hectoring, nauseating performance-one of the real low li...

Rightwing Duck
Bob Cheeks wants an example of Glenn Beck being inflammatory. Well that’s Beck’s whole schtick, and while I think the left overblows both his influence and the level of his inflammatory language he is nonetheless an inflammatory figure. That’s one reason he’s so popular. Honestly, I don’t really mind Beck that much. He seems basically harmless. It’s the politicians I worry about more - all the gun imagery and so forth. Anyways, here’s rightwin...

Steele in striking distance of second RNC term
Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus remains the front-runner for the Republican National Committee chairmanship, which some observers predicted could spell trouble for his bid. Priebus leads the field with 36 RNC members publicly backing him, according to a count by National Review Online. Current RNC Chairman Michael Steele is a close second with 27 members backing him. Priebus' front-runner status could prove a liability, according to Mike Duncan. The former RNC chairman, who was Steele'...

A tragedy in Tucson, and more arguing on talk TV
NEW YORK (AP) — In the wake of the Arizona shootings, conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck issued a challenge to all Americans to reject violence. Liberal talk-show host Keith Olbermann voiced his own call for repudiating violence. Has Saturday’s rampage inspired a measure of consensus and a softening of Rhetoric among cable TV’s more confrontational hosts? Not that you could tell from Monday’s clash of TV pundits, even as they reacted to accusations that the polarized ...

Shouldn't the Military be Free From Religious Coercion?
Under the Bush Administration, there was a creeping Evangelical influence over the Armed Forces - much of it officially sanctioned. One of the key public flashpoints of efforts to turn the Military into a Christian crusade came through the statements of Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, who also served as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence under Bush. Boykin was open in asserting that the "War on Terror" was a battle against infidels, even declaring - in swaggering fundamental...

Free Speech in the Crosshairs
This can't be happening again. A terrible tragedy, followed by vile recrimination and politically motivated accusations. Were no lessons learned after the slander of Conservatives following the Oklahoma City bombing? Aside from the terrible specter of psychotic gunmen legislating with bullets, we now have to deal with the inanities of shameless members of the nattering class in a redux of the Clinton blame-game. In a "Special Comment" segment aired the day of the Giffords shooting, MSN...

Palin e-mails Beck claiming to hate violence, war
By Michael J.W. Stickings Politico: Sarah Palin reached out to Glenn Beck over the weekend, and Beck read some of their email exchange on his Radio Show this morning. "Sarah, as you know, peace is always the answer. I know you are felling the same heat, if not much more on this," Beck wrote. Beck expressed concern about Palin's safety, and urged her to hire the same Los Angeles-based security firm that he uses. The rhet...

Shameless: Politico.com insinuates the right wanted Giffords dead over green stance
As I noted yesterday in response to the attempted Assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8), the Mainstream Media has been nothing short of shameless in its attempts to try and insinuate - or outright declare - that it was “the right” who targeted her for Murder. Josh Trevino wrote yesterday numerous times on Twitter about how Politico had joined in on the “Right Wing vitriol” bandwagon. Today, they continue to add to it with their latest extremely irr...