Majority in U.S. don't blame violent political rhetoric for Tucson shooting: poll

Sharron Angle defends rhetoric in wake of Arizona (The Ticket)
Former Nevada GOP Senate Candidate Sharron Angle is pushing back against critics aiming to link her campaign Rhetoric to the shootings in Arizona. "I condemn all acts of violence. The despicable act in Tucson is a horrifying and senseless tragedy, and should be condemned as a single act of violence, by a single unstable individual," Angle said in a statement, per CNN. "Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people's Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ...

Palin accuses critics of 'blood libel'
WASHINGTON - Prominent U.S. Republican Sarah Palin Wednesday accused critics of “blood Libel” by blaming her Rhetoric for contributing to the shooting rampage in Tucson that killed six and wounded 14, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords. “Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them,” the conservative Tea Party favorite and former Alaska Governor said in her first major response to critics. R...

(Sharron) Angle: Media 'inappropriately attributing blame' for Tucson shooting
Source: The Hill Former Nevada Senate Candidate Sharron Angle denied her campaign Rhetoric helped motivate the Tucson gunman and accused the media of "finger-pointing towards political figures" to boost Ratings. Angle's suggestion during the midterm campaign that voters could pursue "Second Amendment remedies" to settle political differences with Congress has been widely criticized in the wake of the attack that left six people dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in critical condition. "I...

Its time to dial down the political rhetoric (Rep. John Lewis)
Last week, members of Congress took time out of the congressional schedule to read the words of the U.S. Constitution. It amazes me, in light of the critical condition Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) now confronts, that somehow by some twist of fate she fell in line at the place where she read the words of the First Amendment. The Constitution is the touchstone of every legislator; it is almost a sacred text in our Democracy. In view of our reverence for the document, I think some Americans ...

Trey Grayson: 'Moderation' Email Was Just Giffords Being Giffords
The friendly email Republican Trey Grayson got from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) last Friday night, congratulating him on a new job, came amid a flood of similar messages. The Kentucky Secretary of State, and erstwhile Senate Candidate, recently accepted a position as director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics. It was only the next day that Giffords' message took on a particular significance. "After you get settled, I would love to talk about what we can do to promote centrism a...

Risk, Prohibition, and Category 3
This post is insanely long, and it might be too obvious for most people, and some may decide at the end I've wasted their time. Maybe it is obvious; I don't know. Sometimes I think there's a value in stating the obvious explicitly, because otherwise people tend to assume it, and therefore overlook it -- and therefore its very obviousness makes it inobvious. You know when a post is long? When it starts with a Roman numeral. If you just want some anti-left invective, skip to VI. I. I'm good at s...

Giffordss Husband Blames Political Rhetoric
BY James Gordon Meek DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON - Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's heartsick husband told lawmakers he blames inflammatory Rhetoric for the Assassination attempt on his wife. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that in a conversation on Sunday Giffords's husband, Astronaut Mark Kelly, lashed out at the cantankerous politics dividing the country. He is "very angry about the level of angry Rhetoric that he believes incites people," Hoyer told CBS' "Face the Nation&...

Influence and over-determination
In comments yesterday, Mark Matson posted this incredibly instructive little video demonstrating the power of even barely noticeable influence: In the broadest sense, this is a demonstration of the (small-s) situationist Thesis: the hidden power of situational factors to influence behavior. Situationist influences are generally taken to be much less important than dispositionist ones--those that reside in the individual's inherent disposition--their character, tastes, preferences, beliefs, et...

Palin: Were above the mindless finger-pointing (Daily Caller)
Read more stories from The Daily Caller Face of evil: Mug Shots of famous assassins [SLIDESHOW] Poll of Conservatives shows support for broad cuts to spending, including Military Spending Washington's top five most ridiculous reactions to the Arizona shooting Jared Loughner and the ins and outs of the insanity defense Mark Sanford exits the stage Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin released a video Wednesday of her first long-form statement on Saturday’s Tucson, Ariz. shooting that left six ...

How Obama Can Talk About Tolerance without Trivializing a Tragedy
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are joined by government employees on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, to observe a moment of silence for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the other Victims of an Assassination attempt against her. (Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) This post originally appeared on Slate. For the second time in his tenure, President Obama will eulogize the Victims of a shooting. In November 2009--it now seems...

Palin: Media incite hatred, a 'blood libel' after Arizona shooting
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has posted a nearly eight-minute video on her Facebook page condemning those who blame political Rhetoric for the Arizona shooting that gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Last spring, Mrs. Palin targeted Mrs. Giffords' district as one of 20 that should be taken back. Mrs. Palin has been criticized for marking each district with the cross hairs of a gun sight. In the video posted Wednesday, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidat...

Palin: Journalists incite hatred after AZ shooting
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—Sarah Palin has posted a nearly eight-minute video on her Facebook page condemning those who blame political Rhetoric for the Arizona shooting that gravely wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Last spring, Palin targeted Giffords' district as one of 20 that should be taken back. Palin has been criticized for marking each district with the cross hairs of a gun sight. In the video posted Wednesday, the 2008 GOP vice Presidential Candidate said vigorous debates are a cheri...

ARIZONA: Tucson Tea Party Says It Won't Change Its Campaign Rhetoric
Labels: Arizona, Gabrielle Giffords, Tea Party, Tucson New! Share this on Facebook: Share ...

Republicans, Democrats, Tea Partiers Uniting to Protect Youngest Ariz. Rampage Murder Victim
KIRK ADAMS, SPEAKER OF Arizona STATEHOUSE: All indications are that they [Westboro Baptist Church] do plan to Protest, that this will not stop them. But there's an interesting story, Greta, that's developed here. Republicans and Democrats and Tea Partiers in Tucson are coming together to provide sort of a human buffer to the Protesters so that the families will not have to hear the disgusting cries of the Protesters against this 9-year-old girl. And I think this is an example of the community co...

CBS Poll: Support For Stricter Gun Laws Spikes After Tucson Rampage
The number of Americans who favor stricter Gun Laws has spiked significantly in the wake of the weekend Shooting Spree that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition, reversing a long-running trend of declining support for more stringent Gun Control, according to a new CBS poll. In the poll, 47% of respondents said Gun Laws should be made tougher, while 36% said they should remain unchanged, and just 12% said they should be relaxed. While that means a slim plural...

Sheriff Arpaio Says Deputies of Sheriff Dupnik Once Participated in Protest Where His Effigy Was Beheaded
“Vitriolic” hypocrisy. (Examiner)- Sheriff Joe Arpaio warns Sheriff Dupnik that he’ll fight back if he starts attacking him. Sheriff Arpaio, of the pink underwear-mandating Tent City fame, came out swinging against renegade and conservative-slandering Sheriff Dupnik of nearby Pima County. In a TV interview, Arpaio said that he does not want to speak poorly of a fellow sheriff, but he promised to fight back hard against Dupnik if he so much as starts to launch personal attacks a...

Overheated Rhetoric on Overheated Rhetoric
If the pundit class were merely seeking to use the Tucson shootings as an opportunity to open a debate on civility in American life, that would simply be a case of misguided opportunism. There is a time and a place for such a debate. A better time would be when the dead are buried and the wounded have recovered, and when cooler heads can prevail in such a debate. Overheated Rhetoric is misplaced in a debate about overheated rhetoric. I have not heard anyone on these pages suggest that our public...

Sharron Angle Defends Her Political Rhetoric
Yahoo! Buzz Sharron Angle , the unsuccessful GOP Senate Candidate from Nevada, denied that her fiery campaign Rhetoric played a roll in Saturday’s attack on Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords . In a statement, Ms. Angle said that blaming her, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement “puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger.” Ms. Palin earlier released a video statement defending her Rhetoric and calling it a “blood Libel’’ to link political...

Worst Human Being in the World: Rush Limbaugh
By Michael J.W. Stickings He could be our Craziest Conservative of the Day, but I think he's actually much worse than that. (Our newest contributor, Nicholas Wilbur, will have more on Rush this afternoon.) On his Radio Show yesterday, Dear Leader Rush actually said -- I kid you not -- that Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner has the full support of the Democratic Party: What Mr. Loughner knows is that he has the full sup...

Loughner In 2007: Die Bitch, Die Cops
From an ever so discreet Washington Post: ‘We don’t understand why this happened,’ parents say By Dana Hedgpeth and David A. Fahrenthold Wednesday, January 12, 2011; A01 TUCSON - Three days after their son allegedly killed six people and left a congresswoman critically wounded, Jared Lee Loughner’s parents issued their first public comments Tuesday night, saying that they, too, cannot comprehend what had motivated the shootings. "There are no words that c...

A Modest Proposal to End The Progressive Media Tuscon Hate Talk Dont Bash, Find Other Things For Them To Blame
Sometimes it’s very hard not to feel empathy for The Progressive media; their arguments keep getting  shot down rejected. While most Americans have been occupied with praying for the wounded or mourning for the loss of the  dead respirationally challenged from that horrible Tuscon shooting perpetuated by the mentally imbalanced Jared Loughner, the Progressives in the Mainstream Media have been occupying their time  attacking placing blame on everyone and everything conservat...

Poisonous Political Atmosphere Is Unhealthy
This is really, really hard to write. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) is my friend. I spent time with her, and her husband, Mark Kelly, less than two weeks ago. We talked about the debased state of discourse in the country, the awful and degrading nature of campaigns, including the really despicable one run against her last year, the threats she received after she voted for the Health Care Reform Bill--and the wonderful satisfaction of public service and the need to encourage more of our best and bri...

ROGER SIMON: The Sixties Were Violent, Not Today. I bring it all back now for one reason to
ROGER SIMON: The Sixties Were Violent, Not Today. I bring it all back now for one reason — to point out that what we are going through currently, this supposed period of extreme Rhetoric bemoaned by so many pundits and politicians, is but a minute radar blip compared to that era. And some of these pundits and pols are old enough to remember. Apparently, they choose not to. But to remind them, we were in an era then of genuine political Assassination — RFK, MLK — not faux political assass

Liberals go crazy: blaming Republicans for Tucson shooting
There are a number of liberals out in the media going crazy. There was a Book TV debate between Roger D. Hodge and Alter that I saw recently. This was a broadcast of a 10/5/10 debate between the two, but I just saw it this weekend. This weekend also brought out Dick Durbin, Sheriff Dupnik, and even good old former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerry. Bob Kerry was the least offensive of the three suggesting that the Repeal of the Health Care bill was “one of the reasons that this guy (the shooter) ...

GOP senator urges media not to talk about Palin's violent rhetoric
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) urged CNN's Candy Crowley Sunday not to mention Fox News' Sarah Palin in connection with the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). In a Sunday interview, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) noted that public figures have used violent Rhetoric against Giffords, something Palin has done. "Those of us in public life and the Journalists who cover this should be thoughtful in response to this and try to bring down the rhetoric, which I'm afraid has become pervasive in the dis...