Democratic Congresswoman Among 12 Shot in Arizona

Maybe we should just make some up like what happened when Rush was looking to invest in the St. Louis Rams.

Media Matters monitors and tapes all of these shows. It's not hard. If someone's said something over the top, let me know about it.

 

So, to be clear, the boss of Fox News said he's told his folks to tone it down, yet some of you don't think it should be? Because it was allegedly worse in <insert decade here>?

 

I understand.

But we fuel their fire when we get outraged every time they do this.

Why does it surprise you that they are going to protest her funeral? It's what they do. And they won't stop until we stop reacting to them.

 

In the last election cycle, there were approximately 470 contests for House & Senate seats.

There were thousands more on the state level.

And, so far, despite all of this talk of "vitriol" and "rhetoric" we're still stuck on two examples that people think were over the top. How is that anything but a good record?

If we let them, politicians will use this shooting -- despite it having nothing to do with political rhetoric -- to write laws that infringe on the First Amendment, protect incumbents, and make legitimate criticism of lawmakers illegal.

 

Like the Red Scare days.

Here's the thing.

Freedom isn't supposed to be easy. It's not supposed to come without consequences. For argument's sake, let's just say that political rhetoric did inspire the shooter.

Price of freedom.

Westboro Baptist Church?

Price of freedom.

Now this doesn't mean that we can't debate whether people should tone it down. But some of the early ridiculousness, like people saying Sarah Palin should be prosecuted criminally, shows that some people have a fundamental misunderstanding of what freedom means. Civil liberties are easy to back when there aren't consequences. But they are most important when there are.

 

Or the Alien and Sedition Acts.

And, if you want to see a "vitriolic" election, read up on the 1800 election between Jefferson & Adams. Somehow, the Union survived.

 

The Arizona Republic:

 

David Brooks:

 

Name one person associated with the Tea Party movement who did anything remotely resembling the actions taken by the Black Panthers, the Weathermen (coughBillAyerscough) or the the SDS in the 60s and 70s. Buildings were blown up. Cops were killed (Yes, I know cops and the National Guard had blood on their hands also). College buildings and offices were taken over and vandalized.

Quit reaching.

 

I don't completely agree with Brooks, particularly once he starts hinting at the liberal media.

Other than places like Daily Kos, I think the reaction had more to do with our natural desire for compelling, cohesive narrative than political motivations.

 

When I posted this thought about the Pima County Sheriff last night, I was admonished. Good to know I'm not alone in someone thinking this guy should shut up and do the job for which he was elected: be a law enforcement officer.

 

Delete the word "news" from the last sentence, and you've got Slush and Dreck.