Sunday, January 9, 2011

Violence and politics merge in Arizona

Politico  "The references to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 echoed in other ways. That horror, which killed 168 people including many children, helped then-President Bill Clinton stigmatize extreme anti-government rhetoric and re-energize his presidency at a time when Newt Gingrich and conservative Republicans were riding high in Congress.
"One veteran Democratic operative, who blames overheated rhetoric for the shooting, said President Barack Obama should carefully but forcefully do what his predecessor did."
"“They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.” "

Howard Kurtz Denounces Media for Blaming Giffords Shooting on Palin  "Actually, the hypocrisy on display during Olbermann's two-hour special Saturday evening was even grander than Kurtz shared with his readers for the "Countdown" host - and Kurtz as it turns out - ignored how Markos Moulitsas of the far-left website Daily Kos targeted and put a bull's eye on Giffords for being a Blue Dog Democrat back in June 2008."

The Incitement Double Standard  "It is curious that many of the same media forums, such as the New York Times, that have repeatedly refused even to report, let alone editorialize, about the links between Islamist beliefs and terror are openly seeking to blame the Arizona attack on the Tea Party or anyone else who has had the temerity to question the president, publishing stories that seek to shift the public’s attention from the murderer to Tea Party activists and Republicans, who have nothing to do with this crime. But so deeply ingrained is liberal bias within our mainstream media that no one there seems to understand that there is a double standard at play here."

Left Shamelessly Seeks to Exploit Arizona Tragedy  "Despite all this, Packer and the NJDC are determined to use the tragedy in Arizona to resurrect this failed effort to besmirch conservatives and other Obama critics as violent haters. There is, after all, a precedent for this sort of thing. In 1995, President Clinton used the Oklahoma City bombing to strike back at his critics, including radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, even though Limbaugh and others critical of Clinton had nothing to do with the lunatics who perpetrated that crime.
"Calls for civil debate are always appropriate, but those who wish to use this terrible crime to attempt to silence their opponents or to stifle legitimate public debate or activism are the ones who are crossing the bounds of decency today."

The Horror of the Day Jonah Goldberg has little to say at this time; we felt the comments section would be of interest to you for its remarks across the political spectrum.

No comments: