- 01/09/11 12:29 PM ET
Reaction on the blogosphere was swift Saturday to the mass shooting in Arizona that killed at least six and critically wounded Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. But expressions of shock and sympathy for the victims of the shooting quickly gave way to a left-right battle over what may have motivated the gunman.
Several liberal bloggers pointed to the Tea Party and the heated rhetoric that characterized much of the 2010 campaign season, with many on the left turning the focus to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The liberal blog Daily Kos highlighted the "target list" posted on the website of Palin's political action committee and the former governor's Facebook page. It was a list of 20 House districts carried by the McCain-Palin ticket in 2008 that were represented by Democratic lawmakers who had voted in favor of healthcare.
Over each of the targeted districts, including that of Giffords, was the crosshairs of gun sights.
Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas tweeted this early Saturday: "Mission accomplished, Sarah Palin." The tweet included a link to Palin's target map.
Kos also recycled a clip of Giffords reacting to the map on MSNBC, where she warned Palin of potential consequences to such visuals.
"The way that she has it depicted, has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district," Giffords said. "When people do that, they've got to realize there are consequences to that action."
Conservative Andrew Breitbart responded on his own website and on Twitter Saturday, tweeting this warning: "For the love of God, @markos. Stop it. Don't go there, trust me. Trust me. Trust me. You will not like the blow-back, I assure you."
Moulitsas, who is also a contributor to The Hill, re-tweeted the message, accompanied by an "LOL."
Breitbart later criticized what he termed wild speculation on the potential political motivations of the alleged shooter on his website BigJournalism.com.
"If it is a lone gunman on the left, we will be at the forefront of policing those on the right who would try to seize upon this tragedy for political purposes," he wrote. "This is a sincere plea to those with whom we wage battle on a daily basis in a robust democracy with an appreciation for the First Amendment, but this is also a plea to our political way of thinking who would like to claim victory from a national tragedy."
Liberal commentators joined in the fray, for the most part focusing on Palin. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann called on Palin to repudiate her part in "amplifying violence and violent imagery in politics."
Just hours after the shooting, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik sounded off at a news conference, pinning blame for the tragedy squarely on "the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government." Dupnik proclaimed, "the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous."
"This may be free speech," he said. "But it's not without consequences."
His comments flew across Twitter and were highlighted by a Daily Kos blogger who praised Dupnik for not being afraid "to point the finger at who is culpable."
On the conservative blog RedState, Erick Erickson accused the left of "using this tragedy to score political points," recalling that when a gunman took hostages in the headquarters of the Discovery Channel last year, "the left immediately accused the man of being a tea party activist. Unfortunately for the left, the man turned out to be an envirowacko leftist."
In another blog posted Sunday, Erickson said, "The shooter is neither left-wing nor right-wing. He is crazy and evil -- a word not used enough."
Erickson concluded: "By the way, as an exit thought, the tea party movement won in November. Winners don't go on shooting sprees."
The blame game and rampant speculation over the possible political motivations of the shooting starting in earnest Saturday and continued on Sunday morning's political shows despite there still being little public information about the 22-year-old held in the shootings.
Jared Lee Loughner's YouTube and other Internet postings don't appear to indicate a coherent political motive or very many coherent political thoughts, for that matter. They include rants on currency and ramblings about Loughner's distrust of the government and public officials.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that after watching the videos and reading Loughner's writings, he saw evidence of someone suffering from "paranoid schizophrenia."
The Arizona Daily Star spoke to former community college classmates of Loughner who described him as "very disturbed," "Left wing" and someone who was prone to interrupting class discussions frequently with "nonsensical outbursts."
Fox News reported Sunday morning that an internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the network indicated that Loughner, 22, is "possibly linked" to an anti-Semetic, white supremacist group.
The DHS memo called the group American Renaissance "anti-government, anti-immigration, anti -ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti-Semitic."
The information reportedly came as Loughner's computer and personal effects were searched in the shooting investigation.
Giffords, who attends a Reform synagogue in Tucson, is Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman.
While Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) played down any suggestion that there was a direct connection between rhetoric emanating from either party and the Arizona shooting on "Fox News Sunday," she did note some of the alleged gunman's favorite books as highlighted on his YouTube page -- The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf.
Comments These are just the first two pages of comments.
Several liberal bloggers pointed to the Tea Party and the heated rhetoric that characterized much of the 2010 campaign season, with many on the left turning the focus to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The liberal blog Daily Kos highlighted the "target list" posted on the website of Palin's political action committee and the former governor's Facebook page. It was a list of 20 House districts carried by the McCain-Palin ticket in 2008 that were represented by Democratic lawmakers who had voted in favor of healthcare.
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Over each of the targeted districts, including that of Giffords, was the crosshairs of gun sights.
Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas tweeted this early Saturday: "Mission accomplished, Sarah Palin." The tweet included a link to Palin's target map.
Kos also recycled a clip of Giffords reacting to the map on MSNBC, where she warned Palin of potential consequences to such visuals.
"The way that she has it depicted, has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district," Giffords said. "When people do that, they've got to realize there are consequences to that action."
Conservative Andrew Breitbart responded on his own website and on Twitter Saturday, tweeting this warning: "For the love of God, @markos. Stop it. Don't go there, trust me. Trust me. Trust me. You will not like the blow-back, I assure you."
Moulitsas, who is also a contributor to The Hill, re-tweeted the message, accompanied by an "LOL."
Breitbart later criticized what he termed wild speculation on the potential political motivations of the alleged shooter on his website BigJournalism.com.
"If it is a lone gunman on the left, we will be at the forefront of policing those on the right who would try to seize upon this tragedy for political purposes," he wrote. "This is a sincere plea to those with whom we wage battle on a daily basis in a robust democracy with an appreciation for the First Amendment, but this is also a plea to our political way of thinking who would like to claim victory from a national tragedy."
Liberal commentators joined in the fray, for the most part focusing on Palin. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann called on Palin to repudiate her part in "amplifying violence and violent imagery in politics."
Just hours after the shooting, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik sounded off at a news conference, pinning blame for the tragedy squarely on "the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government." Dupnik proclaimed, "the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous."
"This may be free speech," he said. "But it's not without consequences."
His comments flew across Twitter and were highlighted by a Daily Kos blogger who praised Dupnik for not being afraid "to point the finger at who is culpable."
On the conservative blog RedState, Erick Erickson accused the left of "using this tragedy to score political points," recalling that when a gunman took hostages in the headquarters of the Discovery Channel last year, "the left immediately accused the man of being a tea party activist. Unfortunately for the left, the man turned out to be an envirowacko leftist."
In another blog posted Sunday, Erickson said, "The shooter is neither left-wing nor right-wing. He is crazy and evil -- a word not used enough."
Erickson concluded: "By the way, as an exit thought, the tea party movement won in November. Winners don't go on shooting sprees."
The blame game and rampant speculation over the possible political motivations of the shooting starting in earnest Saturday and continued on Sunday morning's political shows despite there still being little public information about the 22-year-old held in the shootings.
Jared Lee Loughner's YouTube and other Internet postings don't appear to indicate a coherent political motive or very many coherent political thoughts, for that matter. They include rants on currency and ramblings about Loughner's distrust of the government and public officials.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that after watching the videos and reading Loughner's writings, he saw evidence of someone suffering from "paranoid schizophrenia."
The Arizona Daily Star spoke to former community college classmates of Loughner who described him as "very disturbed," "Left wing" and someone who was prone to interrupting class discussions frequently with "nonsensical outbursts."
Fox News reported Sunday morning that an internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the network indicated that Loughner, 22, is "possibly linked" to an anti-Semetic, white supremacist group.
The DHS memo called the group American Renaissance "anti-government, anti-immigration, anti -ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti-Semitic."
The information reportedly came as Loughner's computer and personal effects were searched in the shooting investigation.
Giffords, who attends a Reform synagogue in Tucson, is Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman.
While Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) played down any suggestion that there was a direct connection between rhetoric emanating from either party and the Arizona shooting on "Fox News Sunday," she did note some of the alleged gunman's favorite books as highlighted on his YouTube page -- The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf.
Comments These are just the first two pages of comments.
This is simply Disgusting !!!!!!
I'm sure Obama is proudBY on 01/09/2011 at 13:01
I'm sure Obama is proudBY on 01/09/2011 at 13:01
part of Alinsky's plan?BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:11
Why is anyone surprised that factions on eithervside are trying to point blame. They all look like idiots in my opinion. Especially, Olbermann.BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:12
Why won't The Hill and other media report that one of this nut's favorite books was the Communist Manifesto and there is a video of him burning the American flag??! If anything, this nut was a left winger!
And Giffords was for border security.
This is NOT the work of a tea partier. The media is so broken and biased it's beyond belief.
And I wish The Hill would stop publishing the vile, irresponsible and inflammatory rantings of Markos Moulitsas.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:14And Giffords was for border security.
This is NOT the work of a tea partier. The media is so broken and biased it's beyond belief.
And I wish The Hill would stop publishing the vile, irresponsible and inflammatory rantings of Markos Moulitsas.
I don't know why people are saying there's no difference between the rhetoric on the right and the rhetoric on the left. That couldn't be [***]her from the truth.
The left doesn't go around calling the President a nazi or a marxist kenyan or unAmerican or an anti-christ and say that he isn't a legitimate President and he stole that seat to destroy America! That's all rightie crap talk!
The left doesn't talk about 'second amendment remedies' if the voting doesn't go the way they want and they don't carry machine guns to political rallies!
The right wing nutjobs are all about using guns and thuggery to get their way and this is the result of the past two years of inflamatory language from the tea drinkers and the main stream republicans in congress.
Threats and violence are what the right wing uses to bully their way around the law.
Right wing propaganda networks like FOX add to the mix by making up the news and Beck and Limbaugh spread their lying talking points to get people all whipped up in a frenzy so they're at the verge of going over the edge. Talk about mind control! Beck and Limbaugh are tops in that catagory.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:27The left doesn't go around calling the President a nazi or a marxist kenyan or unAmerican or an anti-christ and say that he isn't a legitimate President and he stole that seat to destroy America! That's all rightie crap talk!
The left doesn't talk about 'second amendment remedies' if the voting doesn't go the way they want and they don't carry machine guns to political rallies!
The right wing nutjobs are all about using guns and thuggery to get their way and this is the result of the past two years of inflamatory language from the tea drinkers and the main stream republicans in congress.
Threats and violence are what the right wing uses to bully their way around the law.
Right wing propaganda networks like FOX add to the mix by making up the news and Beck and Limbaugh spread their lying talking points to get people all whipped up in a frenzy so they're at the verge of going over the edge. Talk about mind control! Beck and Limbaugh are tops in that catagory.
Of course I can't verify this, but most likely after he tweeted Sarah Palin, he tweeted comrade Soros to let him know that the ball was rolling. George Soros and others should be persons of interest here, but I'm sure everyone will think I'm crazy.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:29Okay The Hill,
You are de[***]able and I do not care if you kick me off your left-wing site forever.
You do not mention Mark Moulitas wrote and posted an article on his website The Daily Kos on January 6th, 2011 with the following headline:
MY CONGRESSWOMAN IS DEAD TO ME FOR NOT VOTING FOR PELOSI.
THE CONGRESSWOMAN HE SPOKE OF IS GIFFORD.
MOULITAS SCRUBBED THAT ARTICLE BUT NOT BEFORE RESPONSIBLE WEBSITES CAPTURED IT FOR ALL TO SEE!
MOULITAS HAD A TARGET ON GIFFORD IN 2008.
SCREW YOU THE HILL AND ALL YOU LEFT-WING HATERS PINNING THIS HEINOUS TRAGEDY ON THE TEA PARTIES AND SARAH PALIN.
THE PERPETRATOR IS A LEFT-WING LUNATIC - VERIFIED BY FRIENDS OF HIS - WHO HATED CONSERVATIVES.
GIFFORD WAS A BLUE-DOG - A CONSERVATIVE.
MAY YOU ALL ROT IN [***] FOR THE DISSERVICE YOU DO IN THE NAME OF "NEWS."
I dare you post this The Left-Wing Hill.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:30You are de[***]able and I do not care if you kick me off your left-wing site forever.
You do not mention Mark Moulitas wrote and posted an article on his website The Daily Kos on January 6th, 2011 with the following headline:
MY CONGRESSWOMAN IS DEAD TO ME FOR NOT VOTING FOR PELOSI.
THE CONGRESSWOMAN HE SPOKE OF IS GIFFORD.
MOULITAS SCRUBBED THAT ARTICLE BUT NOT BEFORE RESPONSIBLE WEBSITES CAPTURED IT FOR ALL TO SEE!
MOULITAS HAD A TARGET ON GIFFORD IN 2008.
SCREW YOU THE HILL AND ALL YOU LEFT-WING HATERS PINNING THIS HEINOUS TRAGEDY ON THE TEA PARTIES AND SARAH PALIN.
THE PERPETRATOR IS A LEFT-WING LUNATIC - VERIFIED BY FRIENDS OF HIS - WHO HATED CONSERVATIVES.
GIFFORD WAS A BLUE-DOG - A CONSERVATIVE.
MAY YOU ALL ROT IN [***] FOR THE DISSERVICE YOU DO IN THE NAME OF "NEWS."
I dare you post this The Left-Wing Hill.
It's really shameful — but entirely predictable — that the left and their allies in the mainstream media are ignoring all the inconvenient facts (for them) and are trying to exploit this tragedy for political purposes.
The left can try to shamelessly and indirectly blame Sarah Palin all they want — but the American people who rejected the Democratic Party and their agenda in November will not be deterred from restoring common sense, the rule of law, and fiscal sanity to OUR government.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:34The left can try to shamelessly and indirectly blame Sarah Palin all they want — but the American people who rejected the Democratic Party and their agenda in November will not be deterred from restoring common sense, the rule of law, and fiscal sanity to OUR government.
There is inflammatory rhetoric coming from both sides, but any objective analysis shows that over the few years most of the vile has been spewed from the left - as evidenced by all the times they called George W. Bush a "nazi" etc., and when Nancy Pelosi calls those who peacefully disagree with her policies "Un-American."
It is time that the MoveOn and DailyKos types be called to account for their hate speech and irresponsibilit y.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:52It is time that the MoveOn and DailyKos types be called to account for their hate speech and irresponsibilit y.
BY ALEJANDRO on 01/09/2011 at 13:11 they guy read Rand?BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:52
Another of the suspect's favorite book's was Ayn Rand's "We the Living." So does this makes him a communist-nazi-libertarian?
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:53The Giffords shooting is horrendous—the Giffords shooting is a tragedy- but does it involve Sarah Palin? Is it as Giffords father said right after the shooting "Gabrielle Giffords' father: 'The whole Tea Party were her enemies'http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/us-politics/8248399/Gabrielle-Giffords-father-The-whole-Tea-Party-were-her-enemies.html
The Daily KOS also named Giffords on their Target 'Bulls Eye' list in 2008. So what?
The Daily KOS list post is here ->http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/25/1204/74882/511/541568
Is Jared Loughner a conservative os a progressive? I have no idea. The truth is: nobody knows the thinking behind this tragedy. We will learn more down the road I am sure.
Today I urge caution in p[***]ing judgment in a tragic case which in my opinion, involves a paranoid young man.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:54The Daily KOS also named Giffords on their Target 'Bulls Eye' list in 2008. So what?
The Daily KOS list post is here ->http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/25/1204/74882/511/541568
Is Jared Loughner a conservative os a progressive? I have no idea. The truth is: nobody knows the thinking behind this tragedy. We will learn more down the road I am sure.
Today I urge caution in p[***]ing judgment in a tragic case which in my opinion, involves a paranoid young man.
Way to go media in trying to suggest this "FALSE EQUIVALENCY" BS.
No one on the so-called "LEFT" is threatening 2nd Amendment remedies, and for you to try to muddy the waters just continues your pacifist role in promoting acts like yesterday.BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:55
No one on the so-called "LEFT" is threatening 2nd Amendment remedies, and for you to try to muddy the waters just continues your pacifist role in promoting acts like yesterday.BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:55
Markos didn't write the post you refer to Mr. "sickofobama." It was written by a diarist (ie. and individual just like you posting your comment).
It's a false equivalency and typical of attempts to deflect attention from the hateful imagery and rhetoric from the likes of Sarah Palin that serves only to inflame, not inform.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 13:56It's a false equivalency and typical of attempts to deflect attention from the hateful imagery and rhetoric from the likes of Sarah Palin that serves only to inflame, not inform.
Was she not on Sarah Palin's target map? Words have consequences. and what if this guy wasnt influenced by those comments, you know its just around the corner until some crackpot takes a cue from the tea party or the knuckle dragging wing nuts.BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:00
I hardly think The Hill is left leaning when the majoity of comments seem to be from the right. I took the time to watch Mr Olberman's comments and while [***]ociating some of the blame for this tragedy with ½ gov Palin he also apologized for his own involvement as well as many others.Before you single him out you might view his comments which I feel were thoughtful and spot on.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:11The liberal media operatives caught in the big lie, again. They blame Sarah Palin and the leftwing nutjob turns out to be one of their own.BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:17
The Daily Kos is just trying to cover up the fact of the article that appeared on the Daily Kos just two days before the shooting with the headline: "My Congresswoman voted Against Nancy Pelosi. And she is Dead to me." Daily Kos yanked it down after the shooting. Sounds like Daily Dos was on a mission.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:19Here's the link about the Daily Kos: http://hillbuzz.org/2011/01/08/my-congresswoman-voted-against-nancy-pelosi-and-is-now-dead-to-me-eerie-daily-kos-hit-piece-on-gabrielle-giffords-just-two-days-before-[***][***]inati on-attempt-on-her/
BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:21Interesting -
the liberals did not use the Fort Hood m[***]acre to talk up the hateful speech used by followers of Islam - and it was clearly motivated by the hate speech of some Imams.
the MainStream Media did not call out the hate speech against the former president, Bush, which called explicitly for his [***][***]inati on/execution.
Now, there is no evidence of what motivated the Arizona shooter, yet the MSM is working overtime to link it to anyone who questions the politics of this administration.
Are the American people gullible enough to be so easily ma[***]ulated? I think the boards here indicate not.Indeed, I have already noticed MSM reporters backing off their initial attempts in this linking - they realize they are only losing more credibility in the eyes of the public.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:23the liberals did not use the Fort Hood m[***]acre to talk up the hateful speech used by followers of Islam - and it was clearly motivated by the hate speech of some Imams.
the MainStream Media did not call out the hate speech against the former president, Bush, which called explicitly for his [***][***]inati on/execution.
Now, there is no evidence of what motivated the Arizona shooter, yet the MSM is working overtime to link it to anyone who questions the politics of this administration.
Are the American people gullible enough to be so easily ma[***]ulated? I think the boards here indicate not.Indeed, I have already noticed MSM reporters backing off their initial attempts in this linking - they realize they are only losing more credibility in the eyes of the public.
It has started. This is most likely the first of many more to come. Congress members should be afraid. Who;'s next? So you're talkin' 'bout a revolution. It won't be peaceful.BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:23
Ummm actually WHIPPEDUP I thought you were referring to the Left. The worst part Whippedup the President is responsible for the Political discourse in the country by allowing his administration to call the American public racists, extremists, etc. simply because they do not agree with his obama's policies. Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, Olbermann, Matthews, Maddow and the list goes on who have unsighted cl[***] warfare and racist overtones unjustifiably so against American citizens. As far as Nazi, well, where was your outrage when the Left was calling George Bush a Nazi. The more information that is coming out looks as if he is not even a far right extremist, but perhaps has moor far left strings attached to his background.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:45WHY DID A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT GUN DOWN A CONGRESS WOMAN?
WHY DO DEMOCRATS HATE AMERICA?BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:48
WHY DO DEMOCRATS HATE AMERICA?BY on 01/09/2011 at 14:48
Saul Alinski: blame your opposition for the violent acts you commit
Happening now by the liberal lefty Dems, I'd say!BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:02
Happening now by the liberal lefty Dems, I'd say!BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:02
One real funny post by a Liberal above. Broken Media says at 01/09 at 13:14: The left doesn't go around accusing the president of not being legitimate. DAH, did you hear that President Bush?BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:02
Fake Lloyd C loves to lie
but he's using the Lloyd C brand. i'm confizzled.
BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:05but he's using the Lloyd C brand. i'm confizzled.
Whoa Baloney Guy that's uncanny. The Daily Kos you say? Never even heard of them until now. Will look up article. Thanks for the info.BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:13
GLEN,
You can stop the posing. You clearly show signs of a liberal. After all, you are being 1) deceitful (a liberal trait) and 2) hateful (another liberal trait).
Nice try but the Tea party is neither of the above.BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:20
You can stop the posing. You clearly show signs of a liberal. After all, you are being 1) deceitful (a liberal trait) and 2) hateful (another liberal trait).
Nice try but the Tea party is neither of the above.BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:20
The Daily Kos, what a hypocrit. Markos forgot to mention that before Palin's target list, the Daily Kos did the same thing but used the term "bullseyes" and specifically targeted Rep. Gabrielle Giffords because she was not liberal enough (blue dog Democrats)
This was back in June 2008 long before Palin's list.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/25/1204/74882/511/541568
What a bunch of shameful hypocrits.BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:21
This was back in June 2008 long before Palin's list.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/25/1204/74882/511/541568
What a bunch of shameful hypocrits.BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:21
Baloney guy I just looked at your link. Omg I think you're right. You can be sure the FBI will look into this. It almost sounds like she was shot because she wan't Far Left enough according to "boy blue"? If I read the Daily Kos link correctly.BY on 01/09/2011 at 15:33
Lots of heat, not much light!
ReplyDeleteOf course you can accuse the other side as much as you like but as usual the culprit is a nut with a gun! Until people realize that "the right to bear arms..." means ONLY "...in a well organised militia" the more national leaders will be gunned down for speaking to the people.
I will be watching for similarities between the Pakistan Governor's assasination fallout and the American Conresswoman's.