As a slew of weekly publications prepare to unleash a fusillade of snuff pieces on the country, nine days after the tragic events in Arizona, no one has come forth with any evidence that Jared Loughner's murder of 6 innocents was even remotely connected to anything political. There is no evidence that he listened to Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, or any other conservative talk radio host. There is no evidence that Loughner saw Sarah Palin's crosshaired map or its Democratic counterpart. There is no evidence that he heard the slew of the bellicose or violence-themed metaphors utilized by the President of the United States. On the other hand, we have seen the eyewitness accounts of Loughner's madness, the apolitical nature of his rantings, and the dearth of political-based influences in his thinking. Only one source has been produced: an Internet movie called Zeitgeist which is replete with groundless and schizophrenic conspiracy theories about everything from Christianity to the New World Order. In the meantime, the Leftist media either a) contorts itself, using a priori justifications and causational fallacies, in a pathetic attempt to create non-existent links between Loughner and the Right; or b) it calls for a universal introspection and self-flagellation arising out of all of the "vitriolic rhetoric," - a term that has been repeated ad nauseam this week - implying that such speech indirectly contributed to the shooting deaths. In short, Loughner didn't kill those people: it was the thrice-damned right wingers and their hate speech or it is the general ambience of hate created by those same conservative pundits that did it.
Do not be fooled: the Left is not including its own hotheaded, invective-spewing journalists in that group. How many times in the last week has the press mentioned anyone other than the 4 people listed above, Ann Coulter, and Michelle Malkin? If the environment created by confrontational political speech fueled Loughner's decision to take lives, then how can you not include the Keith Olbermanns and the Ed Schultzes of the world in the mix?
Moreover, there are a number of underpinning accusations that Loughner was anti-government and, hence, has a connection to the Tea Party. Gabrielle Giffords' father, God bless his soul, blamed the Tea Partiers. The fact that Giffords was "targeted" by Sarah Palin on the now infamous crosshairs map and that she is a Congresswoman are frequently used to make that feeble link. Such arguments show a fundamental misunderstanding and, in fact, a willful ignorance of post-2008 politics. The Tea Party has never been violent and has never called for the overthrow of the government. Leftist anarchists - like Loughner - have. Speaking of anarchy, why hasn't anyone tried to make a connnection to Wikileaks? After all, Julian Assange is an admitted anarchist who wants nothing more than to throw the world into political chaos - something that sounds like it was birthed in the darkest depths of Loughner's madness.
Lastly, when the media calls for everyone to question the type and quality of their political speech, it's being disingenuous and coy. It doesn't mean everyone: it means the Right. Why? The voices of the Right and the Administration are the only voices being heard right now. The mainstream media, including those at MSNBC, walk in lock step with the Administration and serve as its propaganda wing. Certainly, the MSM is not calling for its members to engage in self-censorship nor does it want the President and his minions to tone down their efforts to advocate on behalf of their Leftist agenda and policies. If anything the MSM will continue fomenting the Administration's arguments and commentary, including its attacks on the opposition. Oh, but if it is able to silence the opposition or, at least, get the small-government, lower-taxes crowd to worry about the consequences of their speech or that they will be condemned for causing the death of a 9 year old girl - in short, if it is able to impose a chilling effect on the only voices not in agreement with the Messiah - then they will have achieved their goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment