When I heard about the fatal shooting in Arizona last weekend, I was shocked and appalled. Shocked that the attack even happened. Appalled at the loss of life. I watched FoxNews, my go to news source on the weekends, and learned that a deeply troubled, mentally ill young man shot Rep. Giffords before firing on the crowd, killing six others and wounding 14 more. For more information on the shooting, please read this article:
Monday morning I perused my usual Internet new sites, FoxNews, CNN, and BBC among others. After I read an article written by a UK paper, I was angry. I learned the leftist media was blaming the horrific incident on vocal conservative public figures like Sarah Palin and some FoxNews contributors/anchors. I went to the MSNBC website (and no, a bolt of lightening didn’t strike me in my office chair) and started to watch clips of the coverage just to make sure the BBC article wasn’t making a mountain out of a mole hill. Sure enough, the BBC article was correct – MSNBC and other left leaning media outlets were blaming Sarah Palin and her PAC website for the shooting. This is a link to a similar article in the Montreal Gazette.
In modern short hand slang, WTF?! At no point during the initial investigation last weekend, or the investigation since then, has any evidence even pointed a finger at Sarah Palin or FoxNews as the shooter’s motivating factors when he pulled out a gun and took lives and injured others. The fact that the leftist media had the audacity to tisk tisk their conservative counterparts and say, “you should really stop all of your political rhetoric because it gets people killed,” speaks a tremendous amount about the depths the leftist media will go to defame conservatives. They used a national tragedy in a thinly veiled attempt to stop conservatives from speaking out against liberal politicians, agendas and the healthcare bill.
Furthermore, it’s not just the left media that’s “demonizing” conservatives – take a look at a BBC interview with former President Bill Clinton.
We should stop OUR political rhetoric? YOU should stop talking (childish, I know, but also satisfying)! These “reporters” and “talking heads” took a tragedy and tried to turn it into a blame game because a mentally ill young man shot a Democrat who happened to support the health care bill. If he had shot a Republican would these “news people” have said the same things? Would they have blamed President Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for the violence… I highly doubt it.
Just to be clear, based on current reports on the ongoing police investigation into the shooter, he became obsessed with Rep Giffords back in 2007. Furthermore, nothing in the shooter’s rambling YouTube videos, personal notes or behavior suggested he decided to shoot Rep. Giffords and members of the crowd on that fateful Saturday because of politics, much less because of Sarah Palin or FoxNews.
Finally, I applaud conservatives for defending their right to free speech – including denouncing decisions or opinions of fellow lawmakers. Any bill or resolution brought to a vote in either the House or the Senate limiting speech against elected officials should be laughed out of the chamber. This country was not founded on LIMITATIONS of speech – it was founded on FREE SPEECH. If the American people cannot speak out against elected officials for fear of prosecution under the law, we might as well toss the Constitution through the nearest shredder. To read more about Sarah Palin’s response read this article. To watch Bill O’Reilly’s Talking Points Memo click on the link.
My heart and prayers go out to Rep. Giffords family, to the families and friends of those who lost a loved one on that fateful day, and to those still recovering from their injuries. For more information on those that lost their lives, please read this article.
To watch or read President Obama’s speech from the January 12, 2011 memorial vigil, please click on the links.
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