The right-wing chattering and blogging classes are squealing with unanimous denial that Jared Loughner [2] was influenced by their recent effluence of ultra-bellicose thunder. Timothy P. Carney on the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential [3] blog takes issue with Paul Krugman's sensible call in the New York Times ("Climate of Hate [4]," Jan. 9) for partisans to refrain from "eliminationist rhetoric." Writes Carney:
Krugman's claims are utterly divorced from the facts: Jared Loughner's beef with Rep. Giffords was that she couldn't answer his incoherent question once in 2007; and no one has found the words Obama, health-care, deficit, or taxes in Loughner's insane screeds.
Oh stop! Loughner appears none too stable, but neither does he appear psychotic. Are those who will be pushed over the edge by extremist rhetoric likely to be happy, well-adjusted types? Evangelical Timothy Dalrymplee on his Patheos [5] blog took a similar shot at Krugman, writing "Loughner Belongs to the Insane Party." Talk about denial! Loughner may not be an ideologue like Timothy McVeigh, but neither is he a total wackjob like John Hinckley Jr. He seems quite likely, in a muddle-headed way, to have been influenced by the gun rhetoric. Carney continues:
But the creepiest part of Krugman's column for me is his use of the word "eliminationist"... [W]hat was Krugman talking about? He doesn't point to any examples of Republicans wanting to rid the world of Democrats, or even silence them.
Oh just stop! Stop! Have you been living in a cave in the Himalayas without Internet access for the past year?
And I don't care how this gets painted by the mainstream media. I don't care if this shows up on YouTube, because I am convinced that the most important thing the founding fathers did to ensure me my First Amendment rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if ballots don't work, bullets will. I’ve never in my life thought that the day would come where I would tell individual citizens that you are responsible for being the militia that the founding fathers designed – they were very specific. You need to be prepared to fight tyranny: whether it comes from outside or it comes from inside.
—conservative radio host Joyce Kaufman at a Tea Party rally last summer (MediaLite [6], Jan. 10)
You know, our Founding Fathers put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason, and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. In fact, Thomas Jefferson said it's good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. I hope that's not where we're going but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies, and saying 'My goodness, what can we do to turn this country around?' And I'll tell you, the first thing we have to do is take Harry Reid out.
—Sharron Angle on the campaign trail against Reid in Nevada last January (Rachel Maddow Show [7], June 17, 2010)
Don't Retreat, instead—RELOAD!
—Sarah Palin [2] tweet after the healthcare reform vote (Examiner.com [8], Jan. 10)
The anarchist firebrand Emma Goldman had the unflinching fortitude not to disavow Leon Czolgosz after he assassinated President William McKinely in 1901, juiced up on Emma's oratory. These contemporary "conservatives" are showing not an ounce of moral courage or intellectual honesty in the aftermath of the Tucson massacre. So much for all their prattle about "personal responsibility."
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