Sheriff Clarence Dupnik doubles down: "Arizona Sheriff Blasts Rush Limbaugh for Spewing 'Irresponsible' Vitriol." (Via Memeorandum.)
And at Pat Dollard, "Leftist Tucson Sheriff Tries to Gain Political Profit From Blood of Dead Victims."
Contrast that to the measured reason of Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu ... [video removed from YouTube] ...
To be sure, there is a lot of heated rhetoric in American politics, as ever. For instance, last spring, three Democratic congressmen cruelly slandered Tea Party members by accusing them of spitting on them and calling them racial slurs—a charge that was reported as true by the Times even after it was thoroughly debunked by videotapes of the event. Film director Rob Reiner compared the Tea Party to the Nazis on Bill Maher’s HBO show last October. And in May, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg infamously blamed an Islamist attempt to bomb Times Square on “someone who didn’t like health care or something.” Indeed, the Left’s hysterical response to all who disagree with it—that they are racist or sexist or “phobic” or somehow reminiscent of Hitler—has become so predictable that satirists, from the libertarian Greg Gutfeld to the liberal Jon Stewart, have made fun of it in routines.RELATED: "The Left's Climate of Hate and Libel."
But never mind that, because the Left’s sudden talk about incendiary political rhetoric in the wake of the Arizona shooting isn’t really about political rhetoric at all. It’s about the real-world failure of leftist policies everywhere—the bankrupting of nations and states by greedy unions and unfundable social programs, the destruction of inner cities by identity politics, and the appeasement of Muslim extremists in the face of worldwide jihad, not to mention the frequently fatal effects of delirious environmentalism. Europe is in debt and on fire. American citizens are in political revolt. Even the most left-wing president ever is making desperate overtures to his right.
But all that might be tolerable to leftists if they weren’t starting to lose control of the one weapon in which they have the most faith: the narrative. The narrative is what leftists believe in instead of the truth. If they can blame George W. Bush for the economic crisis, if they can make Sarah Palin out to be an idiot, if they can call the Tea Party racist until you think it must be true, they might yet retain power in spite of the international disgrace of their ideas. And though they still mostly dominate the narrative on the three broadcast networks, most cable stations, most newspapers, and much of Hollywood, nonetheless Fox News, talk radio, the Internet, and the Wall Street Journal have begun to respond in ways they can’t ignore.
That’s the hateful rhetoric they’re talking about: conservatives interrupting the stream of leftist invective in order to dismantle their arguments with the facts. As for leftists’ reaction to the Arizona shooting, call it Narrative Hysteria: a frantic attempt to capitalize on calamity by casting their opponents, not merely as racist or sexist or Islamophobic this time, but as somehow responsible for an act of madness and evil. Shame on them.
3 comments:
Kind of interesting to watch the Left totally discredit itself. Klavin is correct that this is more about failed leftists ideas and losses than violent rhetoric. There are few Conservatives, et al that can hold a candle to the left's propensity toward violent rhetoric and action.
This will wind down when it becomes apparent that it isn't working and is becoming counter productive. It is more to keep some on the Left from moving away. When a philosophy that is built on hatred begins to lose in the marketplace of ideas it has to redouble its efforts to keep the hatred alive and demonize others as this demonstrates. It is SOP for Progressives/Leftists.
This reminds one of the Left's actions on AGW. There comes a moment when one is forced to ask is there any weather condition that does not justify AGW. In the Lefts mind there is no disaster or action taken that is not the fault of the Right. It does not matter that, in most cases, the perpetrator has very Leftist leanings or has true mental issues. Who needs science or fact? It is all about the narrative and justifying a dogma that is an anathema to life on this planet.
I note that the radical feminists came out with their version which was just as disgusting as the rest of this exercise in folly.
The sadness here is a lot of good people got hurt and killed and their plight has been taken a backseat to provide leftists with another chance to lie and dissemble. If one paid attention to the Left and their willing accomplices in the "media" one would find little about these individuals that isn't used for political fodder. It is just another indication of the how low and disgusting the Left is.
Thanks for commenting, Dennis. Insightful remarks.
In an aside it does seem from a poll done by CBS that 60 percent of Americans don't believe violent rhetoric leads to these kind of action. Most people are smart enough to make these nuanced distinctions. As I said this will stop when it is apparent that this is not working and is counter productive as it already is beginning to demonstrate.
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