Day: January 11, 2011
Crazed In Arizona
Being in Congress isn’t much fun.
Indeed, one wonders why anyone would run.
Especially considering that
Some constituents are maniacs
Who trade the voting booth for a gun.
The media says it’s all about rhetoric
And pundits whose prose style is manic.
But in the end it’s insanity
That’s lost touch with humanity,
And trades political discourse for the psychotic.
In the End, Palin’s Followers Will See Her as Tucson Tragedy’s Ultimate Victim
Glad the news media is quickly recognizing who the real victim of this week’s shooting is: Sarah Palin.
– Teresa Kopec, via Twitter.
It is fair to say that, upon learning about the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, most regular Americans assumed that a deranged tea partier had been pushed over the edge by one anti-government, anti-Democratic Party dog whistle too many from the GOP’s Fox channel personalities and hate radio propagandists.
That’s certainly what people close to Giffords assumed. On Saturday, as he rushed to his daughter’s side at the hospital, Spencer Giffords, 75, was asked if Gabrielle had any enemies. “Yeah,” he replied, “the whole tea party.”
Over the ensuing three days, it has become clear that the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, suffered from delusions, at least, and, at worst, was in throes of mental illness that was untreated, perhaps even undiagnosed.
It is equally clear that Loughner planned the attack and specifically targeted Rep. Giffords, a Democrat, because she was a member of Congress. When police searched Loughner’s home, they found an envelope on which he had written, “I planned ahead,” and “My assassination” and the name “Giffords.”
And witnesses say Loughner ran through the crowd at the congresswoman’s event in Tucson and opened fire when he spotted her talking with constituents.
What is still murky, however, is whether or to what extent the toxic political environment, which is especially acute in Arizona, home to nationally known Republican hatemongers Sen. John McCain and Gov. Jan Brewer, played a role in his rampage.
