Just 24 hours after the horrific attempted murder of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) by alleged gunman Jared Loughner MoveOn tried to rev up its membership to wage war against the forces of darkness in America today, i.e. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement. The radical left-wing group sent out an email appeal Sunday to its members with crafty wording. It starts out innocently enough (full letter text at bottom of this post):
Dear MoveOn member,By MoveOn standards, that’s a pretty gentle opening. But just a few short paragraphs later we learn why this mass email was sent. It reads: “And violent tendencies have been inflamed by the careless and irresponsible rhetoric of certain political leaders. Sarah Palin’s infamous ‘target list’ displayed Democratic districts, including Rep. Giffords’, in crosshairs, as if viewed through a gunsight.” [emphasis added]
The tragedy in Tucson has shaken us all to the core. Facts are still coming in, and we all must be careful not to jump to premature conclusions.
But in the wake of this disaster one thing is clear: We must put an end to the rhetoric of violence and hate that has exploded in America over the past two years.
That’s why we’re launching a petition calling on every member of Congress, as well as the major TV and cable news networks, to put an end to the hateful rhetoric and all overt or implied appeals to violence.
Is this the best the Left can come up with? Forgetting for a moment that MoveOn itself targeted Target for its political contributions during the last election cycle, is MoveOn suggesting that Sarah Palin was virtually the shooter herself? It certainly sounds like it.
Although some voices on the Left have been restrained, the more radical public figures in the left-wing blogosphere such as Markos Moulitsas (founded of the Daily Kos website), David Sirota, and Matt Yglesias (Think Progress/Center for American Progress Action Fund) have not.
As news of the shooting spread, Moulitsas used the opportunity to promote his pseudointellectual tome, American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right, tweeting simply “F***ing American Taliban.” The activist then attacked Sharron Angle, tweeting “Sharron Angle’s first amendment remedies, in action. That rhetoric MATTERS.” Leftists don’t care about the U.S. Constitution so it’s not surprising that Moulitsas doesn’t know the difference between the First Amendment, which Angle did not reference in a widely reported statement, and the Second Amendment, which she did reference. (After all, no one can understand the Constitution because it’s more than 100 years old, as Washington Post lefty blogger Ezra Klein opined on MSNBC the other day. So what’s the big deal?) For good measure Moulitsas then blamed Sarah Palin for the shooting, tweeting, “Mission accomplished, Sarah Palin.”
David Sirota was one of the worst offenders. Long a supporter of ACORN and therefore its violent tactics (he is so close to ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis that he is listed in her Rolodex) via Twitter he desperately smeared Sarah Palin and National Review for using the word target to describe Palin’s entirely peaceful, legitimate opposition to the reelection of select Democratic lawmakers.
Sirota then topped that with this bit of phony sanctimony: “Know it sounds cheesy, but its true: Over wknd, Ive felt deeply sad/guilty for bringing my son into a nation & era of such hate & violence.” Sirota should consider moving to the peaceful, safe socialist paradise of Hugo Chavez‘s Venezuela where his talents might be more appreciated. Or maybe Hollywood since he’s so into drama.
Sirota, a Democratic Party strategist, is very comfortable with radicals who embrace violent rhetoric. He frequently uses violent Marxist terminology himself. In a blog post about Americans’ resistance to Obama’s socialist policies titled “This Is What the Class War Looks Like,” he characterized Obama’s opponents as hate mongers. Sirota also went to the mat defending Obama’s former green jobs czar Van Jones, a 9/11 “truther” and self-described “communist” who resigned under fire during the Labor Day weekend in 2009. Sirota called commentator Glenn Beck a “right-wing political terrorist” and said Jones was “originally targeted because he’s an African-American man.” [emphasis added]
Puh-lease!
Matt Yglesias slyly insinuated via Twitter that Sarah Palin was somehow responsible for the shooting because her group electorally targeted Giffords on the 2010 election cycle: “A reminder that gun imagery and electoral politics don’t mix that well: http://yfrog.com/h4j00sj.”
Which brings us to the question of whether the shooter is a left-winger or a right-winger. His writings are bizarre and incoherent so it’s hard to tell. Reportedly, among his favorite books were The Communist Manifesto, Mein Kampf, Peter Pan, and Ayn Rand’s We The Living. Because his former classmates reportedly called him a left-winger I’m inclined to think he may be one but as one eminent commentator observed, it really doesn’t matter.
… the “political” beliefs of the mentally ill are difficult to categorize ideologically. “Crazy” is not an ideology. When somebody starts babbling word-salad stuff about “mind control,” etc., the problem is not politics. The problem is that somebody forgot to take their meds.And even if Loughner is definitely proved to be a leftist, that doesn’t necessarily mean he did something the so-called progressive movement would sanction. In other words a crazy person shooting a congresswoman is a political act in the sense that the victim is a political actor, but the shooting itself isn’t necessarily intended to accomplish anything political. Remember that John Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan because he was crazy and wanted to impress a movie actress. Perhaps Loughner also acted to appease his inner demons.
(Interestingly, no one has argued that the murder of federal Judge John Roll, who also died in the weekend attack, was somehow politically motivated. He was, after all, nominated by the first President Bush, a Republican. To be clear, I am not saying his killing was politically motivated but I am amazed the argument is not being made. )
But none of this matters to MoveOn, Moulitsas, Sirota, and Yglesias because to them discrediting Sarah Palin and the Tea Party is more important than anything else.
———-
Follow me on Twitter.
On the next page, the full MoveOn letter.
Here’s the full MoveOn letter:
Dear MoveOn member,
The tragedy in Tucson has shaken us all to the core. Facts are still coming in, and we all must be careful not to jump to premature conclusions.
But in the wake of this disaster one thing is clear: We must put an end to the rhetoric of violence and hate that has exploded in America over the past two years.
That’s why we’re launching a petition calling on every member of Congress, as well as the major TV and cable news networks, to put an end to the hateful rhetoric and all overt or implied appeals to violence. Click here to sign the petition:
[LINK OMITTED]
Here’s what the petition says: “I call for an end to all overt or implied appeals to violence in American politics. We must debate, not hate.”
After you sign, please forward this email to the people in your email address book and post on Facebook and Twitter to keep it going. With a large enough response, this petition can help focus the debate on the urgent need to end the rhetoric of violence and hate that has become so widespread over the past two years.
We don’t know what motivated the individual or individuals who committed this atrocity. And, if reports are true, it’s deeply troubling that the suspected shooter displayed so many signs of serious mental illness, and our public health institutions failed to respond.1
But the terrifying fact is that this act of violence falls into a pattern that has emerged over the past two years in America and in Gabrielle Giffords’ district in particular.
Windows were smashed at Representative Giffords’ district office last March just a few hours after the House vote on health care reform.2 At one of the infamous town hall events in August 2009, a man attending the event accidentally dropped a handgun on the floor that he had been hiding under his arm.3
And violent tendencies have been inflamed by the careless and irresponsible rhetoric of certain political leaders. Sarah Palin’s infamous “target list” displayed Democratic districts, including Rep. Giffords’, in crosshairs, as if viewed through a gunsight.4
In addition, violent imagery was prominently featured during the last election. For instance, a rally for Rep. Giffords’ Republican opponent, Jesse Kelly, was promoted with the following notice: “Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”5
As Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, speaking from the heart at an emotional news conference last night, said:
There’s reason to believe that this individual may have a mental issue. And I think people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol… When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.6
Please take a moment to add your voice to this call to end the rhetoric of violence and hate, and then share it with all your friends. Click here to sign:
[LINK OMITTED]
And thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Adam, Amy, Anna, Annie, Carrie, Christopher, Daniel, David, Duncan, Eli, Emily, Gail, Ian, Ilya, Ilyse, Joan, Kat, Laura, Lenore, Mariana, Marika, Matthew, Melanie, Michael, Milan, Nita, Peter, Robin, Ryan, Susannah, Stephen, Steven, Tim, and Wes
P.S. You might also want to check out a video we posted on the petition page of Rep. Giffords herself talking about this issue last year. It’s a powerful reminder not only of how important this issue is, but also what an amazing leader Gabby Giffords has been for America and, we deeply hope, will continue to be.
Sources:
1. “Exclusive: Jared Loughner Radically Changed Before Alleged Shooting, Friend Says,” ABC News, January 9, 2011 [LINK OMITTED]
2. “Rep. Giffords’ Tucson office vandalized after health care vote,” Arizona Daily Star, March 22, 2010 [LINK OMITTED]
3. “Gabrielle Giffords Town Hall: Gun Left Behind,” The Huffington Post, August 11, 2009 [LINK OMITTED]
4. “Tucson rampage casts light on toxic political tone,” Arizona Daily Star, January 8, 2011 [LINK OMITTED]
5. “Sarah Palin Criticized Over Gabrielle Giffords Presence on ‘Target List,’” CBS News, January 8, 2011 [LINK OMITTED]
6. “News Conference with Pima County Sheriff & Others (Courtesy of KVOA TV, Tucson, Arizona),” C-SPAN, January 8, 2011 [LINK OMITTED]
Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here. [EMBEDDED LINK OMITTED]
—
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Article printed from NewsReal Blog: http://www.newsrealblog.com
URL to article: http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/01/10/sarah-palin-virtually-pulled-the-trigger-they-say-moveon-lefty-bloggers-already-trying-to-capitalize-on-arizona-shooting/
No comments:
Post a Comment