Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: The Left Seeks to Kill Free Speech in Wake of Arizona Shootings

Any criticism of their radical agenda is now termed dangerous speech!

Let's get one thing straight: There is not one shred of evidence to suggest that the shooter in Arizona was  motivated by right wing hate speech or any conservative politician.  Jared Loughner, 22, appears to be a young man suffering from a severe mental illness driven to make his mark by targeting the nearest and most accessible federal official who happened to be a moderate Democrat. Six people died in that attack including a Federal Judge appointed by a Republican president and a nine year old girl.

It has yet to be explained why the shooter failed to get adequate mental health treatment following earlier episodes at Pima Community College where he was suspended with a written notice delivered to him and his parents by two police officers in which there was a requirement for a "mental-health clearance" before he could return. Sadly, after passage of the HIPAA law intended to protect patient's rights, it has become much harder for the families of the mentally ill to assist the afflicted to accept treatment. The primary sponsor of that law was the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

This tragedy should have been avoided. I dread that liberal do-good legislation may have played a role in preventing the treatment this deranged young man so desperately needed. We shall see.

But what makes this tragedy all the more sickening was the instant leap of those on the left to accuse Republicans, the Tea Parties, Sarah Palin, Talk Radio, Fox News and anyone else on their perpetual hate list of somehow inspiring the attack even if the killer was a not a follower of conservatives.

The inference that Sarah Palin is somehow to blame comes out even in hard news stories about the shooter which included a graphic from Sarah Palin's political action committee with not even a reference as to why the material is there. The same news sources apparently ignore that nearly identical political "targeting" was used by a leftist web site targeting Giffords for defeat . Just days ago, a posting at the Daily Kos was titled "My Congresswoman [Giffords] voted against Nancy Pelosi! And is now DEAD to me!

Yet, none of the facts described above has stopped the outraged finger pointing by those on the left which began moments after the news of the shooting broke and well before the facts were known.

The very partisan  Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Tucson (Pima County), a Democrat, seemed well rehearsed. This from the Washington Post:

"I'd just like to say that when you look at unbalanced people, how they are - 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," Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik said in a nationally televised news conference.
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"To try to inflame the public on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has impact on people, especially who are unbalanced personalities to begin with," he said, in a stern lecturing tone.

Former Senator Dennis DeConcini tells the post that the people the Sheriff was referring to are "[Rush] Limbaugh and the national press people like Glenn Beck."

Again, there is NOT ONE SHRED of evidence that this shooter ever listened to Talk Radio, watched Fox News or visited conservative web sites.

Most of the attempts to blame the right for this massacre are a bit more subtle, but equally nefarious and chilling to free speech which is the cornerstone of our democracy. Take for example the interview Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) gave to liberal magazine Mother Jones:

[When] you stoke these flames, and you go to public meetings and you scream at the elected officials, you threaten them—you make us expendable you make us part of the cannon fodder. For a while, you've been feeding this hatred, this division…you feed it, you encourage it….Something's going to happen. People are feeding this monster….Some of the extreme right wing has made demonization of elected officials their priority.

Hate Speech is SOP for the Left

When it comes to fanning the flames and "demonizing" public officials, the Left wrote the book. Go back to the Clarence Thomas hearings, or remember how they smeared Newt Gingrich. More recently, the attacks on Sarah Palin and her family.

Who can forget the sight of Code Pink circus freaks (photo at right) who just happened to appear at Congressional hearings run by Democrats in the final years of the Bush Administration to attack Republicans like Secretary of State Condi Rice. How's that for fanning the flames?

And it's not just left wing crazies who are spreading this poison. Remember this?

What about the last election when President Obama declared it would mean "hand-to-hand combat" if Republicans won big in November. At the same time he directed his troops to "punish your enemies" and told Republicans to "sit in the back."

Last, but not least, remember the election ad where Democrat Senate candidate Joe Mancin of West Virginia used a high powered rifle to shoot a carbon tax bill?

Nearly every conservative leader or organization has come out in the last 24 hours to condemn this massacre in Arizona and to condemn ANY form of political violence. It seems that those on the left have spent more of their time fingerpointing at others. Perhaps it is because they are most guilty of using the very same tactics they now ascribe to others!
The Left is attempting to demonize and silence free speech in opposition to their agenda. To permit them to succeed would be a crime far greater than the one in Arizona on Saturday!