Revisionist History... - Granite Grok

Revisionist History…

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First of all, the shooting in Arizona yesterday was evil, deplorable, and senseless.  It was the action of a lost, sick individual, who, based on his internet postings, appears to be a highly unstable loner, a la Ted Kaczynski, who had a number of run-ins with police, quit school, and was rejected by the US military.  Even the Huffington Post, a bastion of liberalism, is leaning down that path, posting a story that insinuates Loughner’s mental illness.

We should not spend much time trying to figure this guy out – he is sick and needs help…in prison.

My thoughts, prayers and goodwill are with the Congresswoman, and the other people who were injured and recovering, regardless of their political beliefs.

But as I browse material on the internet, I see inferences that the shooter was part of a right-wing extremist community and is a symptom of an environment of heightened political anger and hatred.  These assumptions allege Loughner’s actions were inspired by the Tea Party or grassroots Conservative movement.  As the dust settles in a few days, I imagine that the rhetoric will increase, insisting on tougher gun-control laws and increased "civility" (aka "compromise") in DC.  The abhorrent Olberman already compared Glenn Beck to the shooter, insisting that he apologize for this "rhetoric".  As they say in the Progressive establishment, never let a "crisis go to waste".

There’s even a New Jersey Congressman and a nationally known news columnist who, hours after the incident, outright blamed Fox News for inciting such anger.  They’ve been waiting for a moment such as this, hoping to put a chink in the armor of the Conservative momentum that has been building. 

There is also an attempt to link this individual’s actions to Sarah Palin, who had a website that put certain vulnerable Democrats "in the crosshairs", directing activists to work against and expel them from Congress, in favor of Tea Party candidates.  Even though I believe that Palin was not sending a message to Conservatives to violently "take out" anyone, I do believe that the use of cross-hairs was foolish and irresponsible.  Tea Party activists around the country should call Palin out on this, in light of what just happened, and this could mean the end of Sarah Palin as a nationally viable candidate.

Here are some more thoughts:

Congresswoman Giffords is a Blue-Dog Democrat, meaning she is typically a fiscally conservative Democrat who believes in lower taxes.  She is strongly against illegal immigration, representing an area that borders Mexico.  While she voted for Obama’s Healthcare bill, she’s not what I would consider a Progressive or Statist.  People who consider themselves "Tea Party" thinkers wouldn’t normally consider her a significant political threat, as there are many others to worry about who are much, much worse.

Gifford did run against a "Tea Party" candidate in the November 2010 election and won by a slim margin – but to directly connect the "Tea Party" to  this event is ridiculous and capitalizing of someone else’s pain.  Campaigning against an opponent, by staging rallies or protests, does not make a group someone’s physical enemy.  This sort of activity took place against dozens of Democrats (and even some Republicans) across the country over the past year.

Also, Loughner had an apparent encounter with Gifford back in 2007, a full two years before the "tea party" came into existence.  After that encounter, he told a friend that Gifford was "’stupid and unintelligent".  Loughner seems to be obsessed with people he declares "illiterate".

The big point here is in response to Olberman’s self-righteous, indignant rant, indicting the Tea Party and Glenn Beck for this act, more than the shooter himself – the same Glenn Beck who held a "Restoring Honor" rally in August, more religious than political, calling for people to "unite despite political or religious disagreements".  One day, Olberman will look back at his rants and feel embarrassed for how foolish he was.

Where was Olbermann and the rest of the Progressive Media, during the Bush administration, when protestors regularly threatened harm and death to President George W. Bush, often without investigation by law enforcement or secret service authorities?

Conservatives and Patriotic activists cannot, and should not, shrink from their message and actions, simply because Progressives and Liberals, like Olberman, attempt to use the actions of a single deranged individual (one of 300 million), who acted irrationally, as proof that they are violent, inciting hate-mongers, simply because they choose to peacefully protest, challenge, and fight against policies that they believe are destructive to their home and families.  In reality, the "Tea Party" used the very methods that the Founding Fathers envisioned them to in order to force change – their voices, their time, money and energy, and their votes – and this completely frustrates those who wish to "fundamentally transform" the United States.

These same Progressives and Liberals, especially in the media (and the President), should be careful not to expose themselves as hypocrites.  But then, I suppose it’s already too late for that. The following pictures are worth a "million" words…

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