As the news came in about the shootings of Gabrielle Giffords and Judge John Roll, I was sadly reminded that her office was one of those targeted by the so-called window war following her vote in favor of the health-care bill. I’m not saying that any group or political stripe bears the sole blame, but we all need to step back and take a look at the rhetoric we’re tolerating from elected officials, the media, and from some in our own ranks.
In the months following the 2008 election, I lost count of how many times I heard some seemingly normal person blurt something like, “I wouldn’t pull the trigger, but I wouldn’t cry over ______’s grave, either.” There was talk from armchair revolutionaries about it being “time to vote from the rooftops.”
There was more of it after the health-care vote. In the 2010 mid-terms, we were treated to Sharron Angle’s drivel about “2nd Amendment remedies,” and Sarah Palin’s PAC ran an advertisement (now removed) portraying literal targets on the names of Democrats they hoped to unseat. Continued...