vitriol in america gov't/politics

[Karma]

6 people dead (one of them a child) 5 more in the hospital including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a young congresswoman and democrat. one of 20 who was "marked" by crosshairs on sarah palin's website's "hit list".

phrases like "dont retreat, RELOAD" or statements on the radio that "people are going in their closets, getting out their guns, cleaning and reloading them because they dont like what's going on and they wont stand for it" with regards to Obama passing health care.

the hatefull rhetoric spouted on fox news 24 hours a day by any number of pundits...where does it STOP?

its OBVIOUS this stuff has had an effect and impact on our country and those susceptible to the rhetoric. It was only a matter of time before something like the attack on Tuscon happened.

Now Palin is blaming EVERYONE but herself she's even implied SHE was the victim and Giffords was the perpetrator!?

Its okay to have opposing views but hasnt "disagreeing" changed drastically in america since the days of Bush? How much FURTHER is it going to go?

 

[Clara Oswald]

Come on, the lunatic wasn't a tea partyist, he was an independent, and he didn't even vote in the last election. And the democrats used that same exact crosshairs graphic a couple years ago. The judge that was killed was a republican who had been appointed by Bush. And Giffords is a moderate. If the tea party was going to try and assassinate someone, it would probably be Nancy Pelosi.

This was a terrible thing, but blaming one side is not right either. BOTH parties are guilty of trying to rile up supporters against the other. But I don't think EITHER party is trying to get their opposition assassinated.

Sometimes crazy people are just crazy people.

 

[Karma]

Come on, the lunatic wasn't a tea partyist, he was an independent, and he didn't even vote in the last election. And the democrats used that same exact crosshairs graphic a couple years ago. The judge that was killed was a republican who had been appointed by Bush. And Giffords is a moderate. If the tea party was going to try and assassinate someone, it would probably be Nancy Pelosi.
Sometimes crazy people are just crazy people.

i HAD to laugh at that, though i shouldnt have. I know how much the right hates Nancy , i LOVE her. she's a real ball buster and a whip cracker and she got some shit done! :nod:

I'm not necessarily saying this lunatic was an agent of the tea party. I read and re-read some stuff after I first thought about that and all things indicate he was "apolitical".

I'm just saying that its gotta be obvious to all of us that things are different now. there's always been disagreements before...forever really but now its bad. You could tell things were starting to get out of hand at these town hall meetings. People interrupting the congressmen/women as they attempted to talk, yelling, SPITTING on these representatives and vandalizing their offices??

of course Sarah Palin's BS (mentioned above).

and Ann Coulter saying things like "we should do to the liberals what hitler did to the jews. give them a chance to renounce liberalism and if they dont, send them to the ovens!" ...there's no way to defend that LOL



sure this guy may not have been (or at least not admitting to) motivated by palin or the tea baggers BUT there's no denying that things like the tea party's "2nd ammendment solution" (which they tout as a way of dealing with anyone who 'doesnt cooperate' or 'stands in the way of our mission') are very hatefull and inflamatory.

 

[Clara Oswald]

I'm just saying the democrats are JUST as inflammatory with their rhetoric. Things are coming to a head, yes, and I'd be happy to throw all those jerks out of Washington and start all over, BUT it's not one segment of the population that's doing it.

And, for the thousandth time p) the tea party does not speak for the entire party. The ultra left is full of crazies too

 

[Black King]

Arizona Shootings Reaction - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 01/10/11 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

I'm just say when a comedian is pointing out the flaws in how we understand one another and our politics, our systems got issues

 

[Rampage]

I'm just saying the democrats are JUST as inflammatory with their rhetoric. Things are coming to a head, yes, and I'd be happy to throw all those jerks out of Washington and start all over, BUT it's not one segment of the population that's doing it.

And, for the thousandth time p) the tea party does not speak for the entire party. The ultra left is full of crazies too

I agree that the vast majority of the country is not in this rhetoric, this craziness. I think that the vast majority of Republicans, of even the Tea Party need not worry.

But the rhetoric since Obama took office was and is WAAAAY beyond the pale. People warned the ultra-right about it, warned them over and over that this would be an issue.

Then came the firearms at political rallies (exclusively right-wing), the talk of "bearing arms" and "Second Amendment solutions", the crosshairs, the "Death Panels" talk. People warned that this was too much, too far, that there would be an incident. Gabrielle Giffords warned that herself.

I understand that Democrats used crosshairs before, and it was wrong then. And in this cycle, if there had been only crosshairs, or only one or two of the many things that relate to violent solutions to political issues, then I would agree with you more completely.

I am not saying that Palin or any of the ultra-right ordered Giffords death. But the atmosphere that they have helped create has not been helpful and once this happened to SOMEONE that THEY TARGETED, they cannot then run from what they HAVE done, which was taken political debate from its already coarse modern nature to one that denies the dignity and right to exist of dissenting views.

I understand that both sides have had flaming rhetoric, but the left has no guns at rallies, no talk of reloading and lock-and-loading, and no targeted Republicans with holes in their heads. That is a fact, and I would prefer to see reasonable Republican such as yourself step up and denounce the rhetoric rather than giving people who have contributed to the rhetoric cover.

To say that Liberals have said mean things as well simply fails to take into account the entirety of what has occurred, which is simply unprecedented in modern political discourse in this country. PERIOD.

You are conservative and proud of it. You should be. I know many who are and should be and I am proud to share my views (differing though they may be) with them and appreciate them as good Americans and good people. But wrong is wrong, and Palin/Beck et al was wrong in their rhetoric and the atmosphere they helped create has come home to roost in my view.

 

[Persephone]

Right wing, left wing, up and down wing....whatever the hell wing people stand by, this shit has gone way too far. Politics have always been heated, but I agree with Garrick, it has gotten RIDICULOUS since Obama stepped into office. Radicals are taking over politics and now innocent people are getting hurt because of it.

EVERYONE needs to take a step back and realize this shit isn't helping anyone. It's only sending our country further down the shitter.

 

[Karma]

ultimately it ALL IS messed up. I agree. but i also agree w/ Garrick...you can't deny that it became INSANE once Obama won the election! folks were (and have been) losing their minds and you can't tell me its MERELY over his "policies"...we know what its REALLY about. RACISM. but buzzwords like "socialist" are now supposed to cover that up

Im reminded of Judge Judy's recent appearence on Larry King Live. He was talking with her on her views on American politics and it was she who used the world vitriol which stuck in my head.

She definately thought lowly of the tea party and how it seems to have overpowered the republican party. her ultimate analysis was "its like a pendulum, it swings back and forth but ultimate it comes back to the middle." she also pointed out that the "far right" OR "far left" really needed to basically sit down somewhere. that NO fringe should be allowed to overtake the vast majority and that this is what she saw happening with the tea party overpowering the right and really dragging this country down.