"I blame the individual for the first 10 bullets, I blame the law for the next 21 bullets that he fired"

Jack Kelly Sunday

Jack Kelly had a column in Sunday's P-G.

And in it he spins.

How surprising is that?

First Jack's somewhat surprising opening:

I rarely have had nice things to say about President Barack Obama. But I was proud of him Wednesday night. His speech at the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson massacre ranked up there with the speech President Ronald Reagan gave after the Challenger disaster, and the speech President George W. Bush gave after 9/11.

It's interesting to see the list that Jack uses. No where is there the discussion of President Clinton's speech after the Oklahoma City bombing. We'll see why in a minute.

Next Jack's spin:

The president's remarks rescued what could have been an awkward situation. The venue, the behavior of much of the audience and the remarks of warm-up speakers were more suited to a political pep rally, unseemly for a somber occasion. It reminded me of how the memorial service in 2002 for Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn, was abused for political purposes.

There it is. That's what this column is about - how the Democrats are spinning the violence in Tucson. Just like how the Wellstone memorial was "abused for political purposes."

Except it wasn't. Safe to say that Jack wasn't there in 2002. Minnesota Senator Al Franken was, however. And this is what Senator Franken had to say:

To this day, there are still a lot of people, including Democrats, who've bought the right wing line on the Wellstone Memorial. Specifically, that it was a cynical, premeditated political event that included endless booing of Republican politicians who came to pay their respects to their fallen colleague. I wrote a pretty detailed account of the Wellstone Memorial in my book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, and nothing could be further from the truth. I did write that "reasonable people of good will were genuinely offended." The memorial was raucous and a couple of speakers said some things that were inappropriate - basically, let's win this (upcoming Senate) election for Paul.

There were also honest Republicans of good will, including Jim Ramstad - the Congressman from the Minneapolis suburban district I grew up in - who acted like human beings and cut the speakers who offended (Rick Kahn and, to a lesser degree, Mark Wellstone) a little slack because they understood that Rick had lost six very close friends and Mark had lost his father, mother, and sister.

And then he sums up things nicely:

The chapter was mainly about how cynically Republicans used the memorial politically as they complained that the Democrats had used it politically.

And then we see why Jack omits Clinton's Oklahoma speech:

Mr. Obama's tone doubtless was disappointing to some in his party, who were hoping he would turn the tragedy to partisan political advantage. An unnamed Democratic political operative told Politico Monday that the White House needed to "deftly pin this on the tea partiers. Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people."

Another Democratic strategist said the similarity between the Tucson massacre and Oklahoma City is that both "take place in a climate of bitter and virulent rhetoric against the government and Democrats."

Which is actually true.

So here we are. Jack's charge is that Democrats using the shooting for political purposes when it's actually Republicans spinning the Democrat's reactions for their own political purposes.

Tricky, huh?

Compare and Contrast

I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.

- President Barack Obama, 1/12/11

Compare and contrast.
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STFU with the eliminationist rhetoric

"Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!"
- VP Candidate & Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican

"I hope that's not where we're going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out."
- Senate Candidate Sharron Angle, Republican

“We have become, or are becoming, enslaved by the government ... I dare ‘em to try to come throw me in jail. I dare ‘em to. [I’ll] pull out my wife’s shotgun and see how that little ACS twerp likes being scared at the door. They’re not going on my property.”
- CNN Commentator Erick Erickson, Republican

"I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax, because we need to fight back."
- US Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republican

"Our nation was founded on violence. I don't think that we should ever remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms."
- Texas Candidate for U.S. Rep. Stephen Broden, Republican

"We are aware that stepping off into secession may in fact be a bloody war. We are aware. We understand that the tree of freedom is occasionally watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”
- Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Debra Medina, Republican

"Does sharia law say we can behead Dana Milbank?...I think you and I should go and beat him up."
- Fox News Host Bill O'Reilly, Republican

"Put anything in my scope and I will shoot it."
- U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, Republican

"Meet Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson."
- Conservative Radio Show Host Glenn Beck, Republican

(More here)

While most Republicans seem to take their cue from their patron saint Ronald Reagan that government is the problem, a current segment of that party takes it one step further by not just constantly disparaging government, but calling for its violent overthrow -- or at the very least using eliminationist rhetoric against Democrats.

And, I'm calling BULLSHIT right now on anyone who tries to paint some false equivalency. There simply isn't this level of violent language by politicians, political candidates and cable hosts coming from the Democratic side.

I'm also calling BULLSHIT on anyone who would try to say that when Jared Lee Loughner killed six people and wounded 13 others yesterday including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at her own event that this was just some "crazy person" acting out and that it was not a political act. Loughner could have just as easily gone to a mall or a McDonald's or a school. But he didn't. He targeted a politician -- and a Democratic politician. He clearly had problems with the government as seen by his now deleted MySpace page:

He was anti-government, anti-federalist, pro gold standard, and he compared a young woman to a “terrorist for killing the baby” so he sure as hell wasn't a liberal.

What he seems to be is a mentally disturbed individual living in a time of historic vitriolic rhetoric and in a place where threats and violence had already been directed towards Giffords as noted by Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik:


What had been aimed already at Giffords? Sarah Palin had her in her crosshairs:


We have this from her Tea Party opponent:


And, we have the Congresswoman's own words on the issue:


We also have six dead and 13 wounded, including:

A Congresswoman fighting for her life:

Gabrielle Giffords

A slain chief judge for the United States District Court:

John M. Roll

And, a little girl cut down in her ninth year of life:

Christina Taylor Greene
Christina was born on 9/11. She was a member of her student council who was brought to the event to meet a role model.

Shortly after the massacre, Sarah Palin deleted the "crosshairs" from the web. Would that she and her ilk delete any more violent garbage from coming out of their mouths.
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