What have we racked up in the past couple of years?  A shooting spree at a military base in Alabama; a plane flown into a federal building in Arizona; vandalism at Congressional offices across the country; this shooting spree at a political event that took a freakn' nine year old girl's life - and I think there's more that I am forgetting.  Meanwhile, the Republican political strategy for the 2010 election was to support candidates across the country many of whom were calling for violent overthrow of government - and they claim they have no part in any of this rising violence?  Sorry - I'm not cutting them a break.

Palin talking about "reloading" is a LOADED statement.

But the reality is that this is not about isolated idiotic commentary from two-bit forgettable politicians - this is about a Republican communications strategy - one that they fully embraced in this campaign cycle - and I believe that they bear responsibility for throwing matches at the gasoline - they knew exactly what they were doing - a people like Palin who are calculating, mean and basically pretty insane, too probably aren't too worried about the consequences of their political games - even when people get shot.  We are all - regardless of political affiliation - just fodder to them - pawns in their political games.

Violent eliminationist rhetoric is overwhelmingly from the right.

'A dead Palin is more dangerous than a live one', isn't that quote promoting her life ?  It's certainly not putting anyone in the 'cross-hairs'.

Certainly no one of the left of any influence is making any threats, not true on the right, if you want to use blog quotes, at least have the decently to find some on the right, you compared leaders to anonymous comments and then argued they are more of less equal.

Did anyone think this person was a liberal when the news broke, did anyone think the Congresswoman was a conservative before hearing party affiliation ?

Hardly, one camp is getting armed to the tee, calling for revolution and making claims that their way of life is in danger.  This is all we heard from the right during the election.  Sorry, but this isn't even close to balanced or equal hatred.

Name the last liberal, progressive, or democrat to commit an political atrocity post-Vietnam.  Can't do it because we simply do not use guns, bombs, or poisons to make political statements.

Now do the same on the right, too many too mention, so please stop with the equality of hated non-sense.

What you are saying is basically we shouldn't point the fingers at the Klan when a black man ends up in a noose.  It's the one or two unstable individuals who actual did the hanging that are too blame.  All the N... talk was just talk, the violence isn't their fault, they have zero culpability, none. Ditto for the right hero brigade, no culpability what-so-ever.

Please, anyone with 5 brain cells knows where this hatred is coming from and add it the fact that the right believes every man, woman, and child has a right to own 20 assault rifles and you end up with death, imagine that.

There is simply no comparison between the Republicans and Democrats when it comes to the vitriol and violent undertone of rhetoric.

If you think it's even remotely comparable you've fallen down a rabbit hole.

This allusion to violence comes from the political right and the GOP has done little to nothing to rein in their sick supporters.  They get back to the veiled suggestions of violence again after this terrible tragedy fades from public memory.

You do know, right, that "revolution" is a term used quite commonly in this country, as in, oh, for instance, the "Republican revolution."

to address the point you were making earlier, Rush has already tried the gambit of using this quote against Obama - pathetic

moreover, note that Obama said this in Philadelphia, in June 2008 - before the traditional start of the presidential campaigns but after the PA primary, which you will recall Obama lost, big time

one reason why Obama lost in PA is that the residents of that state correctly perceived him to be an elitist candidate in the mold of John Kerry

Obama knew this

Obama had heard the criticisms of Kerry in 2004 & of Dems in general for "bringing a knife to a gunfight"

that is the context of Obama's remark

but go ahead & join Rush Limbaugh in twisting it around

Definitely sounds like a screw loose here, and I don't feel good about blaming others because a guy with a screw loose took their ball and ran with it...but I would hope they are questioning themselves and why their message is so palatable to violent loons.  

Maybe I give the conscience of others too much credit because mine has a loud speaking voice...I don't know.

Yet CNN brings on an "expert" who declaims that the schools and campuses are to blame, the teachers and instructors and profs are to blame, for not pushing such students into mental health treatment.  And this expert is a psychiatrist.  He clearly knows nothing about commitment laws, nor about the realities of litigious life in education (and much else) today.

i see 2 kinds of misunderstanding on this thread

1, that this was simply the act of a "lone gunman" & should not be "politicized"

2, that it was a political act but "the left does it too"

Answer: it isn't, really.  

Why is it more important or more meaningful that a political figure was possibly targeted than that ordinary people take other ordinary people's lives into their hands every single day?  

And let's say, for the sake of argument, that if it is far more meaningful to try to kill political figures, what, exactly, does pointing the finger at one end of the political spectrum do for the whole thing?  

Nothing.  Or at least nothing constructive.  Are you going to stop people from saying stupid things?  I kind of doubt it.  Can you guarantee that something that sounds innocuous to 99% of people won't sound incendiary to someone with mental problems or anger issues, or some such thing?  No, you can't.

Of course people should be more responsible in what they say, what they do, how they act, and be willing to be accountable for themselves.  I'm frankly sick of the constant goading that goes on, in the media especially, by people who do it for one reason and one reason only: ratings, which means money.  Which is why I don't watch a lot of media anymore, because it sickens me to see how brazenly they try to manipulate people.

And it's why, once I heard about the incident, I chose not to tune in to see a parade of serious-faced talking heads trying their hardest not to look too thrilled that they had a major tragedy to report on, because that's what these things always become.