A Thought Experiment
12th January 2011
What would have happened if the Congresswoman with whom Jared Loughner apparently had been more or less obsessed since 2007 had been a Republican? Would Republicans have blamed the Tucson murders on Democrats’ “eliminationist rhetoric”? They would have had a relatively good case; to take just one of many examples, they could have pointed to Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski, who said that the Republican candidate for Governor of Florida should be put against a wall and shot. I am not aware of a single instance where any Republican politician has said anything so inflammatory. But no: frankly, it would not have occurred to conservatives to try to make a connection between Democrats, no matter how disreputable they may be, and the act of a deranged lunatic in Arizona.
How about the Democrats? Would they have responded to the murder of a Republican Congresswoman by calling on Democrats to tone down their rhetoric and get off the radio or television? Just kidding, obviously.