Limbaugh says Dems playing politics with Giffords shooting

CNN ^

[Sub-Driver]

Limbaugh says Dems playing politics with Giffords shooting

CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Washington (CNN) - Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh offered a vigorous defense of himself and Sarah Palin Monday in response to claims from some media commentators and those on the left that some of their charged statements and colorful language may have inspired the Arizona shootings.

"[The media] is unnecessarily stirring up the country in ways that don't merit," Limbaugh said on his radio program Monday. "It's fatuous and silly to even verify and justify these accusations by defending them. The premise is insane, it's silly, it's beneath these people. Or is it? It is who they are."

Limbaugh's comments come in response to accusations that the charged political atmosphere of 2010 – of which Limbaugh, Palin, and others played a central role – may have incited the use of violence among troubled individuals like Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect that is accused of opening fire outside a Tucson supermarket, where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with constituents Saturday.

"We are we constantly admonished not to rush to conclusions. Now…reporters are bending over backwards to link this shooting to me, to Sarah Palin, to an entire industry - talk radio," Limbaugh said. "Only in these instances is something said in the media said to influence public behavior.

[DGHoodini]

Documents and records show that LIBERAL junkie Loughner, was *already* stalking Giffords, long before Palin even hit the national scene.

[UnwashedPeasant]

"Limbaugh's comments come in response to accusations that the charged political atmosphere of 2010 – of which Limbaugh, Palin, and others played a central role – may have incited the use of violence among troubled individuals like Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect that is accused of opening fire outside a Tucson supermarket..."

This is spin.
1."The charged political atmosphere" was not accused. It was Rush, Beck, Palin and the Tea Party, by name.
2. They were not charged with inciting violence "among troubled individuals like" the shooter. They were specifically accused of directly inciting this shooter.
3. Of course the writer adds that the "suspect" is merely "accused" of the shooting. At least CNN does not rush to judgment for cold-blooded killers that are caught red-handed.
4. Still no mention that the shooter was a Leftist, leaving the false impression that he was a Tea Party sympathizer.

[eyedigress]

The voters know that. Trying to spin this to folks in media will backfire. Liberals are grasping at Communism.

[Lou L]

As Rush said today: the plans have been drawn up, they are sitting in a drawer, somewhere in Washington. Sooner or later there will be an incident that fits their needs more closely, and at that time they are going to make a move to shut down all discussion of political topics by conservatives, including the internet, and to criminalize the discussion of those topics as "hate speech" and "inciting violence" and "endangering innocent lives."

I have been saying this for a while...the Healthcare legislation is headed for the USSC--eventually, someday. I don't think the left is content to wait for that to happen, nor are they willing to accept the outcome of a conservative-leaning court, not while they're still in a position to nominate (Obama) and confirm a new Justice (the Senate). All they need is for a vacancy to be created by a conservative Justice. Hmmm...how could that possibly happen??

[seowulf]

They've done most of the damage they wanted to do. The meme is out there, among the crazies on their side: Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh did this. That's enough for them. They'll move on; that's what makes them the Drive-By Media.

Yes, indeed.

They've planted the idea of mass murder in the next lunatic to snap.

Maybe it's for their personal political purposes. Maybe they're just trying to drum up future business. Probably both.

[VeniVidiVici]

So you want to give government the power to ban “occult” or heavy metal or whatever?

Nope. The point was the hypocrisy over what cannot influence folks to do bad things (art, music, video games, etc.) and yet now the Democrats are telling us that crosshairs influenced Loughner to go shoot people.

[ducttape45]

ping

[eyedigress]

My 23 did not come with crosshairs, I guess I should step up. Of course if I run around shooting kids I better figure out who to pin it on. (I pray for that child more than anything, it breaks my heart)

[JennysCool]

Yeah, they’re spinning some of it — spin is an unbreakable habit for the Left after all — but the article definitely marks an obvious effort to distance CNN from the hysterical charges made over the weekend.

The MSM is quickly realizing the public is NOT buying the desperate politicization of this shooting. It’s backfiring, and I think that idiot tool Sheriff Dipstick is gonna be in deep doo doo with the home folks.

[Steve_Seattle]

When this story broke, I'm sure the media assumed the shooter was some Floyd R. Turbo, Tea Partying, right-wing cliche. When the facts began to emerge, that the shooter was a young psychotic with a garbled worldview, they emphasized those parts of the worldview that sounded right-wing (e.g., concern over grammar and currency), and left out everything else (9/11 conpsiracy theories, admiration of Karl Marx, etc). Then they had the idea to blame it on Palin's map, despite no indication that the shooter ever saw the map, was influenced by it, or even knew about it.

They've created a whole narrative out of thin air. It seems the actual motive had something to do with a psycho-sexual obsession dating back to 2007 (before most people had even heard of Palin), not the "heated rhetoric" of political campaigns. This is just the standard slur that libs drag out whenever there's a tragedy. UNLESS the tragedy results from the action of Muslims, in which case we're told that their ideology had nothing to do with it.

[thouworm]

FYI: Excellent Rush Live thread on this today:

The Rush Limbaugh LIVE Radio Show Thread - Monday, January 10, 2011

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2654324/posts

[mulligan]

The Dem’s play politics with everything. They are EVIL. Wake up Americans’. The Dem’s are giving America the shaft daily.

[Cyber Liberty]

... I think that idiot tool Sheriff Dipstick is gonna be in deep doo doo with the home folks.

I hear that a lot on FR, and it's simply incorrect. Pima County is Tucson, the biggest and most liberal bastion in the state. He's in no trouble at all for this ridiculous spinning for political gain. His constituents support this.

[Hunton Peck]

...the charged political atmosphere of 2010 – of which Limbaugh, Palin, and others played a central role...

Dear CNN,

You lie.

Sincerely,

America

[eyedigress]

You have that right. CNN thinks they have it played. Not even close Ted. You lose

[JennysCool]

That’s a good point, but the Left absolutely hates being wrong or siding with someone who is proven wrong. If the prevailing viewpoint becomes that the rush to judgement here was incredibly stupid, they’ll drop Sheriff Dipstick like a rock.

[Cyber Liberty]

You may be correct, but I wouldn’t bet on that. I’ve been in AZ too long.

[peteyd]

Sorry,but just as I don’t consider children “little adults”I will not call this guy a kid.By doing so, you absolve his actions to that as a misguided youth with obvious psychiatric problems.People do mature at various ages in their lives, but for legal purposes,he is an adult.What all the so called “medical experts” will have to conclude on this individual is another matter.

[bcsco]

By doing so, you absolve his actions to that as a misguided youth with obvious psychiatric problems.

Oh, give it a break. I absolve nothing. He's an adult and should be tried as an adult. That doesn't mean he's fully developed into adulthood. He has mental issues, but he's been shown to know what he was doing, planned well in advance for the event, and acted willfully. There's a big difference between medical insanity and legal insanity. Legally, he has no leg to stand on regarding an insanity defense. And that's what (should) counts in court.

You don't want to call him a "kid", fine. Don't. But I don't consider him a fully developed, aware and responsible human. Yet that doesn't absolve him of his responsibility. The SOB should hang.

[Eye of Unk]

Its been two days since it happened, its time for these talking heads to GIVE IT A REST!

Especially the bimbo Megan Kelly repeating over and over to the woman that was involved with stopping the shooter, all Megan has on her birdbrain is “What did it FEEL like?”

I have not had FOX on more than 5 minutes I swear in the last 12 hours, they really need to move on and stop trying to milk a bleeding news story.

Maybe in the future there will be a law preventing the MSM from harping on a singular news story too long.