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57% of Americans Think "Tone" of Politics Had Nothing to do with Tucson Shooting
Reason ^
| January 11, 2011
| Nick Gillespie
Posted on 01/11/2011 5:32:38 PM PST by neverdem
From a CBS News poll:
57 percent of respondents said the harsh political tone had nothing to do with the shooting, compared to 32 percent who felt it did. Republicans were more likely to feel the two were unrelated - 69 percent said rhetoric was not to blame; 19 percent said it played a part. Democrats were more split on the issue - 49 percent saw no connection; 42 percent said there was.
Independents more closely reflected the overall breakdown - 56 percent said rhetoric had nothing to do with the attack; 33 percent felt it did.
The telephone poll was conducted among 673 adults across the country. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent.
More here.
Hat Tip: Former Reasoner Dave Weigel, who writes at Slate, "That's still around a third of the country that blames rhetoric for the attack, despite evidence that it had nothing to do with it."
I agree with Dave that there's no evidence that political rhetoric had anything to do with the shooting, and note the poll question above was not whether rhetoric caused the attack but whether it had anything to do with it. So even the third who think that political talk had something to do with the attack are not necessarily saying it was the main cause.
These numbers reflect an America that is remaining pretty level-headed despite an incredibly ugly killing spree and a strong push by many in politics and the commentariat to say that Loughner's insanity is tied to the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, hard rock music, you name it.
An essential piece of an emerging motivation for Jared Lee Loughner's violence is emerging thanks to Mother Jones, who interviewed a friend of the alleged shooter. The friend describes Loughner's anger after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords didn't answer a question he posed at a public event in 2007. Read the interview here.
[The friend, Bryce] Tierney, who's also 22, recalls Loughner complaining about a Giffords event he attended during that period. He's unsure whether it was the same one mentioned in the chargesâLoughner "might have gone to some other rallies," he saysâbut Tierney notes it was a significant moment for Loughner: "He told me that she opened up the floor for questions and he asked a question. The question was, 'What is government if words have no meaning?'"
Giffords' answer, whatever it was, didn't satisfy Loughner. "He said, 'Can you believe it, they wouldn't answer my question,' and I told him, 'Dude, no one's going to answer that,'" Tierney recalls. "Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her."
That question and its response further undergirds Loughner's insanity that was on display in his online postings. From almost any perspective, it is extremely unsatisfying that a killer is motivated simply by mental illness. We want there to be a stronger, deeper, somehow more complicated explanation in cases such as these, both to to dispel lingering fears that chance and contingency dominate the cosmos and because, oddly enough, it helps elevate the suffering of the victims and survivors of monumental violence if they were somehow caught up in a grander plan, no matter how matter evil.
I suspect that the more we learn about Loughner, the less we will feel secure that the world is a tidy, orderly place.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: freepressforpalin; giffords; herewegoagain; loughner; sarahpalin; teaparty; tucsonshooting
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Lamestream media, indeed!
1
posted on
01/11/2011 5:32:43 PM PST
by
neverdem
To: neverdem
I suspect that the more we learn about Loughner, the less we will feel secure that the world is a tidy, orderly place. The fact that 32% of Americans swallow the Left's vicious lies is adequate evidence of that.
2
posted on
01/11/2011 5:37:23 PM PST
by
Interesting Times
(WinterSoldier.com. SwiftVets.com. ToSetTheRecordStraight.com.)
To: neverdem
The Lamestream really shot themselves in the foot here. The narrative has turned against them now that everyone is talking about their slanted tone and agenda during the coverage.
The good old days of the so called MSM controlling the message are long over. Enjoy your slow death and irrelevancy.
3
posted on
01/11/2011 5:37:28 PM PST
by
Lazlo in PA
(Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
To: neverdem
In other news, 33% of Americans could not find their own behinds with two hands and a GPS.
4
posted on
01/11/2011 5:37:39 PM PST
by
Mygirlsmom
(Was Jodie Foster ever asked to apologize for the shooting of President Reagan?)
To: neverdem
Proof that RATs think we’re all stupid and believe their propaganda.
To: neverdem
That’s the same 32% who claim that they’ve been abducted by aliens.
6
posted on
01/11/2011 5:39:01 PM PST
by
FlingWingFlyer
("New laws are always a "good idea" until the first time you have to enforce them." - Unknown)
To: neverdem
57% of Americans know the Left Stream Media are a bunch of lying Sh*theads.
7
posted on
01/11/2011 5:39:47 PM PST
by
DGHoodini
(Iran Azadi)
To: neverdem
Howard Fineman mentioned on Countdown just now that 2/3rds of America don’t see the link between the shooter and the right wing.
THEN added that the problem the left wing has it believes it has the moral high ground on EVERY ISSUE and won’t accede to those whose position on an issue are stronger....
WOW.
8
posted on
01/11/2011 5:39:56 PM PST
by
macquire
To: neverdem
I find these statics interesting.
32% of Americans identify themselves as Democrats.
32% of those surveyed think the “atmosphere of hatred” caused Jared Loughner to kill and wound about a score of people. That seems to indicate that 32% of Americans are nuts!
Could it be the same 32%?
9
posted on
01/11/2011 5:40:39 PM PST
by
MIchaelTArchangel
(Obama makes me miss Jimmah Cahtah!)
To: neverdem
Ed Schultz said he wants Sarah to apologize :)
He did a whole segment on the 'hate speech' over on FNC today(OK more like three). Then he played a clip of FNC/BoR calling MSNBC a hate channel, and he said that remark was hateful.
10
posted on
01/11/2011 5:41:25 PM PST
by
sickoflibs
("It's not the taxes, the redistribution is the federal spending=tax delayed")
To: neverdem
This poll proves that most of the country is smarter than the political hack AKA the Pima County Sheriff
That’s a good sign
11
posted on
01/11/2011 5:47:02 PM PST
by
GrouchoTex
(...and ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free....)
To: neverdem
This sort of poll is worthless. The fact of the matter is that the only person who can answer this question is a 22 year old mentally ill nut. Nobody else has a clue.
To: MIchaelTArchangel
To: neverdem
14
posted on
01/11/2011 5:53:40 PM PST
by
WinOne4TheGipper
(Truman: The buck stops here. Obama: Buck? What buck? Did I tell you how it's all Bush's fault?)
To: neverdem
15
posted on
01/11/2011 5:56:04 PM PST
by
arthurus
(Read Hazlitt's "Economics In One Lesson.")
To: neverdem
Liberal pantie waste messing their pants over a non issue. Stupid left wing lemmings blindly following the hate mongers.
16
posted on
01/11/2011 5:57:13 PM PST
by
23 Everest
(A gun in hand is better than a cop on the phone.)
To: neverdem
You could spend your entire life being kind to others while humming Amazing Grace, and you would not alter the behavior of a psycho one whit. The Arizona gunman may have been a left-wing nut, but I think NUT is the operative word here.
And one more thing, it's easy to press for civility and playing-nicely-with-others when you have just finished getting nearly everything you ever wanted. Dems are so good at this; anyone who disagrees with them is just “mean-spirited.” NOW they want bipartisanship. Now they want everyone to play sweetly. These people have run all over conservative Americans, and it would be a serious mistake for us to agree to censorship, gun control, or political compromise.
The Tucson shooting occurred because of a loose nut with a gun. If the big-mouth sheriff of Pima County had done his job and prevented the nut from owning a gun, it's doubtful this tragedy would have happened.
17
posted on
01/11/2011 6:01:15 PM PST
by
July4
(Remember the price paid for your freedom.)
To: neverdem
I hope all the conservative radio talkers will spend plenty of time replaying all the history of inflammatory statements coming from the Left.
Their audience will probably be larger than normal for a while, with extra Lefties tuning in, trying to find fault with them.
18
posted on
01/11/2011 6:09:12 PM PST
by
FlyVet
To: neverdem
When will the media shut up about the so-called “toxic political culture” in America?
If the worst examples of said “toxic culture” are a few posters and comments by talk radio hosts, then America’s political culture is far from toxic.
You media talking heads want some examples of truly toxic political cultures? How about Pakistan, where leaders get done in by their own bodyguards? Or Afghanistan, where every rival faction has its guns trained on everybody else? Sudan? Congo? Iraq? Russia? You get the idea.
You think politicians and journalists fret about a few harsh words in countries where politics really is played with human lives?
19
posted on
01/11/2011 6:22:20 PM PST
by
Loyalist
(Tagline void where prohibited.)
To: neverdem
Imagine how the left`s blame game will kick into overdrive when we experience our next 9-11.
I don`t think this country can ever unite on anything anymore. Part of me says let`s get on with the breakup and get it over with. It`s going to happen anyway...sooner or later.
20
posted on
01/11/2011 6:31:07 PM PST
by
ScottinVA
(The West needs to act NOW to aggressively treat its metastasizing islaminoma!)
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