It's too early to say what Loughner's motives were, and too much of a stretch to claim Palin's Tea Party politics are directly responsible. The Tea Party is known for rallying around xenophobic vitriol and jumping to their guns too quickly (so to speak), but we cannot meet such bitter sentiments and hate-mongering with equally divisive blame-gaming. So long as this can be analyzed rationally and handled calmly, we can prevent this act of terrorism from escalating fear and distrust amongst the country's own citizens.
All that being said, I don't want to let the Tea Party off the hook so easy. Hey Sharron Angle, will those Second Amendment remedies bring Gabe Zimmerman, John Roll, and Christina Green back from the dead? And Sarah Palin, still think "Commonsense Conservatives" like Jared Loughner should "RELOAD"?
I understand that it is unfair to hold Palin, Angle, and other Tea Party politicians accountable for the actions of a disturbed young man. However, we cannot let them get away with spouting loaded, rabble-rousing speech any longer. Words have meanings. Actions have consequences. One cannot batter the public with calls to arms, promotions of "Second Amendment remedies," and urges to "take aim" at opposing politicians without expecting some sort of repercussion. It is sad that it took an act of terrorism (and make no mistake, this shooting is terrorism) to realize this truth.
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