The condemnation of those that rushed to judgment concerning the motives of Jared Lee Loughner, the man who shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is valid. We shouldn't rush to judgment. We had and still have almost no idea why this young man decided that violence was the answer.
But, is anyone really surprised by the judgment itself? Take a schizophrenic young man and place him into an environment of angry hate filled rhetoric and the surprise isn't Loughners crime, but the fact that it's not happening more often.
And let's not forget Jim David Adkisson, who some on the very very far right consider a hero after he walked into a church with a shotgun and opened fire killing 2 and injuring 7 before he was done. Adkisson's prime motivation was, in his own words, "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office." When searching the mans home, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.
The Tea party's message is Don't blame us, but how can we not look to the environment of violence that they have bred and not place at least some of the blame squarely on their shoulders? They claim that because Jared Lee Loughner was not on their membership roles then, of course, he wasn't a Tea Partier who turned violent. After all, the Tea Party and it's member have never promoted violence right?
Right?
Never.
Nope, not them.
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