By David Bozeman
Amazing how most liberals possess the uncanny ability to be both audacious and boringly predictable at the same time. Surely once the character of the alleged Tucson shooter became apparent, no reasonable spectator would see fit to blame the Tea Party, ObamaCare opponents, Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin. Jared Loughner is clearly a whack-job with no connection to the aforementioned groups and leaders or any segment whatsoever of the American right.
But that didn’t stop the usual suspects. Most famously Paul Krugman and numerous other columnists and pundits have detailed the ‘lies’ spread by Palin and others over death panels and the threats Congresswoman Giffords had reportedly received for her support of the health-care reform bill. Would it sound bizarre to admit that some conservatives, upon reading the headline that a member of Congress had been shot, prayed that the victim wasn’t a Democrat? We know how they’re going to react, because we know them better than they know themselves.
Conservatives should be hoarse by now from shouting that the alleged shooter was not one of us, such is the sorry state of political discourse. I was just asked that if the congresswoman had been a conservative Republican, wouldn’t the right be reacting in much the same way? Yes, one would have to concede some amount of political posturing, but it is the left that truly relishes tragedy.
Emotion is a far more potent weapon in the hands of liberals, in whose opinion victimhood confers immunity from legitimate criticism. Uninsured children were brought out to sell Obama-care, and though such tugs — no, yanks — on the heartstrings failed to sway public opinion, repealing the law now, even a symbolic vote, feels almost callous after Saturday’s tragedy because we know how the chattering classes perceive the American right.
And one could argue that it’s still more callous to state the pertinent point that even if the shooter had been a card-carrying Tea Party member, ObamaCare is still bad law that demands repeal. Even after the nation mourns the victims, political dialogue will remain the same — tepid and predictable. One is tempted to recount the numerous instances of violence committed by the left, and though they should not be forgotten, such a tit-for-tat recap of history should not top the conservative message of the day.
Tea Partiers and ObamaCare opponents need not hang their heads, or if so, then only in remembrance of the six victims and the wounded survivors. Such tragedy cannot be explained by the talking points of the day, and those who lost their lives deserve simply our common humanity.
Note to the left: your tattered agenda was not the victim of 1-9-11. The congresswoman and the other victims fighting for their lives, and the families of the dead are enduring unspeakable pain right now, so save your etiquette lessons for snooty New York Times editorials or the next No Labels gathering. You are ones supposedly against the hyper-partisanship so rampant today — prove it. This isn’t about you, back off and let the memories of the fallen rule the moment.
Let not the bullets of a deranged killer or the false accusations of professional windbags stifle political debate even further. May the injured recover safely and quickly and to the fallen, rest in peace.
David Bozeman, former Libertarian Party Chairman, is a Liberty Features Syndicated writer.
