Autonomy

"Trent Humphries says killings fallout is evolving into conspiracy to destroy Tea Party and silence criticism of government"

"Humphries is the co-founder of Tucson's Tea Party, a movement besieged by accusations that its use of the rhetoric of armed resistance against political opponents played a role in the shootings."

"Kelly, a former marine who served in Iraq, published a controversial campaign advert which included the lines: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly." "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...ings-tea-party

Not sure what to say. Right to bear arms or the right to arm bears...

"We're Arizona shooting victims too"... what a ******ng ar*eho*e

Ethos83

No evidence exists to connect the shooter to the tea party movement. His friends described him as an anarchist, not someone influenced by conventional left/right American politics. And of course, he was a violent schizophrenic.

The knee jerk reaction by the American press, especially the liberal press, immediately tied him to the Tea Party without any justification, which is also pretty damning. So it's not unfair to call the Tea Party a victim too - of the liberal press.

"rhetoric of armed resistance against political opponents" is widespread in American political history and is heavily used by politicians and political activists of all ideological stripes, including Saint Obama himself.

The Dean

Is this literally true?

Giffords herself warned that the Tea Party favourite, Sarah Palin, was "firing people up" with a campaign poster that put the Democratic party congresswoman in the crosshairs of a rifle.

Good grief.......... nice poster.

And the (wholly predictable) fallout from the shooting is even more depressing:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...-giffords.html

Norm_uk

Indeed, The Tea Party isn't even really a movement but lots of politically diverse groups - a number of whom find Palin's religious right crowd as disgusting as the self hating capitulation leftist crowd. There's a lot more to US politics than Democrat and Republican but the press don't seem to want to show anything that falls outside this narrative of lies we are being spoon fed. I recall seeing doctored images of a Tea Party rally which edited out several black citizens carrying rifles in a mostly white crowd - likely to enforce the idea that the Tea Party is just a bunch of rednecks and KKK rejects.

We have it in the UK too though - I recall EDL rallies with dozens of non-white members in the EDL ranks not shown because the EDL is supposed to be a white only racist group because the media said so - not because of any hard evidence (like them having a senior spokesman who is a Sikh) when it's actually a working class reaction to the perceived growth of Islamic extremism in the UK.

The so called "liberal" press which dominates western media has a lot to answer for - it's encouraging people to see the world through ideological eyes rather than just trying to sort truth from fiction and letting people make up their own minds.

N.

Boomhauer

The bit about Sarah Palin is true, Gifford was one among a bunch of other politicans who featured on Palin's map of American politicans with scope hairs targetting the politicians by name. Palin tends to voice opinions she thinks appeals to the GOP base in an incendiary manner.

The media does tend to jump to accusation innitially and the critical look at gun laws is business as usual for the media. Tying this guy to any particular political leaning soo early is bad journalism.

Umbrella

The map deal with cross-hairs is nothing new. There are several maps made by several politicians of differing stripes that do the same.

Everything from politics to sports use war analogies in the U.S. The press is just stirring the pot. Most polls say most Americans don't agree.

Think of all the disturbing imagery and talk by various politicians and celebrities about Bush.

It was a map with cross-hairs on Districts that were considered weak during the upcoming election. That's it. No big deal.

The big deal is what happened that day and the loon that carried it out. The same sheriff who keeps going to the press about the "Vitriol" knew that the kid had made several threats to various people in his own community. That is supposed to have included the victim. Maybe he regrets not following up on that.

U.

Back to rain and zombies

Autonomy

the part of the article that really stuck in my gizzard was that he thought his movement was a victim in the same or similar way to the people shot and killed.

That's crass and insensitive to say the least and shows the mentality behind his politics.

The gun analogies in political rhetoric is rife of course, doesn't make it more palatable though. Chris Morris would have a field day right now...

The Dean

...... yes - and go back to my earlier Bloomberg link to see what's really depressing about all of this.

1 - Glock pistol used in shooting rampage.
2 - Glock pistol sales soar................

Americans? Doncha just lurve 'em?