It is a media inevitability that when a high-profile murder occurs the motivations will invariably be described as "right-wing." Somehow, regardless of the circumstances, the political motivations always point toward the right.
Crash your plane into an IRS building, leaving behind a rambling letter which includes support for communism and distrust of the free market? Tea Party anti-tax right winger.
Be described as extremely liberal and obsessed (in a good way) with Obama and then kill three minority fellow professors after you were denied tenure? Racist right wing Tea Party.
Register as a Democrat, write about your hatred and distrust of President Bush and the military, say that you believe 9/11 was an inside job and then open fire near the Pentagon? Right wing anti-military (?!?) extremist.
Work for the census and commit suicide in the woods? Anti-government right wingers murdered you .. er … made you kill yourself.
Kill yourself, your wife, your small child and attempt to kill your infant because you are reportedly worried about the effects of climate change? Um … well … let's not really report that.
It has become so predictable that conservative blogs are making jokes about how far the media will spin something to associate the killer with the right wing, only to find the media doing just that.
At Hot Air, Allahpundit wrote about John Patrick Bedell, the Pentagon shooter:
Stand by for updates regarding motive; “teabaggers” aren’t typically
associated with antipathy to the military, but don’t underestimate the conclusion-drawing power of Frank Rich when he’s crashing on deadline.
The CS Monitor beat Frank Rich to the punch.
The Guardian in the UK just decided to by-pass all the verbal insinuation and run a picture of robed KKK members burning a cross with a story about Glenn Beck and Tea Party protesters. Even comic books are getting in on the fun of blaming right wingers for everything and for being all kinds of evil.
Are some murders or attacks politically motivated? Sure, but when you examine the disjointed and contradictory people who were accused in each of these cases it seems very difficult to place them all in the Tea Party or any other political group. They are just, to put it bluntly, nuts.
If that is the case then by evaluating these individuals, the Tea Party hates taxes, but supports Communism and opposes the free market. The Tea Party loves Obama, but is racist. The Tea Party is registered to the Democratic Party, hates President Bush, believes the government under Bush to be responsible for the 9/11 attack and hates the military. All that and not to mention, has the power to cause a man with leftist views to commit suicide and write "FED" across his chest.
Politics are by their very nature divisive. We naturally disagree on important issues. There is no need or no long term benefit to attempting to link every tragedy with our political opponent.
Liberals often accused Karl Rove of exploiting fear of the "other" to motivate conservative voters. They said such tactics were damaging to our nation and our society. Yet, here we are under a new President and suddenly the things they accused Rove of are suddenly acceptable. Suddenly, the left discovers how truly "un-American" it is to criticize the President. Shockingly now murders and tragedies should be used for short-term political gains if they marginalize your political opponent.
I'm with Michelle Malkin, I do not think Al Gore is responsible for the supposed suicide pact of the global warming family. I just wish many on the left would offer the same courtesy to me and those who do not engage in such idiocy would call out the morons on their side. If I reprimand birthers and Christians who believe Obama to be the anti-Christ, I should be able to find reasonable liberals who chastise the unhinged left who blame those of us on the right for every evil in the world.
