We had to know this was coming, didn't we? Let the false equivalencies begin:
LEMON: Dana, before the break, I talked to you about the mood and the tone in Washington and politics these days. We know it's out there. We've seen what's been happening on social media, some people blaming, you know, certain members, certain elected and non-elected members. We don't know the motivation yet but does this send some sort of signal to us and to our law makers about how we view politics and tone?
BASH: Well, you're absolutely right, we don't know the motivation but regardless something like this tends to be... tends to be a wake up call and we've already heard from some members of Congress who have been on our air earlier today saying that they do hope that this is a wake up call, a wake up call for both parties to try to get out... get the word out their to their supporters, to constituents, to maybe even the blogosphere, which is not easy, to tone it down a little bit.
You know we actually got a statement from John McCain, the senior Senator from Gabby Giffords' home state of Arizona, who obviously didn't point the finger that way but was very, very strong and I think maybe indicative of what we're talking about. He said “Whoever did this, whatever reason they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race” and he said “They deserve and will deserve the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law.”
When you're hearing a Republican like John McCain say that and we're hearing John Boehner and other Republicans say that, it's hard to imagine that there isn't going to be a coming together of some sort of both the parties in Congress after this.
If anyone needs to be told to tone down their rhetoric, it's John McCain and his former running mate, Sarah Palin. Sorry Dana, but “both sides” don't have a 24/7 hate television network and hate radio spreading lies and whipping up the fear and anger in their audience week after week. And there aren't any Democratic politicians out there doing what Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann and company have done with repeating eliminationist rhetoric at every opportunity.
No one does know what this man's motivation was in this shooting yet, but when it comes to the politicians who obviously have little concern if this type of tragedy could end up being the result of their rhetoric, there's just one side that needs to get that message, and it's the Republicans and their enablers on Fox and right-wing hate radio. We don't have any Democratic members of Congress out there telling their constituents to "reload' or that we need investigations looking into whether they're anti-American or not.
