How to create a climate of hate

Frank Rich weighs in on the effect of hate speech on crazy people and notes that Gabrielle Gifford's prescient interview with Chuck Todd was ignored at the time and hasn't been understood in context in the aftermath of her shooting. Rich recalls the atmosphere that surrounded the creation of Palin's crosshairs map and her companion tweet to "reload." He goes on to say:

Have politicians stoked the pre-Loughner violence by advocating that citizens pursue “Second Amendment remedies” or be “armed and dangerous”? We don’t know. What’s more disturbing is what Republican and conservative leaders have not said. Their continuing silence during two years of simmering violence has been chilling.

Well I spent the last few hours reviewing the archives and they had plenty to say in that week. Watching the GOPers rally the Tea Party protesters with outright lies on the steps of the Capitol was still just as horrifying as it was in the moment. The repeated claims of a government takeover of health care. Michele Bachmann's claims that she kept upping to the point where she claimed 100% of of our economy was private before Obama became president and he had already taken over 51% of it with a tyrannical power grab. And the featuring of far right opinion makers like Mark Levin to issue dire warnings about the loss of freedom.

Then came the actual vote the next day where the Republicans incited the protesters from the balcony of the Capitol. They waved signs saying "Kill the Bill" but most notable was Iowa GOPer Steve King holding up a Pelosi poster and really played to the angry mob:

He first gave a "thumbs down" sign. Then, King wiped his hand across her face. That was followed by a slapping motion in front of Pelosi's picture. [Truncated video here]

This is the same Rep. Steve King who later suggested that the guy who flew a plane into an IRS building in Austin was essentially justified. Meanwhile, inside the chambers, the Republicans cheered drunken hecklers who were disrupting the proceedings. In the days that followed, there were many calls for violence and incidents of vandalism. The leading voices of the far right made excuses, as did their media arm and their internet apologists.

And just as in the wake of the assassination attempt on Rep. Giffords, the Tucson Tea Party chair blamed her for the shooting, back then the Republicans countered claims that were fomenting violence by claiming it was the Democrats talking about the GOP's irresponsible rhetoric that was actually the cause.

Even if we'll never be able to draw a straight line between any one of these instances, and these are just from one week, it's difficult to argue that the cumulative effect of this sort of rhetoric over months on end didn't create a climate of hate in which violent ideation thrives. Nonetheless, that's exactly what I expect them to do.

The far right is one trick pony. They've followed Hannah Giles advice for years. "Attack. Attack. Attack. Never defend." Sadly, considering their current response to the tragedy in Tucson, it appears they don't feel the need to learn a new one. Which doesn't bode well for any kind of new honesty in DC. If a the massacre in Tucson didn't shake them into introspection or engender even a modicum of self-awareness, there is little hope anything will.

[Thanks Mike]