Sarah (Reload) Palin and Rush Limbaugh Condemned For Their Hate Speech; Beck Takes Stand Against Violence By Holding Gun

While we don’t know for certain what  Jared Loughner’s motivation was in the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords, there is an increasing consensus among reasonable people that the hate-speech which has been common on the right is dangerous to civil discourse and our democracy. This has become a turning point in the career of Sarah Palin, who prefers to pander to the far right than to speak to the concerns of mainstream Americans. Most likely this week will mark the end of any possibility of Sarah (Reload) Palin becoming a politician who is acceptable to decent people.

We might also see the end of any possibility for respectability for those in the right wing noise machine who incite hatred and increase the risk of violent behavior. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who himself is becoming the target of right wing hatred, noted the negative influence of Rush Limbaugh:

“The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information,” Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said today. “[Limbaugh] attacks people, angers them against government, angers them against elected officials and that kind of behavior in my opinion is not without consequences.”

Then there’s Glenn Beck, who has previously been accused of inciting violence. The right wing has long used hate speech to fire up their supporters. The insincerity of statements of concern about violence from many on the far right can be seen in this screen grab from Beck’s web site where he takes a stand against violence while holding a gun:

3 Comments

  1. 1
    Rodiogal says:

    @MSNBC @CNN @ABC @NBC @CBS @cspanwj This is not going to be swept under rug. http://tiny.cc/bqdhx #DEM #p2 #GOP

  2. 2
    jsacto says:

    Holy crap, that is the last person who should be within a zip code of a firearm, let alone posing like some dough-faced Jack Bauer casting reject.  A dios mio.

  3. 3
    Ron Chusid says:

    Agree with your concerns about Beck holding a firearm, but the bigger danger from him is the people he inspires. I don’t really think he’d use the gun. I’m not so sure about all his followers.

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