Lying To Make Friends

I’m not usually one to pass up an opportunity to brag about my hometown. But I don’t think “our white supremacists don’t condone murder” is cause for celebration.

This is now two high-profile shootings in recent months motivated in part by a fear that Obama is going to start taking people’s guns. Of course, we can’t question whether extreme rhetoric about Obama from conservative politicians and journalists is contributing to this violence, because doing so would be “politicizing” the tragedy. “Politicizing” an event is a tricky charge. While it’s certainly wrong to, say, use the murder of 3000 Americans to help pass a tax cut for the wealthy, part of the function of government is to respond to and prevent major tragedies. As uncomfortable as it may be, events like September 11th and Hurricane Katrina should provoke debates over public policy.

In April, when the Department of Homeland Security released a study warning of a possible rise in violence by right-wing extremists, many on the right attacked the study as politically motivated. To point out in the wake of three high-profile shooting by right-wing extremists that such vigilance is indeed justified isn’t exploiting tragedy, it’s sound governing. Even someone on Fox News can see that! And, I get the feeling that if circumstances were different, conservatives would agree with me on this.

-AR