Sarah Palin: Criticism of My Sniper Imagery and Gun Lingo is “Irresponsible,” “Reprehensible”
President Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state…
Except of course when that individual happens to be Arab or Muslim. Or a Democrat known to “pal around with terrorists.” Then assigning collective guilt is perfectly fine!
There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated?
Hmmm. Well, I don’t remember Democratic members of Congress comparing George W. Bush, H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan to Adolf Hitler. I don’t remember Gore-Lieberman supporters screaming “KILL HIM!” and “TERRORIST!” when George W. Bush’s name was mentioned at official campaign events. I don’t recall Democratic Senators suggesting a Republican president wasn’t an American citizen. I don’t remember Democratic governors during the Bush or Reagan presidencies calling for secession or suggesting that the Republicans were going to brainswash America’s children or kill their grandmothers.
So I guess the answer to “when was it less heated?” is “before Obama won the election” and “after Bill Clinton left the White House.”