Chicago Sun Times Takes Low Road on Giffords Shooting

Leave it up to the Chicago Sun Times editorial page to take opportunistic privileges with the Arizona Shooting tragedy and post a shamefully rambling and incoherent smear against the right.

With the claim that “we cannot walk away from this one” the newspaper rails against the tone of America’s political rhetoric, to end the fear-mongering and “quit the demonizing”. And then in an incredibly inane example of ideological laziness the editorial demonizes “the right” for the tragic shooting.

The safe observation for us to make now — you will hear it from others all week — is that the angry and irresponsible talk that might lead an unhinged person to pick up a gun is common across the political landscape, from right to left.

But that simply is not true.

Overwhelmingly today, the fear-mongering and demonizing flow from the right, aided and abetted by cable TV and talk-radio hosts. They may represent only the irresponsible fringe of conservatism in America, but they are drowning out the thoughtful voices of the vast majority of conservatives.

Don’t be fooled by the usage of the term thoughtful conservative. This is code for conservatives that agree with the left. The only kind of  "thoughtful conservative" that liberally tainted newspapers care to reference are those that throw other conservatives under the bus. That is the only safe observation to make here.

The editorial does make one wonder how in the world the author missed any of the rhetoric coming out of the mouths of Keith Olbermann, Joy Behar, Bill Maher or a host of other left leaning talk show hosts that do nothing but fear monger and demonize.

The Sun Times once again demonstrates that the kicking of journalistic standards to the curbside is not beyond their strategy for recognition among one particular demographic. Why else pander to the left instead of doing something responsible like report on the the shooter and make a comment based on those findings?

Note to the Chicago Sun Times, although facts seem elusive to your editorial staff it might lend a modicum of credibility to the paper if they at least tried.

Many are reporting that Jared Lee Loughner was a loner that leaned left if anything. The Daily Caller reports that Loughner's You Tube page lists both the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf among his favorite books. A former friend of his labeled him as “left wing”. Fox News reported that the DHS is looking into claims that he is associated with anti-Semetic hate groups. His alleged You Tube Page favorites a video burning the American Flag. To top it all off he appears to distrust religion. If none of this screams right-wing nut job you’d be correct.

Such reports tend to spoil an incoherent diatribe against the right. So the Sun Times editorial staff took the least common denominator, skipped the reports, appears to have gotten it completely wrong and blamed the right in lieu of any facts. I’d call this an accomplishment but there are too many examples of irresponsible babble from the nation’s left leaning media types to consider this extraordinary. Shame on them.

This tragedy should not be used by the left to score baseless political points.