The Tucson Sheriff

Charges that talk radio, the Tea Party, and Sarah Palin were guilty of inciting Jared Loughner's shooting rampage in Arizona are simply remarkable.  Or they would be if they came from people who might be considered reliable.  But the flood of charges that immediately belched forth from progressive mouths really can't be taken seriously for several reasons, one of which is the very fact that progressives are making them.  That by itself ought to be enough to discredit them, but for more we go to Charles Krauthammer.

As killers go, Jared Loughner is not reticent. Yet among all his writings, postings, videos, and other ravings — and in all the testimony from people who knew him — there is not a single reference to any of these supposed accessories to murder.

Not only is there no evidence that Loughner was impelled to violence by any of those upon whom Paul Krugman, Keith Olbermann, the New York Times, the Tucson sheriff, and other rabid partisans are fixated. There is no evidence that he was responding to anything, political or otherwise, outside of his own head.

A climate of hate? This man lived within his very own private climate. “His thoughts were unrelated to anything in our world,” said the teacher of Loughner’s philosophy class at Pima Community College.

“He was very disconnected from reality,” said classmate Lydian Ali.

It's no surprise to find Paul Krugman and Keith Olbermann among the first to divine that villainous conservative thought was somehow culpable in the massacre.  In typically progressive fashion they act as if the absence of any kind of evidence really just demonstrates the sheer brilliance of their penetrating theories.  Progressive intellectual firepower cracks the case?  Hardly.

The Tucson sheriff is another story.  We've come to expect nonsense from Krugman and Olbermann.  It's getting to be welcome comic relief.  What we don't expect is to hear from law enforcement, especially somebody in the midst of it all. 

Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, who is investigating the shooting that left six dead and U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords with a critical head injury, agrees that speech from the far-right has a tremendous negative impact.

At a press conference on Saturday, Dupnik cited the “atmosphere of hatred and bigotry” and called out Arizona which he characterized as “a mecca for prejudice and bigotry.” In subsequent interactions with the media, Dupnik has also called out Rush Limbaugh and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. In an interview with Fox News' Geraldo Rivera, Dupnik cited Palin as being responsible for what he calls "political vitriol."

Yes, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has been all over the climate of hate angle, and they were lapping it up at the Daily Kos.

Happening right now.  You can live stream.

Dupnick is doing a great job condemning hate talk and vitriolic personalities.  Gabby in critical condition.  bullet went through her head.

Dupnick reiterated 19 victims, all shot.  6 people have died.

No sooner did he open his mouth when a Tucson blogger named James Kelley published a post accusing the sheriff of deflecting attention from his own office.

The sheriff has been editorializing and politicizing the event since he took the podium to report on the incident. His blaming of radio personalities and bloggers is a pre-emptive strike because Mr. Dupnik knows this tragedy lays at his feet and his office. Six people died on his watch and he could have prevented it.  He needs to step up and start apologizing to the families of the victims instead of spinning this event to serve his own political agenda.

Jared Loughner, pronounced by the Sheriff as Lock-ner, saying it was the Polish pronunciation. Of course he meant Scott or Irish but that isn’t the point. The point is he and his office have had previous contact with the alleged assailant in the past and that is how he knows how to pronounce the name.

Jared Loughner has been making death threats by phone to many people in Pima County including staff of Pima Community College, radio personalities and local bloggers. When Pima County Sheriff’s Office was informed, his deputies assured the victims that he was being well managed by the mental health system.

[...]

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department was aware of his violent nature and they failed to act appropriately. This tragedy leads right back to Sherriff Dupnik and all the spin in the world is not going to change that fact.

Kelly's charge, that the Tucson sheriff muffed his opportunities to head off a disaster, was understandably met with some initial skepticism.  But today the New York Times confirms that Tucson police were called to the Loughner house on more than one occasion.

TUCSON — The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion before the attack here on Saturday that left a congresswoman fighting for her life and six others dead, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on Tuesday.

A spokesman, Jason Ogan, said the details of the calls were being reviewed by legal counsel and would be released as soon as the review was complete. He said he did not know what the calls were about — they could possibly have been minor, even trivial matters — or whether they involved Jared Loughner or another member of the household.

It's still too soon to judge the sheriff's actions, but it's unlikely that progressives will drop their story of a Tea Party induced climate of hate.  That will tend to give the sheriff a bit of cover, but we'll see how long it lasts.  His story may unravel quickly.

Comments

[CaptDMO]

Unintended consequences?
1.Gun sales are UP in Arizona. Is this in response to new-found realizations of who the Sheriff is and what he thinks?

Can we just get back to The House vote of no confidence
on "Obama/Pelosi/Reid Care"?
Can we just get back to the official position on simply declaring a
"new limit" on the egregiously overspent National Credit Card, so
just the minimum "interest" payments can be made on the old one?

[Marian]

Are we surprised by all this hypocrisy? Once again we have political analysts (I'm being nice.) and pundits discussing an issue that they have very little knowledge about. After reading the articles and interviews with teachers and students who contacted the police regaurding this very distrubed young man I have come to one conclusion. The sherrifs department and the campus police did all that they could. Unfortunately what people do not realize is that victim's rights are only honored in the breach. Untill policing becomes more proactive these situations will never be prevented. Also, I thought you would like to read this editorial piece in the post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/13/AR2011011302993.html

It compares the presidents reaction to Sarah Palin's. It is completely a waste of time. Mr. Balz compares the presidents reaction to a nominees reaction. Why not compare Obama's to Olbermann?

[Marcus Roberts]

"But the flood of charges that immediately belched forth from progressive mouths really can't be taken seriously for several reasons, one of which is the very fact that progressives are making them."

So progressives are stupid? Is there something wrong with wanting society to progress? Is it wrong to want a clean and healthy planet and promote scientific achievement, equality and justice? I don't understand what you're so angry about. Your rhetoric is condescending, angry and divisive. What is so bad about your life to make you so angry?

And you don't think there is any link between the toxic political environment in this country today and the shooting in Tucson? Maybe it's because you're part of the problem.

I don't see anything Libertarian in your writing. You sound more like a plain old Republican, using Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity as the basis for your talking points. The subject matter is thin, myopic, self-righteous and juvenile.

[Tom Bowler]

Marcus, there are other ways of characterizing the sizable number of progressive journalists and pundits who used the Arizona shooting as an opportunity to vilify their political opposition, stupid being just one of them.

[Marian]

The blog is called Libertarian LEANINGS. A weblog of a New Hampshire REPUBLICAN. So yes Tom is a republican. It is stated at the top of the blog.