In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy in Arizona, many quite legitimately called out Sarah Palin and so many others on the right whose violent anti-Democratic rhetoric seemed likely to have inspired the shooting. As more information has been released, it seems more probable that the shooter was driven by mental illness rather than (mainly) politics, and GOPers have pushed back at the initial placing of blame.
I'm willing to accept, for the purpose of argument, that Loughner may not have directly inspired by Palin and her ilk. Fine. My question is, to what will Loughner inspire the Republicans? Assuming they weren't responsible for the tragedy, will they be act responsibly now?
In an ideal world, the attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords and the murder of those around her would be a wake-up call for those in the hatemonger wing of the Tea-Publican Party. With the horror of actual violence fresh in their minds, they would choose their metaphors much more carefully, ratchet down their talk of "Second Amendment remedies," "blood of patriots" and the like, and redirect their efforts into arguing based on ideas rather than vitriol. Those who chose otherwise, who continued the politics of hate, would be shunned by their former supporters.
Wouldn't that be nice.
Instead, we know what we'll see. Maybe, we'll get a few days' break from the worst of the polemics. Maybe a few of the more politically vulnerable rightwingers will choose their words more carefully. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Ms. Mama Grizzly.) For the vast majority of the hatemongers, though, we will undoubtedly return to badness as usual in short order. And it is unfortunately quite likely that, even if they were not responsible for Loughner, they will inspire some other, "sane" person (or, God forbid, people) to take up arms against innocents. {ProfJonathan}