When the Left Attacks

COMMENTARY: The moment the “Breaking News” banner went up on MSNBC, announcing the tragic shooting rampage in Tucson, the knee-jerk liberal invective hit the Twitter Face Space.

Of course it was Fox News’s fault.

Of course the blood’s on Sarah Palin’s hands — note the political map she posted during the campaign showing gun sights on congressional districts where she wanted to defeat the Democrat.

And, of course, before we even knew the name of the assailant, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, what triggered him was immediately obvious: He had been brainwashed by the poisoned brew of Tea Party antigovernment rhetoric.

Three days later, what’s most amazing to me is how this blame-the-conservatives story line is alive and well, even after the facts have come to light.

Loughner is a mentally deranged whack-ball. A list of his favorite books, according to The Wall Street Journal, included Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto. He had become obsessed with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Jewish congresswoman and supporter of Israel.

There has been no evidence or indication to support the accusations and insinuations that he was inspired by the Tea Party.

In fact, he was known to burn the American flag, which is hardly a Tea Party ritual.

But why let the truth ruin a good story?

As the National Review points out, the best comparison may be to Sirhan Sirhan, who in 1968 assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy because of Kennedy’s support for Israel.

Truth is, this is the situation lefties have been secretly waiting for. It’s the chance to say that the Right is fomenting a culture of violence that would eventually lead to the death of innocents. See, Glenn Beck is an accomplice to murder!