January 9, 2011 Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

I’m shocked by the senseless shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a moderate Democrat from Arizona.  But as shocked as I am about that evil act, I am even more shocked by the response of many who claim to believe in the American ideals.  Conservatives are blaming the shooter as a “pot-smoking Liberal” while Liberals are blaming the Tea Party (and Sarah Palin) because Rep. Giffords was on her Target list.

First, let’s understand that Rep. Giffords was a Moderate.  And although she had the tag “Democrat” on her label, the important feature was that she was a Moderate.  How else could she have been elected THREE TIMES in a Republican state?  Because many of the Arizona Republicans are also Moderates!  And a moderate Republican is more likely to vote for a moderate Democratic candidate than a Tea Party candidate.  Politics is a spectrum, not a choice between black and white.  And those of us in the Middle are more likely to vote for others in the Middle, regardless of their political party.  I know, because I vote for both Republicans and Democrats on almost every ballot.  I vote for the person, and never the party. 

But in recent history, politics have become increasing partisan.  And when the number of extremists at either end of the political spectrum start to multiply, and the number of Moderates starts to diminish, then the Country becomes unbalanced as our government teeters and totters. 

This is especially disturbing when the symbology of one of the extremist groups suggest violence, such as Sarah Palin’s target list of elected leaders using a cross-hairs gun sight, and her urging to “don’t retreat, reload”.  Unfortunately, the Liberals have taken advantage of this marketing strategy (which is all it is), while Ms. Palin has been publically gracious toward the mourning families.  It’s a shame that everyone couldn’t put politics aside for one minute to mourn together this tragedy.

I read a comment by a Conservative who said that the shooter was just a Liberal who shot another Liberal.  Rep. Giffords may have been a Democrat, but she was not a Liberal; however, she was more liberal than the Conservative who made that comment.  And a comment made by a Liberal said that she may have been shot because she wasn’t supporting her Democratic constituents.   The shooter is best described as an emotionally unbalanced extremist, which is a term that can be used to describe extremists from either party. 

But the truth is not yet known because the political views of the shooter haven’t been made public.  It’s all speculation, each side pointing fingers at the other side.  And unfortunately for us Moderates, it means that all fingers are pointed at us.