Those words were spoken by Ronald Reagan and requoted by Sarah Palin today. We would do well to take them to heart as the pain of the Tucson tragedy begins to ebb. In their never-ending quest to retain political power, left-wing progressives have stooped to new lows in their exploitation of this tragedy. They weakly try to discredit and smear their opposition by using the flimsy excuse that “heated political rhetoric from the right” is somehow responsible for the actions of an obviously disturbed gunman last Saturday.
They, and we, know better.
However, that doesn’t stop them from lying. Trying to accuse Sarah Palin, or Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck, or Mark Levin or anyone on the right merely shows the depth of the lefts’ intellectual depravity. As I pointed out on Monday, the overwhelming majority of calls for violence come from the left.
By now, the nation is well aware of the progressives’ stock in trade: misleading remarks, twisting the meaning of words, gross mischaracterization of their opponents and issues, wild overreaction and a general political insanity where truth and results dare not enter, lest they suffer the same fate as the innocent victims in Tucson.
But their zeal for power doesn’t stop there. Even though Rahm Emmanuel yesterday denied that his famous phrase “Never let a crisis go to waste” was meant or intended to exploit this tragedy, that’s exactly what’s happening in Washington right now. Several members of Congress have introduced new laws to “deal” with this tragedy in the hopes of preventing another one, as if no laws currently existed. While their intentions are understandable, what they’re really doing is punishing society instead of the shooter by reducing our freedom
The problem is that there will always be someone who breaks the law. And lawyers long ago figured out that if they can implicate as many people or institutions as possible in a case, they can increase their bottom line by forcing as many as possible to pay, often when they are completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
The questionable decision in the McDonalds coffee scalding case comes to mind. The plaintiff received an $8M settlement that we all paid for in the form of higher prices to offset the restaurant chains’ legal costs. Had the plaintiff used just a bit of common sense and awareness (as she ordered hot coffee), she would have been more cautious when handling the cup. The results would have saved her physical pain and McDonald’s customers money. It’s too bad that the judge in that case didn’t rule in favor of personal responsibility: all that was necessary was for McDonalds to cover the cost of her medical bills and lost wages, a sum that I doubt would have amounted to eight million dollars.
We need to return to the legal and societal concept of punishing the one who actually committed the crime. Those of us who abide by the law should be left alone, precisely because we have done no harm.
Ask yourself if it’s fair to punish someone for the actions of someone else. Common sense will immediately tell you that’s grossly unfair and will only lead to a contempt of authority, as it should. Nothing screams “injustice” louder than that. Thank goodness that Speaker Boehner is thinking clearly and is already saying that these misguided attempts to restrict the freedom of law-abiding Americans will not be considered under his watch. Thank you, Mr. Speaker
Yet another precept that we should return to is the issue of punishment itself. It should be noted that John Green, the father of nine-year victim Christina Taylor Green, has come out in favor of the shooter's execution. I agree with him.
It’s no secret that our court system has grown increasingly lenient in the past forty years. Cases that previously would have resulted in the swift execution of a murderer now result in the drain on our taxes.
Think Charles Manson.
Can you come up with a single reason why he should be kept alive at taxpayer expense? I sure can't. Should his lawyers continue to profit from him with our tax money? I say no. As in this case, his mental instability has been proven, yet is also grounds to spare him from his responsibility for the death of innocents. This is almost as insane as the actions of the Tucson shooter.
We have an opportunity to correct a number of deficiencies in our court system with this open-and-shut case. The judge should make an example of the Tucson shooter by ordering a fair trial and a swift execution within a year.
Justice can be served and society made safe by the removal of a killer from our midst.
Permanently.
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