The Hypocrisy of the Right Wing on the CD8 Shootings

By Michael Bryan

Behold the only honest rightwing hatemonger in America.

Phelps is an evil, old, crazy, hateful bastard – but at least he takes responbility for his vitriolic and eliminationist rhetoric. He makes no bones about the fact that he wants his enemies dead and celebrates when they do die. He doesn't hide behind a polite face when he's talking to you and then draw out the long knives only when your back is turned.

The same cannot be said of many on the far right who regularly employ eliminationist and violent rhetoric to demonize their political opponents. They will profess respect and affection for the targets of their attacks and smile in their faces as they shake their hands.

When their hateful, eliminationist rhetoric and propaganda actually results in someone being hurt or killed, they will express sympathy and claim that only the crazy person who took them at their hate-filled word can be blamed.

They will castigate anyone honest enough to publicly proclaim that they share responsibility for the actions of the those unhinged enough to follow through on the wicked propaganda. They will claim that the honest ones are 'politicizing' a tragedy, even though the tragedy is essentially political: this was a political assassination attempt.

We see this hypocrisy already emerging as the rightwing, who for so long demonized Gabby and other Democrats, now line up to condemn and attack Sheriff Dupnick for his comments about how the environment of political hatred may have contributed to this travesty. 

Already, Dave Fitzsimmons, political cartoonist for the Arizona Daily Star, was forced(?) to apologize for expressing his view on a CNN interview that this tragedy was inevitable in a state with such a loose gun culture and vitriolic political environment.

Fitz and Dupnik were right to point out that hate-mongering politics have consequences. Occassionally, deadly consequences. 

So, as the right-wingers get up on their hind legs over the coming days, their hands still carmine from the red meat they've been throwing to the their acolytes, and denounce the 'politicization' of this travesty by anyone brave enough to speak their truth, remember Phelps. At least his reaction is an honest one. The same reaction is secretly buried in many a rightwing hate-monger's heart, though they'll never admit it, and will deflect any criticism back onto their critics by any means possible.

Of course, I do not intend to paint every person on the political right as one who secretly rejoices in this tragedy. Only those who regularly employ hateful, racist, and eliminationist rhetoric to further their political agenda. Not every conservative does that, and many deplore this development in our political culture. Those folks need to stand with Fitz and Dupnik and others in deploring and condemning this dark current in our political dialogue.