A lone gunman, reportedly distraught over President Trump’s election, opened fire on Republican members of the congressional baseball team last week.
Bullets struck four people including the majority whip of the House of Representatives– Steve Scalise (R-La.).
In the hours that followed, it quickly became clear that the senseless act of violence was deeply condemned by the vast majority of people, regardless of political affiliation.
As it should.
However, despite the unity in wishing the victims full and speedy recoveries, the partisan vitriol that preceded the attack immediately continued in placing blame for the shooting.
It is no surprise that conservatives blamed liberals.
Memes featuring pictures of Kathy Griffin holding the — now infamous — decapitated Trump effigy; resist protesters burning cars; and beaten up Trump paraphernalia-wearing conservatives accompanied social media posts as additional evidence of the "violent left."
Author Dinesh D'Souza tweeted, "What do @KathyGriffin and the theatrical Trump assassins in the park say when they see their words translated into action?"
Meanwhile, it was equally unsurprising that the left blamed lax gun control for the shooting.
David Frum, senior editor of The Atlantic, tweeted "Virginia: No background checks. No licensing. No registration. No permit req'd for concealed carry of long guns. Open carry long guns & handguns."
Igor Volsky, Vice President at the Center for American Progress, tweeted "Deranged people of all types & motivations do bad things. Access to guns makes them deadly. We must make guns harder to get in America."
More:
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/media/339060-partisanship-didnt-cause-scalise-shooting-the-rage-of-the-unheard
