That’s enough. An American tragedy happened several days ago, a member of the United States House of Representatives was shot by someone from her district at a political rally. This type of violence against our government is in fact extremely rare. Only 6 members of the United States Congress have been assassinated in the history of our country. The last was Leo Ryan, a California Congressman who was assassinated by followers of the certifiable Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. That’s over 40 years ago. Sometimes the perpetrators of these murders are politically motivated, like John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Most often, however, they are not, unless you believe Jodie Foster was the political lightning rod that caused John Hinckley, Jr. to shoot Ronald Reagan. The recent attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords, a member of the House of Representatives from Arizona, falls into the not politically motivated category.

So, why then are Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, et al. responsible for this heinous act of violence? Apparently it is because they are conservative. Oops, sorry. I mean because their hateful rhetoric incites violence. Guess that means hateful rhetoric doth never pass the lips of liberals. What a crock.

But wait. Now we must control our political discourse through legislation. No more targeting a district in an election, someone could get hurt. Have to regulate the airwaves, someone might say something conservative. Guess it was right to quit calling it the War on Terror. How insightful. Starting to see a pattern here? Liberal politicians and pundits believe disagreement with their world view is hate speech and must not be tolerated. It will cause someone else to shoot another member of Congress. Never mind the facts. Never mind that Jared Loughner was not motivated to shoot Gabrielle Giffords because of something Sarah Palin or Fox News or anyone else conservative or liberal said or posted on their website. Never mind that political violence rarely happens in this country, and that, left alone, the American people will continue to meet and discuss their views with their elected officials at shopping malls and school gymnasiums and town halls across the country.

I’m sorry, it’s enough. Politicians with a D after their name can not be allowed to stifle any opposition to their view, and that’s all their posturing amounts to as they illustrate the narrow-minded, superior attitude that caused such a landslide election last November. Just get back to work. Let the families of the victims grieve. Let America grieve. And if we do not believe what you believe, it does not make us assassins.