Violent Rhetoric

Jonah Goldberg at National Review Online:

Then last night, on the very day Gabby Giffords heroically returns to cast her first vote since that tragic attack seven months ago, the vice president of the United States calls the Republican party a bunch of terrorists.

Sharp observation by Goldberg. I’m sure the media will criticize Biden for his hateful and violent rhetoric, right? Goldberg continues:

No one cares. I hate the “if this were Bush” game so we’re in luck. Instead imagine if this was Dick Cheney calling the Progressive Caucus (or whatever they’re called) a “bunch of terrorists” on the day Giffords returned to the Congress. Would the mainstream media notice or care? Would Meet the Press debate whether this raises “troubling questions” about the White House’s sensitivity? Would Andrea Mitchell find some way to blame Sarah Palin for Dick Cheney’s viciousness? Would Keith Olbermann explode like a mouse subjected to the Ramone’s music in Rock and Roll High School? Something inside me hidden away shouts, “Hell yes they would!”

Ok, no dice, but surely the media doesn’t perpetuate violent rhetoric on its own. That would be incredibly hypocritical. The Biden comment is just a permissible mis-speak. After all, one could make a fortune betting he’ll say something stupid. I’m sure the NY Times will quickly redact this article by Joe Nocera:

For now, the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests. But rest assured: They’ll have them on again soon enough. After all, they’ve gotten so much encouragement.

On second thought, that sounds pretty nonviolent to me. Islam is a religion of peace.

UPDATE: A reader emailed me to stupidly accuse me of inserting racism into the discussion because a suicide vest doesn’t implicate a particular race. Two points: 1) Islam isn’t a race of people, and neither is Muslim. They refer to a religion and one who adheres to a religion, respectively. 2) If you click on the link I provided, you’ll see that Nocera’s first sentence accuses the Tea Party of waging Jihad on the American people. Inserting religion into the discussion was Nocera’s doing, not mine.