The motive behind Jared Lee Loughner's attack in Arizona remains a mystery, but some Democratic lawmakers are looking to curb speech they claim creates an "aura of hatred" -- and are pointing to failed Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle of Nevada as an example of the need for federal regulations.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., on Monday referenced a comment by Angle in calling for a change in the nation's political dialogue -- by will or by law.
"'Don't retreat, reload.' Someone in Nevada saying we may need to use Second Amendment remedies. There's only one way to read this," Slaughter said.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., told Fox News that Angle "talked about people rising up and taking over the government by force, using their guns. She was very explicit."
Sherman said that even if language used by Angle and her supporters hadn't incited the shootings in Arizona, eventually it will lead to violence.
"I'm saying if you have a heart attack, stop smoking, not because nicotine may or may not have caused your last heart attack, you'll never know, but it's going to cause the next one," Sherman said. "And if we continue to bring into the mainstream and treat as civil those who call for violence and disruption and assassination and revolution and insurrection, then whether that caused what happened in Tucson or not, it will cause the next tragedy."
Angle was not immediately available for a response.
Loughner, the accused gunman with no discernible connection to American political discourse, has not stated why he allegedly shot 20 people in an assault that left six dead and 14 injured, including Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is in critical condition.
In the wake of the shooting, the National Hispanic Media Coalition used the incident to reiterate its call for the FCC to update its definitions of hate speech in media. It also asked the FCC to "examine the extent and effects of hate speech in media, and non-regulatory options for counteracting the violence that extreme rhetoric breeds."
Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa., said he has no knowledge about what motivated Loughner to attack Giffords and the others, but he still wants legislation that bans the use of certain imagery when talking about congressional targets.
"I want to eliminate what may have been," Brady told Fox News. "I'm not a psychologist ... All I'm saying is you can't put a bullseye or a crosshair on a member of Congress."
More than a decade ago, lawmakers like Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., warned that violence in movies and video games could cause violence in life.
But graphic imagery and heated rhetoric moved to the political theater long before that, and several recent examples have been offered from both sides of the aisle, including President Obama's quoting from the film "The Untouchables" in which appears the statement, "If they bring a knife, we'll bring a gun."
And even before movie references, crosshairs and bullseyes, "battlefields" were drawn across campaign and policy landscapes. President Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union speech called for a figurative "War on Poverty," a precursor to the Reagan administration's equally figurative "War on Drugs."
If lawmakers were to seek remedies to quiet distasteful discussion, the so-called Fairness Doctrine is at the top of lists inspiring supporters and alarming opponents.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., told National Public Radio said he "came up in a time that the Fairness Doctrine did not allow media outlets to say things about a candidate or a person in public office without giving that person equal time to respond. And I really believe that everybody needs to take a look at where we are pushing things, and may need to take a serious step back and evaluate what's going on here."
Slaughter said that while she's not up to speed on current regulations, the Federal Communications Commission should work to sanction broadcasts that could incite people to violence.
"No one owns the airwaves," Slaughter said, "They are owned by the people."
Before the facts in the Arizona shooting were known, much of the rhetoric turned to blaming conservative media and personalities.
On Tuesday, Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., was quoted in the Oregon Statesman-Journal that he blamed personalities like Fox News' Glenn Beck and radio host Rush Limbaugh.
"I hold them personally responsible. I don't know how they can sleep at night after this," Schrader said.
But not everyone may be on board with a hasty turn to bottling up dissenting voices. Delivering a speech Tuesday, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said media have the power to inspire, motivate and inform. "But they also have the power to inflame and incite. The seething rhetoric has gone too far."
However, Leahy added, "In a free society, the society that we Americans must always want our country to be, the government should not and must not restrain free expression."
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also suggested Tuesday in a speech at the Center for American Progress that the blame game has no winner.
"The big question wasn't whose rhetoric was right or wrong, but whether our political conversation was worthy of the confidence and trust of the American people," he said.
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Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Tuesday, January 11th 2011 at 9:44PM
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