From Manson to Adkisson: Wingnuts Aren't Liberal OR Conservative ...

“Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself.”
-- Lyrics by Eric Clapton

In the wake of Sunday’s tragic shooting at a Unitarian Universalist church outside Knoxville, Tenn., reactionary liberals are condemning the entire conservative movement, claiming that because the shooter, Jim Adkisson, had what police call a “stated hatred for the liberal movement” he was undoubtedly a conservative.

Adkisson’s hatred, these liberal commentators say, is a natural consequence of buying into conservative thought, and his actions are a natural extension of it. Some have gone so far as to imply that his unconscionable rampage was somehow carried out at the behest of conservative talking heads like Michelle Malkin or conservative organizations like The Family Research Council.

As I enumerated Monday, Adkisson’s actions are in direct conflict with the basic tenets of conservatism – traditional values, limited government, free enterprise and personal accountability.

Well, the liberals are saying, Adkisson’s actions certainly must have been incited by the outlandish rhetoric put forth by Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage and O’Reilly. Plus, conservatives are the only ones capable of hate speech.

Liberals, as everybody knows, are peace-loving stewards of the Earth; people incapable of making vicious comments …

National Public Radio legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg on Sen. Jesse Helms: “I think he ought to be worried about what’s going on in the Good Lord’s mind, because if there is retributive justice, he’ll get AIDS from a transfusion, or one of his grandchildren will get it.”

… of wishing people dead…

USA Today syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux, on US Supreme Court Justice and fellow African American Clarence Thomas: “I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease.”

… of making ethnocentric remarks …

During a 1984 conversation with a fellow African American reporter from the Washington Post, Jesse Jackson referred to Jews as “hymies” and called New York City, “Hymietown.”

… of calling for violence …

Liberal columnist Richard Cohen on Newt Gingrich in a Dec. 21, 2000 column: “For hypocrisy, for sheer gall, Gingrich should be hanged.”

… of acting out violence against conservatives …

Al Franken filmed himself committing a mock attack on an actor portraying a “right wing jerk” who dislikes his book.

… or of committing actual violence …

A 69-year-old man trying to counsel young women at a Harrisburg abortion clinic in late-2007 was knocked unconscious and suffered four broken vertebrae, two broken ribs and a broken shoulder. Police casually watched his assailant drive away.

OK, fine, the liberals will say, but no liberal ever killed anyone.

While this is categorically untrue, both directly and indirectly (there have been many documented murders and attempted murders of conservatives) long-standing liberal policies (such as late-term abortion, to name just one) are responsible for millions of deaths each year.

Yes, books by O’Reilly, Savage and Hannity were found in Adkisson’s home, but for many mainstream conservatives, these commentators are more like entertainers than political pundits. They undeniably make irresponsible comments and behave with unqualified hypocrisy. But let’s not forget, radical left-wing liberals are just as capable of hate-speech as radical right-wing conservatives. As esteemed liberal, Howard Dean once said, “I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for …”

How’s that for hate-speech?

The bottom line is that associating Adkisson with the conservative movement is like associating Charles Manson with the liberal movement. These people aren't mentally stable enough to hold genuine conservative or liberal ideologies, despite how they may sound. These are disturbed people with disturbing points of view, whose despicable actions resulted in innocent deaths.