Arizona Congresswoman shot at Public Event

• pinstriper

  Terrible and tragic news breaking now concerning the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Gifford (D - Arizona). Appearantly she, along with others on the scene, have died.
  Unbelievable.
  
  http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/08/arizona.shooting/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  Holy shit. Political assassinations are a rarity today, but this is insane. This is sad, and really heartbreaking.
• derek bomar

  

  kill this guy now
• IggyPride00

  

  Sad as it is to say I am surprised it has taken so long for something like this to happen in this country.
  
  The political culture in this country is absolutely toxic. When you have networks devoted to riling up liberals and conservatives 24/7 and convincing them the other side is out to destroy the country (and both sides do it), it is not surprising that a lone wolf crazy decides it is time to take matters into their own hands to be heard.
  
  Just this week we have seen mailed packages exploding in the offices of public officials, and now this.
  
  This country is coming unhinged right now and it is sad to watch.
  
  The gunman apparently has survived and is in custody, so hopefully authorities can get to the bottom of this and make sure he was a lone wolf and not part of any larger movement that has designs on repeating this elsewhere.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  Well, I'm hesitate to say this killer had political motives yet. He or she could have simply been a nutcase or whatever.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  The CNN link is not confirming she has passed. Although, a head wound is near lethal.
• Manhattan Buckeye

  Conflicting reports all around...our media is incompetent.
• tk421

  

  Manhattan Buckeye;629997 wrote:Conflicting reports all around...our media is incompetent.

  
  You just figured that out? Our "media" and I use that term extremely loosely, couldn't accurately report the contents of a 5th grade school play.
• IggyPride00

  

  ptown_trojans_1;629993 wrote:Well, I'm hesitate to say this killer had political motives yet. He or she could have simply been a nutcase or whatever.

  
  If she was shot point blank range as is being reported, he clearly had to know who she was because it is not like she was hit by stray bullets like some of the others.
  
  I guess it could be a random act of violence, but it seems somewhat unlikely given that the gunman apparently had to have sought her out if the details over her shooting so far prove to be accurate.
• GoPens

  

  In surgery but alive is the report I'm hearing. Prayers to her and the victims
• ts1227

  

  USA Today political blog says she's still alive, but in critical condition
  

  Update at 2:30 p.m. ET:
  Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., is in critical condition and is still alive, says Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. He is being interviewed on MSNBC.
  
  
  Dupnik says five people were shot and killed in this incident and seven others were short and wounded.
  
  
  "She is a precious, decent human being and this tragedy is beyond my ability to articulate," says Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. "She was just out there doing her job. I pray for her family, I pray for her."

• mella

  IggyPride00;629992 wrote: The political culture in this country is absolutely toxic. When you have networks devoted to riling up liberals and conservatives 24/7 and convincing them the other side is out to destroy the country (and both sides do it), it is not surprising that a lone wolf crazy decides it is time to take matters into their own hands to be heard.

  This. Our country is being ruined by the radicals on both sides and their ignorant leaders. The media stokes the flames with ignorant sensationalism.
  
  Prayers for her family and the other victims.
• IggyPride00

  

  The left wing blogs are in a frenzy right now.
  
  Apparently Giffords was on the original Sarah Palin "target list" that many on the left claimed was designed to look like a rifle scope for her targets.
  
  
  
  Then someone on the left dug up this campaign event ad that her opponent did (he was a Tea Party candidate) from the last election where you came out and shot guns with him.
  
  
  
  They are beside themselves that what they deem to be right wing crazies are subliminally planting seeds associating guns with removal of candidates, or as Sharon Engel said "using 2nd amendment remedies" to deal with things.
  
  It may not have been politically motivated, but the far left crazies are in full blown spin mode right now to connect any dots they can find to put this on Sarah Palin and the Tea Party regardless of what the facts show.
• ts1227

  

  I had a friend who already posted a link to that.
  
  While it's always possible, it does seem like a HUGE stretch. Some people are that stupid... you can never rule anything out, We'll find out soon enough.
• Heretic

  

  IggyPride00;629992 wrote:Sad as it is to say I am surprised it has taken so long for something like this to happen in this country.
  
  The political culture in this country is absolutely toxic. When you have networks devoted to riling up liberals and conservatives 24/7 and convincing them the other side is out to destroy the country (and both sides do it), it is not surprising that a lone wolf crazy decides it is time to take matters into their own hands to be heard.
  
  Just this week we have seen mailed packages exploding in the offices of public officials, and now this.
  
  This country is coming unhinged right now and it is sad to watch.

  
  Sadly, I completely agree with this. It's basically turned into a select group of people essentially saying "to hell with cooperation; let's CRUSH the other side", which is great for soundbites and stuff, but just leads to a gulf between the people that's getting wider and wider to the point where it's getting easier to see the crazier people out there looking at something like this as a step towards cleaning things up.
• Red Saul

  

  2 different news outlets (CNN and MSNBC) are reporting that she is alive and in surgery.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  Prayers and hope she makes it through.
  
  As to the attacker, until we hear officially from the police, we cannot assume anything on their motive.
  It is easy to say it was a right winger, but we do not know yet.
• mella

  The fact is that the leaders of the left and right radicals have polarized this country. I am surprised it has taken this long and will be even more surpised if this is the only assassination (attempt?) that occurs in the next few weeks or months. We need our elected leaders to act like leaders and look out for the best inetrests of the country. Enough of this R vs D crap.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  mella;630032 wrote:The fact is that the leaders of the left and right radicals have polarized this country. I am surprised it has taken this long and will be even more surpised if this is the only assassination (attempt?) that occurs in the next few weeks or months. We need our elected leaders to act like leaders and look out for the best inetrests of the country. Enough of this R vs D crap.

  I agree, but there is no link to this attempt yet, only rumors or speculation.
• cbus4life

  Fox also reporting she is critical condition! Thoughts go out to her!
• cbus4life

  IggyPride00;630022 wrote:The left wing blogs are in a frenzy right now.
  
  Apparently Giffords was on the original Sarah Palin "target list" that many on the left claimed was designed to look like a rifle scope for her targets.
  
  Then someone on the left dug up this campaign event ad that her opponent did (he was a Tea Party candidate) from the last election where you came out and shot guns with him.
  
  They are beside themselves that what they deem to be right wing crazies are subliminally planting seeds associating guns with removal of candidates, or as Sharon Engel said "using 2nd amendment remedies" to deal with things.
  
  It may not have been politically motivated, but the far left crazies are in full blown spin mode right now to connect any dots they can find to put this on Sarah Palin and the Tea Party regardless of what the facts show.

  
  I knew the blogs were going to be going nuts as soon as i recognized the name.
  
  Shame that our country has gotten to the point where, as soon as we see a tragedy like this, we start looking for motives as to why the person was killed, but so that we can stop future killings, but so that we can start scoring political points against one another.
  
  Disgusting. Lefty blogs are going nuts, and then, if you read the Fox News comment section for the article, you'll see people arguing back and forth over who did it, i swear some are praying that it was a young tea partier, an illegal immigrant, or a muslim, just because it will make them "right." Ugh.
• tk421

  

  And people still think this country has a chance of surviving. I'm surprised it's lasted this long and hasn't torn itself apart yet.
  
  If it is reported in the media that this guy is a registered Republican or god help us a Tea Party member, I absolutely expect a retaliatory strike against a Republican congress person in the immediate future.
• mella

  My comments are not really intended to say there is a link between these shootings and the polarized state of politics but our elected leaders and the media's coverage of politics does not help the situation. This could a random act by a single crazy person.
  
  I hope this is a wake up call for everyone so we can gain some perspective on where we are headed.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  Let's also remember the people that have been killed, which apparently include members of her staff. Prayer to their families.
• tk421

  

  mella;630039 wrote: I hope this is a wake up call for everyone so we can gain some perspective on where we are headed.

  
  I wouldn't hold your breathe waiting for this to happen.