Shortly after the horrific shooting in Tuson, Ariz. on Saturday, the fingers started pointing at who was to blame for the shooting, and “The Daily Beast“‘s Howard Kurtz wanted to make it clear who was to blame:
This isn’t about a nearly year-old Sarah Palin map; it’s about a lone nutjob who doesn’t value human life. It would be nice if we briefly put aside partisan differences and came together with sympathy and support for Gabby Giffords and the other victims, rather than opening rhetorical fire ourselves.
As congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was struggling for her life, as some news organizations claimed she was dead, as the details of the event were still trickling in, the news media tried to blame everybody and anybody — barring the actual suspect — in a move towards politicizing the event.
More on who really is to blame after the jump…
Yesterday, Kurtz wrote about the right-wing, who were put on the defensive after the fingers started pointing to Palin’s cross-hair target map, Glenn Beck’s chalkboard, and Rush Limbaugh’s microphone — among other conservative targets:
I have little doubt that some Fox News and MSNBC commentators will spend much of the week sniping at each other over the political aspects of this tragedy, even as Gabby Giffords fights for her life.
“The Daily Beast” writer continued with another key issue of the Giffords shooting: reporting the death of the congresswoman. “The media let us down this past weekend,” Kurtz wrote.
On CNN’s “Reliable Sources” yesterday, Kurtz mentioned MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann’s “stinging” special comment he made on the night of the event. Kurtz said “there’s always somebody you can blame for violent imagery.” “In my view,” Kurtz continued, “It would be nice if everybody dialed it back and toned it down just a little bit.”
Kurtz emphasized who was to blame yet again: “There are crazy people out there, but we can’t all be responsible for what they do.”