The dangers of dog-whistle politics

Fortunately, no unstable follower attempted to assassinate Barack Obama as a result of her words. In 2001, however, a paranoid schizophrenic in Arizona did open fire at a Tucson mall where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting constituents.

Six people were killed that day, including a federal judge, and Giffords was grievously wounded. The shooter, who gravitated toward conspiracy theories, had no rational motivations or even a discernable political ideology — he obsessively disliked George W. Bush as well as Gabby Giffords — but local law enforcement officials couldn’t help but wonder whether the reckless rhetoric of Gifford’s political opponents played a role in this tragedy.

That rhetoric included calling her “a target,” along with a graphic showing the cross hairs of a gun sight over a map including her district. Sarah Palin told Republicans they should “reload” with respect to targeted congressional districts.

As Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told the press at the time, “When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government — the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.”