2011 started off with the horrific shootings in Tucson, Arizona. A deranged gunman shot a Democratic congresswoman, members of her staff and others at a town hall meeting. The liberal establishment rushed to judgment and condemned the Tea Party.

As it turns out, the assassin, Jared Loughner, was an apolitical radical who would fit in well with the Occupy Wall Street movement. A friend told ABC that Loughner was heavily influenced by a movie called "Zeitgeist." One left-wing reviewer described the movie as containing three central points: "Religion in general, and Christianity in particular, are systems of social control. 9/11 was an inside job… And, finally, International Bankers … control our money and our future…" But I digress…

President Obama used his speech at the nationally televised memorial service following the Tucson shootings to call for less over-the-top rhetoric and greater civility in public discourse. The media loved it and praised Obama for his wisdom and statesmanship.

So what we have heard lately in our political discourse? Well, according to Barack Obama, conservatives want "dirtier air, dirtier water, [and] less people with health insurance." Not to be outdone, Vice President Biden blamed the Bush Administration for an increase in crime. Yesterday Biden said:


"In many cities the result has been -- and it's not unique -- murder rates are up, robberies are up, rapes are up. And folks, there's a simple reason for that. It's been a perfect storm out there from the God-awful Ponzi schemes that the last outfit allowed Wall Street to engage in, resulted in this gigantic collapse of the financial industry."

Responding to critics of Obama's jobs bill, which is another massive temporary stimulus spending bill, Biden said this:


"… it's not temporary when that 911 call comes in and a woman's being raped, if a cop shows up in time to prevent the rape. It's not temporary to that woman. It's not temporary to the guy whose store is being held up and there's a gun pointed at his head, if a cop shows up and he's not killed. I wish these guys who thought it was temporary, I wish they had some notion of what it was like to be on the other side of a gun, or [to have] a 200-pound man standing over you, telling you to submit."

Really, Mr. Biden? You wish Americans who are tired of record deficits and out-of-control spending were mugged or raped?

So, let's recap. While conservatives have been told to tone down their rhetoric, liberals have insisted that conservatives want "dirtier air, dirtier water, [and] less people with health insurance." They want women to be raped and store owners killed. They not only want grandma kicked out of her nursing home, but pushed off a cliff too. They want children with disabilities kicked out into the streets and forced to fend for themselves. And they also want to see blacks "hanging on trees."

The media are quick to bemoan the lack of bi-partisan cooperation in Washington. But the pundits and talking heads turn a deaf ear to all the hyperbolic rhetoric on the left. They were quick to point out one or two odd signs at a Tea Party rally, but they ignore the blatant anti-Semitism in the Occupy Wall Street movement.