In addition to what Mistermix said about civility, the other (and I think more important) dodge that is going on is the attempt to pretend that everyone is blaming Palin and only Palin for the tragedy. It’s just nonsense. Yes, there was some lashing out at Sarah Palin over the crosshairs surveyor’s symbols, which is to be expected, but no one thinks that Sarah Palin is directly responsible for the murders. What is reasonable to discuss is a climate of hate and paranoid fear, fueled by lies and misinformation, that creates an environment in which lunatics like Loughner might be motivated to act out their revenge fantasies. For that, there is no doubt which party is responsible. Read some of the media effects literature (and, like any discipline, there is a wide range of conflicting opinions- look at the recent Miller discussions on Cultivation theory)- while there are debates as to the extent that these things influence people, there is no doubt that what we see every days does influence our thoughts and behaviors. And, as usual, it is the most unbalanced members of society who are most susceptible to this sort of rhetoric. No one in their right mind thinks Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh are going to pull out a gun and start shooting people. The concern is one of their listeners, detached from reality and fueled by years of hate, might. That is not an unreasonable fear or concern.
Trying to pretend everyone is just blaming poor old Sarah for the murders isn’t just a lie, it is an attempt to avoid any discussion of what is happening in our country. It’s the same old MO for these guys- “Sarah Palin didn’t pull the trigger!” is fundamentally no different than “global warming is a lie because it snowed today.” It’s an attempt to distract from a more complicated, nuanced, and accurate depiction of what is going on in the world. The attempt to say “the left is blaming Sarah Palin” is a way to distract from the multiple things that can lead to and encourage an event like this.