Poll: Contra Palin, Slightly More Say Fort Hood Shooting Wasn’t Terrorism
Some on the right, such as Sarah Palin, John McCain, and various conservative commentators, have quickly jumped to the conclusion that the Fort Hood shootings were an act of terrorism.
But according to the internals of a new CNN poll that just landed in the old in box, the American people aren’t prepared to buy this claim yet:
As you may know, a soldier named Nidal Hasan recently shot and killed thirteen people in Ft. Hood Texas. Based on what you know about this matter, do you consider Hasan’s actions to be an act of terrorism, or do you consider this to be an act of murder with no direct connection to terrorism?
Terrorism 45%
Murder 47%
No opinion 8%
It’s true that this is a statistically insigficant spread. And a recent CBS poll found that more see the shooting as terrorism, 48%-38%. But unlike today’s CNN poll, the CBS question didn’t offer people the option of labeling it “murder.”
Indeed, the CNN poll finds that a majority, 55%, are not willing to rush to the judgment Palin did when she declared the shooter a “terrorist” and endorsed profiling, saying we should “profile away.”
Palin and other conservatives are working hard to use recent events — the Fort Hood shooting, the Khalid Sheik Mohammed trial, and the debate over Gitmo detainees — to revive fears of terrorism and turn it into a national issue again, in hopes that criticism of the current administration’s terror policies will carry emotional weight with the public. We’ll see how far they get.
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Wow – I’m so pleasantly surprised by this. I know others here disagree, stridently, but I don’t think it was. I think he thought he was a one-man jihad, but I still believe this was one person who broke.
I just don’t see Tim McVeigh or KSM in this guy or situation at all. I see Columbine; I see the Kileen Luby’s Cafeteria getting shot all to hell by one insane person who killed I can’t recall how many.
But I know there are arguments on the other side.
We refuse to address the real solution to these insane shooters who go off. You cannot work that from the shooter’s end – you cannot predict who is going to snap and start taking people out.
YOu have to make it harder for them by not allowing stores like Guns Galore where the Hasan bought cop-killer bullets. That’s how you deal with psychos – you can’t deal with it from the psycho’s end. And since we stubbornly refuse to address the real issue – the guns and their availability, we go at totally ineffectually and backa*s*swards.
The fact that there were complaints about this guy for years will make it hard for them to blame this administation. I read an article last night from NPR, who got a hold of the memo regarding Hasan and not one complaint mentioned anything about his stance on Muslims.
” in hopes that criticism of the current administration’s terror policies will carry emotional weight with the public. We’ll see how far they get.”
Greg again I would like to see the demographic breakout in that poll. I think the right will get very far in scaring the right(older folks)…not so far with the younger people.
My Faux viewing mom of course believes it is terrorism but can’t accept that blowing up an abortion clinic is ALSO terrorism…obviously because she is against abortion and so that makes it OK. It amazes me what a large segment of our nation thinks it’s NOT terrorism if they are on the side of the terrorists.
OT…Tena are you sure you and Mr Tena are actually married? LOL
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/79112.html
rukidding, I will ask for the breakdown.
rukidding –
Depends on the day you ask me.
[just keeding]
rukidding – “This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha – I love the Texas Lege. I mean what’s not to love? It’s Clown College.
I swear this story is true. My dad was on the loan committee for a bank for years and another guy on the committee had been a Texas Rep. They were discussing a bad loan one day, and the ex-Tex Rep popped up with: “Why don’t we just put him jail?”
My dad, who quit school in the 8th grade, looked at Carlyle and said: “We fought a revolution against debtor’s prisons, Carlyle, where have you been?”
That’s our fabled Texas Lege for you.
Sorry Greg et al OT regarding boycott of Palinmania. I’m still down with it, the boycott that is.
“Criticism has its place, of course. And yet, on Palin I’ve come to favor a different approach—one that refuses to collude with the media-driven farce. To respond to an opponent, even harshly, even rudely, is to accord her a certain respect—to treat her as worthy of a response. But Palin is worthy of no such thing. She stands for nothing beyond her own self-promotion. She craves attention, and negative attention is a form of attention. Even ridicule can be a form of flattery. Better to bow out, to decline the provocation, since responding to her perpetuates and legitimates the illusion that she’s a serious player in our nation’s politics. I, for one, refuse to play that silly little game. And I wish more of her critics felt the same way. Instead of wasting their analytical and polemical talents on the topic, they could work to change the subject to something more substantive and deny Palin what she most greedily craves: the spotlight.”
http://www.tnr.com/blog/damon-linker/the-virtue-shutting
This was murder. Frankly, what shocked me the most (as a former Army officer myself) is that he shot up troops. Historically officers take it out on their family (wives/girlfriends) and don’t blame the troops for their troubles. I’m wondering how much of his snapping the specific way he did is related to seven years of having to try to heal our wounded warriors and not seeing an end in sight. Murder, plain and simple, but not terrorism.
Profile, baby, Profile?
I believe it was murder, but I also believe it was jihad. I don’t know if Jihad, in this aspect killing enemies of Islam, is technically terrorism, but I can see why it’s easy to confuse and conflate the two.
“I’m wondering how much of his snapping the specific way he did is related to seven years of having to try to heal our wounded warriors and not seeing an end in sight. Murder, plain and simple, but not terrorism.”
I think that coupled with the pressure he felt he was under from other soldiers because he was Muslim. And that pressure might have been real and might not have – I don’t know.
What I do know is that since 2003, the number of military suicides has broken records every year. So far this year alone, there were 11 at Ft. Hood and 17 at Ft. Leavenworth.
Doesn’t that tell us something??????????????????????
@lmsinca — I feel for Norah O’Donnell and especially Andrea Mitchell. They’re political junkies for sure, but to be sent off on this classic “woman’s assignment,” trailing the novelist on her book tour, is really depressing and degrading.
@Tena…thank heavens for Texas and California…if it wasn’t for you guys we in Florida would have to bear the burden of embarrassment all by ourselves.:-)
rukidding – Nah – there’s always Oklahoma, baby.
Being a Californian right now really sucks, but we’ll bounce back, we always do. Of course I may be dead and gone by then! HaaaaaaHaaaaa
Kathleen
I’ve seen them both on the book lines, wish they were heading to Arkansas instead for the Free Clinic, that’s where we need reporters.
Tena, no kidding about OK, wouldn’t trade places with that for any amount of money.
lmsinca, Morning Joe will be in New Orleans tomorrow and I’m sure Keith will have somebody down in Arkansas. I hope so, anyway.
It’s a weird frakking place.
It’s the Home of 9ft. Jesus, to start with. {anyone unfamiliar with Oral Roberts and his “university” won’t get that – he claimed a 9ft. Jesus told him to build it.)
@Imsinca…”but we’ll bounce back, we always do.”
Let’s hope so…you guys are the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Paul Krugman has written about the Californization of American…that is our warring Congress is starting to look like California’s…a horrible thing for actual governance.
Hopefully Imsinca you guys can show us all the way.
Imsinca – I’ve said this before to Californians (by the way, my dad grew up in California, his dad built a lot of residential Pasadena pre-WWI; and my parents spent the first half of their married life there – I have a lot of ties) – Texas is solvent, and the reason is Texas does not do **** for Texans. Texas is backwards and is getting backwards-er.
I’d rather be broke than backwards.
One would think, really, that 9 ft. Jesus would be able to keep the lesbians out of the girls’ bathrooms in the public schools in Ok, ya know?
Or for that matter, you’d think 9 ft Jesus could keep the p*e*n*i*s-pumping judges off the benches in Ok.
I will never get over that for as long as I live.
Based on what criteria do people consider it not terrorism?
Great performance by Holder yesterday, didn’t you all think?
Couldn’t answer simple questions like, why this decision, does OBL get Miranda rights, and is this the first time we will try foreign combatants in civilian court.
Aren’t any liberals disturbed by his epic failure?
never mind this, how about this:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/u-s-chamber-reconsidering-plans-for-controversial-study-of-health-care-proposals/
“Terrorism: (1) the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes. (2) the state of fear and submission so produced. (3) government or resistance to government by means of terror.” Webster’s 1991 edition. Which of these three definitions do you think the murders at Ft Hood fit?
Our biggest problem out here is the 2/3 majority rule in the state legislature, makes it really hard to pass a budget. A lot of people blame it on Prop.13, but they made up for that revenue loss with income and sales tax. Our Gov. has been a failure in bringing the two sides together. If the housing market ever turns around we’ll get back on track, until then our only hope is GREEN economy jobs and infrastructure.
“27 retired generals and 5 retired admirals delivered a letter to Congress today supporting the closure of Gitmo and decrying Republican fear-mongering over trying Khalid Sheik Mohammed in New York.”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/11/19/103750/75
From the same diarist
“Our courts have convicted 195 terrorists since 9/11. Meanwhile, there have been only three successful prosecutions of terrorists by military commissions over that same period; two of those found guilty were released in less than a year.”
How come we don’t see such push-back facts here at plumline, Greg ?
Under that definition it is obviously no. 1. Obvious to rational people who don’t worship Obama and live in denial that is.
Arguing with QB is a total waste of time cause the damn troll will say literally anything at all.
Literally, anything. By the way it’s illegal to hold yourself out as a lawyer if you’re not.
Ahem.
I shall ignore further trolling, since he also doesn’t understand plain English.
So, I’m heading back to Ft Worth again for a couple of days. Any suggestions on eating places?
Who knows where those retirees get their information, but we can say with confidence they have no particular expertise in the matter and fail to address the real issues. They are just making a political statement. The fact is that KSM was ready to plead guilty a year ago and would likely be dead now but for Obama.
The letter also argues that military commissions are a failed system and must be abolished. Since Obama has flip flopped on that and is using military commissions – just not for ksm – the letter condemns Obama as well. Not so great after all for liberals.
Well Tena you are the only one I know of around here guilty of that. You couldn’t possibly have earned a JD or passed a bar. Shall I refer you to the Texas committee on unauthorized practice?
LOL Kelley you fit right in here. Up is down black is white yes is no.
Let’s see now: violence, check. Coerce or intimidate, check. Oh, but apparently now liberals consider jihad attacks exempt because one wouldn’t want to profile. Killing for Allah no longer terrorism to liberals.
“Well Tena you are the only one I know of around here guilty of that. You couldn’t possibly have earned a JD or passed a bar. Shall I refer you to the Texas committee on unauthorized practice?”
Go ahead. I’ll give you my retired Texas Bar card no. if you like – that’ll make it easier for you.
“Arguing with QB is a total waste of time”
Who said that, Tena ?
Everyday is opposite day for qb.
Opposite you is generally opposite ideology, untruth, and delusion.
I asked you folks a simple question that you can’t answer. So just proceed with your nervous laughter. You just can’t allow there to have been an attack under the One. I don’t blame him for it but it is silly to pretend it isn’t domestic jihadi terrorism. Even Liam admits that.
Funny, I never said it wasn’t domestic terrorism, I’m waiting for a determination from the military investigation. It doesn’t matter to me much, I figure the guys dead either way. I’ve been trying to figure out why it matters so much, being a non-lawyer and all.
Right wing extremist “quarterback’s” ideology in a nutshell:
“Up is down black is white yes is no.
Let’s see now: violence, check. Coerce or intimidate, check.”
Keep in mind that right winger “quarterback” is an advocate of torture.
Torture is: Violence. Check.
Torture is: Coercion AND intimidation. Check.
So by right winger “quarterback’s” definition HE IS A TERRORIST.
But “quarterback’s” right wing philosophy allows him to believe two contradictory things simultaneously.
So even while right winger “quarterback” meets his OWN definition of terrorism, he can deny that FACT and still accuse others of what he is even before he knows anything about those “others”.
Right winger’s philosophy: ““Up is down black is white yes is no.”