First, kill all the liberals

It was inevitable, I suppose, that someone would take Michael Savage and Ann Coulter literally - seems that's what this man in Tennessee did. This is from Alternet, sent to me by my friend Janet:

When police searched the car of the gunman who opened fire in a Unitarian Church in Tennessee, they found a 4-page letter expressing his hatred of the "liberal movement." A regular consumer of Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity, Jim David Adkisson was only following the arguments they make day in and day out to their logical conclusions. From the Knoxville News Sentinel:

Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded six others during the presentation of a children's musical.

Adkisson targeted the church ... "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."

Adkisson [said] that "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office."
[ . . . ]
David Neiwert calls it "eliminationist" rhetoric -- putting forth the idea that one's opponents are not simply in disagreement, do not simply have a different and competing political philosophy, do not just believe that their approach to solving problems is superior but are bent on destroying the country, the culture, even the family unit from within. And, more importantly, that they must be destroyed or exiled.

Consider the narratives we hear so frequently, from right-wing talk radio, to the right-blogs to Fox News. Liberals are traitors. Liberals hate the troops, stab them in the back, hate America. They are "anti-family", they hate God. They want America to be destroyed by its enemies, whether Soviet shock troops or "Islamofascist" terrorists.

I'm not denying for a second that progressives and liberals are filled with anumus towards the right, but it is an animus of a different nature. Most progressives believe that conservative leaders are greedy, self-interested and represent only the interests of the very wealthy, and their followers are simply chumps dazzled by social issues into voting against their own interests. We don't consider them to be bent on the destruction of our country (even if some of us believe that is the likely outcome of their governance).

ADDENDUM

I thought I was completely sickened, but there's more. I took this Alternet poster's advice:

You wanna get a take on the true feelings of the right wing followers that the Hannity's et al can't acknowledge? Go to liveleak.com and search "Tennessee shooting." And then, if your stomach can take it, read the comments section. You'll be amazed.

They weren't kidding! Stuff like "I'm not saying it was right, but if it had to happen, that was the place for it." That's a publically expressed opinion. Kinda leaves me speechless, it's so horrible and frightening.