Proof again that terrorism usually backfires

The GOP in the House of Representatives have announced in the wake of Saturday's shootings that the debate on the health care law will be postponed.

If the shooter hoped to influence our political life in favor of the Tea Party agenda, his terrible crime has backfired. This is in keeping with Caleb Carr's 2002 thesis that terrorism always fails in achieving its ultimate goal.


The GOP is also trying to spin the massacre, saying that the shooter has no apparent political credo. But it's not that simple.

You can't preserve tax cuts for the super rich in the face of 9-10% unemployment and expect no hard feelings.

You can't post a PAC website that puts targets on politicians' heads and not expect to influence crazies such as this guy.

You can't keep ratcheting up the political discourse to the point where people are just screaming and not expect this madness to spill over into actual violence.

You can't plunge American college students into debt, while for-profit colleges and universities pocket billions in federal loan money,then fail to have gainful employment for these students. This is exactly the sort of societal failure that led to many well-educated Middle Eastern men to turn to radical Islam.

You can't make guns available as they were toys and not expect that they won't someday be turned on you.

YOU CANNOT SHRUG OFF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY BY SAYING THIS KILLER WAS JUST ANOTHER NUT!