Ex-Wife Alleges Planned Parenthood Shooter Had Targeted A Clinic Before

Fiorina, Cruz, Santorum–accessories to murder.

I don’t have any problem with someone being a lunatic. I do have a problem with that lunatic having unfettered access to firearms.

“The man suspected of gunning down three people…”

Oh for fuck’s sake, there isn’t a single particle of doubt that Dear in fact did murder those people. The case against him is not circumstantial. If TPM can’t even summon the courage to correctly identify Dear as THE MURDERER of three people instead of resorting to the weasel words “suspected of,” I don’t see why I should subsidize it by becoming a Prime member. What in God’s name is TPM afraid of—that correctly identifying Dear as the murderer in advance of the trial is going to make FoxNews angry? That Dear is going to file a lawsuit for defamation? That Hugh Hewitt will write a mean column about TPM?

Jesus Fricking Christ. This is a perfect example of the old saw that a liberal is somebody too broadminded to take their own side in an argument.

• I’ve just signed up for a year’s Prime membership. I know where Josh and his staff stand on the larger issues, and that’s much more important than my deep irritation over this particular thing.

To continue my point: it was just a few days ago that Josh himself wrote these words (bold face mine):

"Everything I mentioned yesterday in this post (“Malign Hesitation”) seems only more relevant today. Colorado Springs police continue to refuse any comment on the possible motives behind the Planned Parenthood massacre over the weekend. For probative evidence, we know that he attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic, an organization which is a potent and pervasive symbol of the abortion rights debate across the country. We also have police sources telling journalists that Dear ranted about “no more baby parts” after being taken into custody. Absent some dramatic, game-changing new details, it’s very difficult to imagine this wasn’t what it looks like: a domestic terror attack targeting abortion rights - both a specific facility and to terrorize people trying to exercise these rights.

“Caution in the light of factual uncertainty is almost always a laudable stance for journalists and public officials. But from the beginning of yesterday’s attack on the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs there’s been an odd reluctance to state what appears to be obvious: that the attacker, now identified as 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear, was motivated by extremist anti-abortion politics. The Denver Post headline states “Planned Parenthood shootings increasingly seem politically motivated” - and this after numerous accounts state that Dear was ranting about “no more baby parts” after his arrest, almost certainly a reference to the incitement earlier this fall over a doctored anti-Planned Parenthood sting video. Let’s remember, false claims and incitement about selling “body parts” were a staple of Fox News segments and tirades from Republican presidential candidates all through the fall.”

I completely agree with what I believe Josh’s main point is: the reluctance of the media to accurately label the nature of Dear’s actions is ridiculous and reprehensible. Josh was not saying that since a trial hasn’t occurred yet, we can’t know what Dear’s motivations were. He’s saying it’s goddamn obvious.

Why then would TPM itself be so reluctant to accurately label what Dear is?