Does Tiller murder presage a surge in right-wing domestic terrorism?

Here’s part of Planned Parenthood’s statement on Tiller …

Dr. Tiller was the epitome of high quality medical care underscored by deep compassion for his patients. He provided critical reproductive health care services, including abortion services to women facing some of the most difficult medical circumstances. He was continually harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career – his clinic was burned down, he was shot by a health center protestor, and he was recently targeted for investigation only to be acquitted by a jury just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with compassionate care that others were unwilling to offer.

Anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry responds to Tiller murder …

George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder. Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.

In other words, the only problem is that Tiller didn’t have time to repent before assassination.

from the Colorado Independent …

Hours after the Sunday morning shooting death of late-term abortion doctor George Tiller in Wichita, Kan., a Boulder physician — who says he could be the only doctor in the world still performing the procedure — said Tiller’s assassination was the “absolutely inevitable consequence” of decades of anti-abortion fanaticism.

Read the rest of the article here.

Statement from Attorney General Holder …

“The murder of Doctor George Tiller is an abhorrent act of violence, and his family is in our thoughts and prayers at this tragic moment. Federal law enforcement is coordinating with local law enforcement officials in Kansas on the investigation of this crime, and I have directed the United States Marshals Service to offer protection to other appropriate people and facilities around the nation. The Department of Justice will work to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice. As a precautionary measure, we will also take appropriate steps to help prevent any related acts of violence from occurring.”

The AP has now reported the name of the man in custody on suspicion of murdering George Tiller: 51 year old Scott Roeder. Hunter at Dailykos and others have done some initial googling. And it seems there’s a good deal of information already out there about Roeder’s past — sort of a all purpose rightwing nut. “Sovereign citizen”, tax protester, longtime Operation Rescue guy, did an earlier stint in the slammer for having bomb components in his car trunk.

From TPM Reader AB …

I’ve read alot about Dr. Tiller having been the focus of the Operation Rescue terror operations in the ’90s.

However, I’d bet good money that the proximate trigger for this asassination was the right-wing publicity over Tiller as a benefactor of HHS Head Kathleen Sebelius when she was Governor of Kansas.

That was the “hot button” that the right wing anti-choice crowd pressed. And this is the result.

Google “tiller + sebelius” and you’ll see what I mean.

I did. You can do the search by clicking here. Pretty interesting stuff.

One thing I confess I’d totally missed was that questions about donations from Tiller, his wife and affiliated groups were a major issue pressed by Republicans during Sebelius’s confirmation hearings.

An Air France flight from Rio to Paris with 228 people on board has vanished from radar 186 miles off the coast of Brazil.

Late Update: The plane was likely maybe brought down by lightning, Air France says.

Later Update: Subsequent reports have softened the comments of the Air France official. Lightning merely a possibility.

Oral arguments before the Minnesota Supreme Court this morning on Norm Coleman’s appeal of his loss in the Minnesota Senate trial. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

You know the Republican opposition machine has reached a bizarre place when the serious question of the day is whether prominent GOP mouthpieces should continue to call Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor a racist. In today’s Sunday Show Roundup we see who takes the bait and who has the gall to actually push back against the racism label …

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

What to expect today at the Minnesota Supreme Court.