Michelle Malkin » About the Pentagon shooter; Update: Stop playing games, MSM. John Patrick Bedell was a registered Democrat

About the Pentagon shooter; Update: Stop playing games, MSM. John Patrick Bedell was a registered Democrat

By Michelle Malkin • March 5, 2010 10:14 AM

Scroll down for update debunking MSM “right-wing” spin…

A nutball shot two security guards at a Pentagon-area Metro station in D.C. yesterday.

As Patterico reports, he hated Bush and littered the Internet with 9/11 Truther rants.

But just as I passed on playing the blame game with the global warmicides earlier this week, I’m not playing MSNBC/NYTimes-style “gotcha” with this one, either.

I’m with Zombie:

Now, just for a moment, let’s set aside the false guilt-by-association game everyone’s always playing. We all know that John Patrick Bedell and Joseph Stack are basically insane, plain and simple — as are any number of similar whackjobs who periodically go loco and erupt into violence. Violent psychopaths often incorporate some seemingly random overarching theme into their mindset, and on occasion that theme involves politics. Whenever someone like Bedell or Stack goes ballistic, every pundit jumps into the fray and tries to spin the outburst as “exemplifying” the political viewpoint of those with whom the pundit disagrees.

But that only rises to the level of a valid argument when a distinct pattern emerges. If, say, 5,000 suicide bombers in a row are invariably Islamic fundamentalists — well, OK, we’ve got a problem with the belief system, not just with the individuals. Yet I don’t see a pattern in these “going postal” violent outbursts which seem to happen perhaps three or four times per year, every year, no matter who’s in power or who’s president: it seems that the “philosophy” (if you can even call it that) of each of the attackers is unique, idiosyncratic and just plain illogical. Even so, if he starts shooting or killing when a Republican is president, he is deemed a left-wing psycho (see: Charles Manson); if he starts shooting or killing when a Democrat is president, he is deemed a right-wing psycho (see: Joseph Stack). But the truth is, paranoid people simply feel threatened by the external power structure in general, so they lash out at any symbol of authority, regardless of its political affiliation.

So, instead of playing the blame game so unapologetically employed by the Left when they feel they can spin things to their political advantage, I’m not going to say that Bedell’s actions at the Pentagon epitomize the leftist worldview. Rather, he was just crazy, as clearly indicated by his belief in the craziest of modern crazy conspiracy theories, 9/11 Truthism.

Are most Truthers leftists? Yes. But that doesn’t mean that all left-leaning Americans are thereby just as crazy as the most extreme among them; it simply indicates that when a leftist goes crazy in the post-9/11 era, he often gloms onto Truthism as his paranoia of choice.

Put it this way: Leftism fails as a coherent philosophy on its own terms. We shouldn’t try to wring significance from the delusional outburst of someone who just happened to be leftist. There are plenty of ways to logically disembowel Marxism and its numerous noxious contemporary offspring without having to resort to an unnecessary round of political “gotcha!”

***

The Blame the Tea Party push by the MSM begins (h/t allahpundit):

CSM: John Patrick Bedell: Did right-wing extremism lead to shooting?

The Associated Press piles on.

***

Update: www.Electorates.us has 180 million registered voter records available online (thanks to Anne Horrigan). Thirty-six-year-old John Patrick Bedell’s voter registration records in Hollister, CA are available for any journalist before he/she goes off and labels him a “right-wing extremist.”

Guess which party he registered under in 2005 and was actively registered under as of 2008?

DEMOCRAT.

EMID 15324137
STATESOURCE California
DATAACQUIRED 20080121
PrefixTitle MR
LASTNAME,FIRSTNAME,MIDDLENAME Bedell,John,Patrick
SOURCEIDVOTER 30048
DATEOFBIRTH 5/20/1973
PLACEOFBIRTH CA
REGDATE 20051006
GENDER M
PARTY Democrat
ACTIVECODE ACTIVE
STATUS
ResAddr1,ResAddr2,ResCity,ResState,ResZip 110 Georges Dr Hollister,CA
STATEHOUSE 28
STATESENATE 12
USCONGRESS 17
LASTDATEVOTED 20051108

Stop playing games, MSM.

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#102

On March 6th, 2010 at 7:27 am, swede said:

Nothing to see here, move along.

Turns out Mr Bidell suffered from Bipolar Disorder as well as Manic Depression. His family and friends had been trying to get him into treatment for years. In other words this had absolutely nothing to do with politics. People with these problems struggle to cope with the pressures of day to day living, leave alone worry about a political agenda.

Why do we get sucked into political discussions about people like Stack and Bidell? Conservatives claiming he was an unhinged leftie are as ludicrous as MSM calling him a right-wing extremist. This is a sad story about a cognitively and emotionally challenged individual who did not get the help they needed. Nothing more or less.
#104

On March 6th, 2010 at 8:08 am, Danceswithdachshunds said:

swede said: Conservatives claiming he was an unhinged leftie are as ludicrous as MSM calling him a right-wing extremist.

No they are certainly NOT ludicrous when the ‘claim’, (it isn’t some unproven ‘claim’ it is simply the truth!), is made in REACTION to the claim made by leftist lame stream leftist media, (we’re talking AP and CS Monitor not huffpo’s). If they had not broached the LIE in the first place, very little of this nut case’s political affiliation would likely have been mentioned in these circles…but we’ll never know now will we?

Lying has become the stock and trade of leftist ‘journalism’. Is their lie here any different than when they lied about Trig Palin being Bristol Palin’s child? Same thing – BE QUICK TO LAUNCH THE LIE – then sit back and deny responsibility for saying it. Despite totally debunking the LIE about Trig – it lives on and so will this one.

Lies are what leftists are all about; it is what commies are all about. Back in the 50′s I didn’t know there was any difference between the word ‘commie’ and ‘liar’!
#105

On March 6th, 2010 at 10:05 am, Flyoverman said:

On March 6th, 2010 at 7:27 am, swede said:

Nothing to see here, move along.

Dead on, Swede. This is a sick person; nothing more. They are disturbed, because they are. Politics from either direction did not make them do what they do. It is merely an excuse they latch on to.

I agree with on the waste of time it is to discuss these people in a political sense. Further, I think we need to pick and choose how we spend our time on this site. For example, I fail to see how spending any time discussing Michelle Obama or her appointmens secretary accomplishes anything.

They are not going to swing the next election so why spend time on them? We need focus, we need to address the high value issues and key people. Just my opinion.
#107

On March 6th, 2010 at 10:26 am, cabrerski said:

I was reading the early reports of the shooting via the ASSociated Press. Apparently, the shooter walked up to the cops and pulled a gun out and started shooting. The cops returned fire with semi-automatic weapons.

The shooter had two 9mm semi-automatic pistols and the cops had .40cal semi-automatic pistols. Somehow it was important to the authors of the early AP reports to emphasize the cops had scary and evil semi-automatic weapons while the poor misunderstood perp/victim only had a gun.

Good thing the perp/vic didn’t run over the cops with a SUV or Ford would have been called out by the AP that they built an evil vehicle that now runs over law enforcement officer when left to its own devices.
#108

On March 6th, 2010 at 10:41 am, babiesgrandma said:

RedDog said: Tragic, but this is what happens with weak indoctrinated minds incapable of original or independent thought.

I was gone from a computer all day yesterday (Yay for me!) but wanted to catch up with MM. RedDog, this is soooooooo true of indoctrinated minds.

As I listen to conservative talk shows, I can hear what the results are of public-skool brain-washing are — no cognitive skills, unable to argue intelligently, and ending their side of the argument with “Yur so stoopid”. Yeah, that is what we have now.
#109

On March 6th, 2010 at 11:29 am, Speakup said:

Postal is passe’, now its, going Demo.

If the nutcase shoe fits, let them wear it.
#110

On March 6th, 2010 at 12:00 pm, publiuswarmac9999 said:

There was a time that the Christian Science Monitor produced very thoughtful and compelling news reporting and analysis. I was personally shocked at the allegation made by the CSM story that Bedell was a right-wing extremist and I sent the writer of the story an e-mail condemning his lack of professionalism and misuse of easily obtainable facts. We who post here know that violence has come from the left for decades and this CSM story is nothing but Bostonian tripe from another newspaper that has bitten the dust in the hands of liberals.
#111

On March 6th, 2010 at 12:05 pm, publiuswarmac9999 said:

I do not like having to react to the lies from the left, but they do have to be refuted otherwise they become part of a pattern where some liberal analyst will quote from someone else or summarize a bunch of stories into a study – like the global warming advocates did to make their study more credible. Unfortunately, even a little lie snowballs and becomes real.
#113

On March 6th, 2010 at 12:34 pm, swede said:

Danceswithdachshunds said:
No they are certainly NOT ludicrous when the ‘claim’, (it isn’t some unproven ‘claim’ it is simply the truth!), is made in REACTION to the claim made by leftist lame stream leftist media, (we’re talking AP and CS Monitor not huffpo’s). If they had not broached the LIE in the first place, very little of this nut case’s political affiliation would likely have been mentioned in these circles…but we’ll never know now will we?

I agree that Michelle’s post and subsequent thread is in reaction to the wearying meme from MSM that virtually any violently unhinged whackos are right wing radicals, and MM and folks here are correct to call them on that nonsense and hold them accountable.

IMHO, going beyond that and pinning a Leftnut lable on him is another issue. I have worked with people with the same bipolar and manic depressive disorders Bidell suffered. They are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, leading to extreme emotional and cognitive difficulties – and criminal acting out with violence is common. Most often it is hereditary, but it can also be caused by drug abuse or physical and/or psychological trauma. The only political connection seems to be he was registered Democrat, but didn’t belong to any activist groups, didn’t rant about Bush or neo-cons – didn’t even vote since ’05. (Arguably the most polarized elections of a generation)

As Flyman suggests, with Stack and Bidell any polital agenda in their thinking is superfluous to a much deeper underlying problem. And none of this advances the critical dialog of the day we ought to be focussed on.
#114

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:08 pm, Bogtrotter said:

I have been very amused this morning looking at comment posted at Huffpo and others. They are dancing around the matter of his voter registration. Typical lines like “He thought himself a libertarian….Like Beck” to which some wag would respond “He was a 911 Truther…Like Van Jones” Others will use his mental problems to schreech about the lack of services for the mentally ill. They go silent when it is revealed he lived with mommy and daddy in a gated golf course community.And paying for care was not an issue for him. I do not expect the MSM to jump on his registered democrat status however, it does not fit their agenda.
#116

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:21 pm, Flyoverman said:

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:08 pm, Bogtrotter said:

I have been very amused this morning looking at comment posted at Huffpo and others. They are dancing around the matter of his voter registration.

I am convinced that at this point in our country’s history, groups like the Huffpo could politicize a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It is truly amazing.
#117

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:24 pm, Danceswithdachshunds said:

I agree that Bedell’s political compass is irrelevant. My anger is directed only at the lame lying leftist state run media, not at Bedell and certainly not his family who sincerely appeared to try to avert disaster.

MSM are the ones who will falsely insert political affliation into a story whenever it conveniently suits their agenda. They’re the ones who insert race or gender or income or age or whatever they think they can get away with in order to polarize people.

I view the ‘left-right’ political spectrum perhaps a little differently than most because I envision us standing on a sphere not a flat plane.

Conservatives who believe that a limited government is the best government and that our God given Liberty is supposed to be protected by the Constitution – stand smack on the top at the middle – the most stable position. The further you stand away from there in either direction you eventually reach a point where you cannot hold on anymore and you fall OFF! The nut cases are the ones who fall off. They are therefore no longer standing anywhere politically no matter which side they fell from and discover that they are all in the same pile.

An example of a pile that fell off are the so called ‘truthers’ – they came from both sides.
#119

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:44 pm, cabrerski said:

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:24 pm, Danceswithdachshunds said:
I view the ‘left-right’ political spectrum perhaps a little differently than most because I envision us standing on a sphere not a flat plane.

So very true…and on the other side of the sphere, 180 degrees away, stand the fascists. I believe those whos stray too far to either to the left or the right will find themselves abusing government powers to ensure their “vision” is carried out.
#122

On March 6th, 2010 at 3:15 pm, graysonret said:

Facism is left-wing. Their ideas of government are pretty much socialism too; hence, national socialism party. Instead of government owned businesses, they allow private business, controlled by the government, like our government motors. Socialists didn’t want to be identified with the nazis, especially the Soviets, so it became “right wing”.
#123

On March 6th, 2010 at 4:22 pm, joeblough said:

.
Without getting very theoretical about this, nearly all the actual politically related violence in the US is performed by people on the left, and the people with whom they sympathize.

It’s not a perfect monopoly. But it’s close enough to be meaningful.

And they should have their noses rubbed in that fact at every possible opportunity.
#125

On March 6th, 2010 at 4:33 pm, Dimsdale said:

The latest lame CYA from the CSM:

UPDATE Saturday, March 6: As more information emerges about Mr. Bedell, the less it appears that any coherent ideology was behind his actions, except that he was deeply antigovernment.

I guess an implied “incoherent ideology” is that of the Democrats…
#126

On March 6th, 2010 at 4:36 pm, Dimsdale said:

A check of AP shows no realization that Bedell was a Democrat in good standing…
#128

On March 6th, 2010 at 5:28 pm, swede said:

Danceswithdachshunds said:

Great post. The sphere analogy is dead on. The point I was trying to make is that the MSM trying to paint these guys as right wing radicals gets me royally ticked off too. And I like to believe we are on a higher plane than that swill, and shouldn’t be trying to paint people like Stack and Bidell as leftnut radicals – which IMO makes us look as shallow as them. As I suspected, we are on the same page.
#129

On March 6th, 2010 at 6:32 pm, swede said:

Flyoverman said:

I am convinced that at this point in our country’s history, groups like the Huffpo could politicize a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Personally, I consider a PBJ to be a conservative delacacy, but the key is in the method of assembly. Some put the peanut butter on one slice and jelly on the other, then mate the two. This is a liberal/progressive method resulting in a socialist sandwich.

A conservative spreads the jelly on top of the peanut butter, then applies the top slice. The results may look and taste the same, but the latter is clearly more conservative.
#130

On March 6th, 2010 at 6:47 pm, graysonret said:

The results may look and taste the same, but the latter is clearly more conservative.

You must make sure that you add equal amounts of peanut butter to jelly. Bread must be inspected so that neither one has an advantage over the other, such as a small hole, or 1 slice is a millimeter bigger than the other. And, finally, both must be a premium brand, or a discount/store brand. Applying a premium brand to a discount brand is “racist”.
#133

On March 6th, 2010 at 7:32 pm, swede said:

You must make sure that you add equal amounts of peanut butter to jelly.

grey, I beg to differ, but this is a RINO principle. Since the peanut butter is your protein source, copious ammounts are required. Trying to bring the jelly mass to match that of the peanut butter will result in an excessively oozy jelly situation inevitably leading to shirt stains analogous to AGW, amnesty or fiscal irresponsibility in the GOP.

Responsible restraint in jelly/jam application is clearly called for.
#134

On March 6th, 2010 at 7:39 pm, graysonret said:

Swede, as you know, consequences are never considered when it comes to equality. If you continue to put more peanut butter vs jelly on your sandwich, the jelly may have to be “bussed” to the other slice of bread.
#136

On March 6th, 2010 at 7:55 pm, swede said:

gray, I think your equality principle sounds a lot like moral equivalence, but OK. If you want to plant your flag here, you will have to decrease the ammount of peanut butter to achieve the fiscally responsible level of jelly required. If you figure protein deficiency to be acceptable, fine. So be it.
#139

On March 7th, 2010 at 12:10 am, cabrerski said:

PBJ…sorry, but here is where I show my anarchist side. The peanut butter must be chunky and you have to slap it down on both slices of bread. A incongruous swipe of the knife may or may not spread it out but there is no time to evaluate. The jelly (preferrably preserves but never jam)is placed in the middle then both sides are placed together then rolled like a burrito or a jelly roll…

(tune of “If you’re happy and you know it”)

Oh, I wish I was a juicy jelly roll.
Oh, I wish I was a juicy jelly roll.
When you squeeze me,
I would squirty onto everybody’s shirty.
Oh, I wish I was a juicy jelly roll.

Ok, maybe not my anarchist side, but definitely my immature side…come to think of it, most anachrists are just immature.
#140

On March 7th, 2010 at 1:14 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

On March 6th, 2010 at 1:24 pm, Danceswithdachshunds said:

An example of a pile that fell off are the so called ‘truthers’ – they came from both sides.

Isn’t the very basis of any trial in our judicial system the seeking of
“the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”?

Yes, it is.

So I’ve always had an issue with people mocking those who seek the truth.

Now, the people who claim “fire can’t melt steel” aren’t really seeking the whole truth, because fire most certainly can weaken steel to the point where a structure collapses.

So, I don’t refer to those people as “truthers”, but rather as victims of BDS.

No one here has ever called me a “truther”, but I have been someone who has sought “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” about the 9/11 attacks. And, once again, I challenge anyone to disprove even a single one of the Truth statements here.

We know that the left frequently uses projection (projecting their own faults on Republicans). And we also know that the best defense is a good offense. Now ask youself what is the best defense for a Democrat with something to hide? Easy – use projection and claim that the Republicans have something to hide.

The Republicans take the bait, and focus on defending themselves and disparaging anyone who seeks more information about 9/11. It never occurs to them that the accusations of cover-up may actually be true on the other side of the aisle…

Who was it that stole documents from the National Archives and destroyed them? Was it someone from the Bush administration? No. It was the National Security Advisor from the prior (Democratic) administration.
#141

On March 7th, 2010 at 9:21 am, swede said:

cabrerski said:
The peanut butter must be chunky and you have to slap it down on both slices of bread. A incongruous swipe of the knife may or may not spread it out but there is no time to evaluate. The jelly (preferrably preserves but never jam)is placed in the middle then both sides are placed together then rolled like a burrito or a jelly roll…

Now, this is the sort of thing that brings on the MSM and HufPo allegations of right wing extremism. While I also prefer chunky PB, smooth PB is not a compromise per se, and there is enough room in the tent for both groups.

As for applying the PB to both slices with jelly in the middle, (btw, jam consumers should not be ostracized) you have crossed the line here. By its very definition such a sandwich would no longer be a PBJ, but a PBJPB. Have you lost your mind?

And rolling the whole thing into a “jelly roll” breaches the norms of civilized behavior. But sounds llike fun. Might try it today.

GOP should use the “Juicy Jelly Roll” ditty as their campaign song.
#144

On March 7th, 2010 at 12:04 pm, happy2behere said:

The socialist would take your most of your PBJ because he knows better than you. Then he would redistribute the rest of your sandwhich to people who did not earn it.
#145

On March 7th, 2010 at 12:11 pm, graysonret said:

The peanut butter must be chunky

You may hear from the NAAJP (Nat’l Assoc. for the advancement of jelly people), wanting “affirmative action” for jelly, preserves, jam and other oppressed fruit products.
#146

On March 7th, 2010 at 12:41 pm, cabrerski said:

Man, I gotta have some PBJ now…

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1639351

Nothing like a little music to help the digestion
#147

On March 7th, 2010 at 2:25 pm, tonyr951 said:

GADAHN CAUGHT!!!!!!

LINK

Hell yeah!
#148

On March 7th, 2010 at 2:26 pm, tonyr951 said:

Little POS grew up near hear so I am a bit excited
#150

On March 7th, 2010 at 5:28 pm, happyscrapper said:

On March 7th, 2010 at 2:25 pm, tonyr951 said:
GADAHN CAUGHT!!!!!!

LINK

Hell yeah!

If that turns out to be true, I hope they put a bag over his head, lean him against a wall and shoot him. If he isn’t the perfect example of a traitor, there isn’t one. I spit on him (and throw my best pair of spiked heels at him).
#151

On March 7th, 2010 at 6:13 pm, graysonret said:

If he comes to the U.S., be prepared for this “touchy-feely” adminstration to want to try him in NYC, and make it a show trial…to “show the world our system of justice works”, bombs in the streets included.
#153

On March 7th, 2010 at 9:30 pm, cousin vinnie said:

“An example of a pile that fell off are the so called ‘truthers’ – they came from both sides.”

Maybe. But they are treated differently by the left and right. Establishment leaders on the right view them as loons. Establishment leaders on the left appoint them to be czars of big government programs.
#155

On March 9th, 2010 at 12:50 pm, Politicalguano said:

Actually these type of crimes do having everything to do with the liberal loony left. Who do you think passed all the laws and legislates from the bench to allow nut cases run around refusing to take medication and acting violently. Have you ever tried to have someone like this committed? It is nearly impossible and then as soon as the nut case can learn to say “No” when asked if he intends to harm himself or anyone else imminently, then out he goes onto the street. The leftists insist it is the nutcase’s right to refuse medication that makes them more sane and safer to others. Kind of like the TSA regulations which refuse to target young Islamic males named “Mo” with one way tickets. After all that would be “profiling.” Liberals like to “profile” conservatives but then the libs think they are above the law – like paying taxes!