And Now A Word From Dr. Rodgers


The Washington Post reports

The most senior Republican woman in Congress said that lawmakers can hold hearings and investigate the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut and “try to better understand exactly what happened,” but she would not say whether Congress should review the nation’s gun laws.

“I’m just devastated by what happened. It’s awful, and it’s so sad,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the incoming chairman of the House Republican Conference, which will make her the fourth-ranking member of her party’s caucus.

“We need to find out what happened and what drove this individual to this place,” she said when asked about a potential review of gun laws. “I think we have to be careful about new, suggesting new gun laws. We need to look at what drives a crazy person to do these kind of actions and make sure that we’re enforcing the laws that are currently on the books. And yes, definitely, we need to do everything possible to make sure that something like this never happens again.”

McMorris Rodgers spoke in an interview taped Friday for C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” program.

No, we wouldn't want to jump to conclusions.  We wouldn't want to assume anything about the assailant- including that he is "a crazy person."   Way to keep things in perspective, Ms. Rodgers, diagnosing an individual without meeting him, reading a case file, or perhaps without even knowing the individual's name.  Perhaps she can tell us about her vast experience as a psychiatrist or how the offender could as easily have used a knife to kill nearly 30 individuals.

When a politician says all that is needed is better enforcement, hold on to your wallets- it's a subtle way of abdicating responsibility, given that enforcement is not his or her responsibility.  In this case, it is the responsibility of law enforcement, and Rodgers is no more a police officer than she is a psychiatrist.

Reality can be so threatening when one of your Party's co-owners is the National Rifle Association.


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