Chuck Grassley, hypocrisy, and reexamination

Ugh! I am playing the waiting game with potential sources for an article that is due Monday. I hate it. All I need is one interview to calm my nerves — but noooo. Nobody is responding. I cannot do anything about it, so why worry? The deadline, that’s why. (In fact, I am working on two articles and am waiting on sources for both. Unbelievable. If I do not get anything by Thursday I will need to pull something out of my ass.) Time to sit down, watch the Cubs blow another lead, and write a quick post or two.

I saw this WaPo opinion by Greg Sargent and thought it raised an interesting and thought-provoking point because I am not a fan of hypocrisy.

The fact the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects were immigrants has been injected into the ongoing debate on immigration reform. The Democrats have urged “restraint in that regard,” as Patrick Leahy put it. However, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley had this to say in response:

“When you proposed gun legislation, we did not accuse you of using the Newtown killings as an excuse,” Grassley said. “I think we’re taking advantage of an opportunity when once in 25 years we deal with immigration to make sure every base is covered.”

As Sargent points out, Grassley said this in his opening statement at the Committee Hearing on the Causes of Gun Violence on January 30:

Although Newtown and Tucson are terrible tragedies, the deaths in Newtown should not be used to put forward every gun control measure that has been floating around for years.

Hmmm… The tables have turned as tragic events have thrown hot button issues into the limelight. Sarget rightfully targets the hypocrisy of Grassley and his fellow Republicans. (I have decided not to use my usual term “blue/red Republicrats” for the sake of variety.) However, he fails to mention that the Democrats are just as guilty of turning a 180; this time, they are the ones urging “restraint” in using tragedy to bolster a political argument.

But should a link be made between the bombing suspects and immigration reform? I am not sure. Also thought-provoking, though, is what Grassley said next in his January 30 statement:

The problem is greater than guns alone.

Any serious discussion of the causes of gun violence must include a complete reexamination of mental health as it relates to mass shootings.

Society as a whole has changed, too.

If Grassley encourages a reexamination of American mental health, what should we reexamine in light of the motives behind the Boston Marathon bombing? Hmmm…