As Rep. Gabrielle Giffords continues to fight for her life, the role of political rhetoric in the Arizona shooting spree that left the Democrat gravely wounded and six people dead continues to rage on the left and right.  "Our new era of civility is off to a rocky start," wrote Rich Lowry in the conservative National Review.  Former House speaker Newt Gingrich condemned liberals during a Chicago radio who "cannot bring themselves to connect any kind of radical Islamist ideology." He went on in the interview on WLS-AM to criticize "people on the left have every possible incentive to never allow anyone to draw conclusions" who "suddenly say things that are just factually untrue."  On his radio show Monday, Rush Limbaugh blamed "the Democrat Party" and the news media for trying to connect alleged shooter Jared Loughner with the Tea Party and Sarah Palin -- and for suggesting such an association played a role in the rampage.  "Every association that any act of violence has been made with the conservative right has fallen on emptiness. There has never been any evidence of it," Limbaugh said.  One Democrat who is making the connection is former congressman Patrick Kennedy, who just retired from the House. Kennedy, whose uncles John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were killed by gunmen, told Politico that words have consequences.  "When Sarah Palin puts targets on people's districts? Or you have 10,000 signs on the mall during the health care battle saying 'Bury Obamacare with Kennedy?' When the vitriol and rhetoric is so violent, we have to connect consequences to that," Kennedy said.  Meanwhile, Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, a Democrat in office for 30 years, stood by his blunt comments about the political atmosphere in Arizona. He also singled out Limbaugh as "irresponsible" and as someone who "attacks people, angers them against the government" in an interview with ABC News.  USA TODAY's staff looks at Loughner, who has been charged in the shooting spree, with this 1A cover story. To read breaking news coverage of the Arizona shooting, please go to our On Deadline blog.  See photos of: Sarah Palin  To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor  . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to  . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to
Political rhetoric still heated after Giffords shooting  - On Politics: Covering the US Congress, Governors, and the 2012 Election - USATODAY.com