How the Mind of Megan McArdle Doesn't Use Reason

Libertarian blogger Megan McArdle dismissed the fear of gun-wielding protesters at townhall meetings. They would never wish harm on President Barack Obama.

But the hysteria about them has been even more ludicrous. Numerous people claim to believe that this makes it likely, even certain, that someone will shoot at the president. This is very silly, because the president is not anywhere most of the gun-toting protesters, who have showed up at all sorts of events. It is, I suppose, more plausible to believe that they might take a shot at someone else. But not very plausible: the rate of crime associated with legal gun possession or carrying seems to be very low. Guns, it turn out, do not turn ordinary people into murderers. They make murderers more effective.

See how "silly" this is. It is not like guns have ever been used to murder presidents. Excluding presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy. The murders weapon in every assasination attempt was a gun. McArdle can dismiss those she disagrees with because her self-preceived intellectual superiority makes her better.

McArdle would look at news stories of gun-toting protester Chris Broughton wishing death to befall President Obama and dismiss them as "silly."

In an interview with ABC 15 outside the storefront Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Broughton said of Anderson's controversial August 16 "Why I Hate Barack Obama" sermon: "I concur, I think we'd be better off if God would send [Obama] where he's going now instead of later. [Obama] is destroying our country."

And when a reporter followed up with, "you're not advocating violence against the president?" Broughton, who has previously said his weapons are for defense, says "I'm not going to answer that question directly."

Broughton would not give a straight forward answer to if violence should be used against Obama. This isn't "silly." We are talking about mentally unbalanced radicals bringing guns to townhall meetings because state legislatures caved in the the NRA. McArdle is a media blogger whom dismisses dangers against the President. The Atlantic Monthly will eventually fire McArdle. It is just a question of how many embarrassing posts they can stomach.