REP. SCALISE SHOT. NOW WHAT?

I assume we have all heard of the shooting spree in which the House Whip,  Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in the hip and is in serious condition.  Yes, others were injured also.  The shooter seems to be a deranged follower of Bernie Sanders who has expressed his horror of the event  This shooting overshadows the murder of three white men in Fresno California at the same time, so maybe we are getting used to terrorism to a certain degree?*

After the shooting we have had a lot of politicians saying that we need to "tone down the political rhetoric."  There was Kumbaya the next day at the annual congressional baseball game, won by Democrats, who had the trophy put in Scalise's office as a show on unity.

Will this attitude stick?  Remember I am a lifelong pessimist and I fear I think it won't.  I'm not sure what can turn things around.  I remember Reagan being shot and his press secretary James Brady being turned into a vegetative state.  There too was a coming together for a short while.  I was sure that some meaningful gun control would result by Republicans from the injuries to their own (Republicans).  Yet, through an incredible effort, a temporary Brady Bill was passed requiring background checks for purchase of firearms, but it was rescinded by the Supreme court that ruled that requiring local law enforcement officials to pursue background checks is unconstitutional.  Most local police officers, however, voluntarily pursue background checks.**  In addition, gun shows and mail order were always exempt in the Brady Bill.

How did all this intemperate language in politics start.  I now believe it goes back to Newt Gingrich, in the early 1980s as suggested by conservative David Brooks and forward who even published a list of combative words to use (Included in the references are several articles in addition to lists of words to use.).***   Just a few words from Gingrich's list are betray, corrupt, and hypocrisy.

No matter who started it all, this is where we are today.  President Donald Trump used much violent language during the recent presidential campaign:  An example is:
There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell—  I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise. It won’t be so much ’cause the courts agree with us too.  http://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-supporters-clash-with-blacklivesmatter-protester-at-campaign-rally-2/
Of course, Trump loves to use belittling nicknames for people like "Crooked" Hillary" or "Little" Marko or insulting Ted Cruz's wife's appearance, among many others.

Though I am sure there are some liberals using pugnacious language, they are not common.  In fact I don't personally know one such person, though I have heard occasional liberals use the words, "Worse than the Nazis" against people saying temperate things about asbestos and other dangerous things.  I agree that is pretty bad.  Now even conservatives use the phrase, e.g. Sean Spicer saying even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons in contrast to Bashar Assad..

So we will see what happens.  Some day, some year a turnaround may happen.  It has happened before, e.g. Sen. Charles Sumner was beaten on the Senate floor to near death by Sen. Preston Brooks using a cane in 1856.****  Of course the Civil War came later as the polarisation in American politics increased.

* http://www.latimes.com/newsletters/la-me-ln-essential-california-20170419-story.html
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Handgun_Violence_Prevention_Act
*** http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4443.htm
 http://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/gingrich-language-set-new-course/O5bgK6lY2wQ3KwEZsYTBlO/
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/newt-gingrich-greatest-rhetorical-hits/2/
https://www.quora.com/Which-U-S-political-party-is-more-pugnacious-during-elections-Democrat-or-Republican
**** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner