On Wednesday’s “Hardball,” Joan Walsh of Salon.com said conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin and Bill O’Reilly are “whipping up” an environment that produces people like Holocaust Museum shooter James Von Brunn.

Walsh explained: “I don’t think you can deny that there is a rising climate of right-wing hate, a lot of it directed at Obama. There is a very disturbing and disturbed element of political discourse. And I would, I would throw in Rush Limbaugh. Not blaming him, but when you say that our President is more dangerous than al-Qaeda you’ve gone off into crazy nut job land. You are off the charts crazy. And you are, you are whipping people up.” She blames Limbaugh, but then says she’s not blaming him at the same time.

I don’t recall Walsh or Matthews ever discussing left-wing hate, or a “rising climate” of left-wing hate during the Bush years. Walsh makes absolutely no sense, as everything she brings up has nothing whatsoever to do with the shooting. Obama is not Jewish and was not at the museum. And when has Limbaugh ever said anything against the Jews?

The tacit suggestion is that conservatives like Limbaugh are somehow anti-Semitic, but it is American conservatives who are the strongest supporters and defenders of Israel. Liberals are the ones who accuse Israel of atrocities while largely turning a blind eye to Islamists. It is liberal Democrats like Rev. Wright and Rev. Al Sharpton who blame and accuse “the Jews” for any number of conspiratorial schemes. James Moran (D, Virginia) said in 2003 that “the leaders of the Jewish community” sent the country to war in Iraq. Cynthia McKinney (former Democrat and U.S. Representative from Georgia)  repeatedly blamed the “Jews” for her faltering in the polls and for her eventual defeat. In 2002, the Alabama Democratic congressional incumbent Earl Hilliard attacked his challenger in a flier that read: “Davis and the Jews, No Good for the Black Belt.” One could find many more examples, but you get the idea.

“Hardball” host Chris Matthews pondered whether access to guns was to blame: “It’s easier to get your hands on a gun than to get somebody to make you a waffle.” I don’t remember there being government forms, a background check and a waiting period to get a waffle. Matthews must be getting his breakfasts at a government restaurant.

Matthews then asked the question: “I wonder whether if in a free society violence is always gonna be part of it, if guns are available and people are allowed to walk into places like the Holocaust Museum?” First of all no one “allowed” the shooter to walk in with a gun, he clearly broke the law. Second, yes, violence is always going to be a part of any society. Does Mr. Matthews know of a non-free society with no violence?

Aside from the usual bias and lunacy expected from the likes of liberal mainstream media talking heads, there is actually some truth to the idea that the political left is more dangerous than Islamic terrorists. If you stop to think about it, terrorists can cause relatively isolated death and destruction (unless they get their hands on a nuke). While terrorist acts are tragic, it cannot fundamentally change the country as a whole. America will still be the most free and most prosperous nation on earth. But what can Obama and a Democrat controlled Congress do? With particularly bad politicians (and judges) in power, the country can be damaged in an even more devastating way - by changing who we are as a nation - something terrorists can only dream of doing. Terrorists cannot destroy our values, take away cherished rights, or convert America into a European-like socialist nation. For those things to happen, it takes homegrown corrupt politicians. So in a very meaningful sense, Obama and his ilk are more dangerous to this country’s future and prosperity. Destroying America’s founding principles and values can only be done from within.