US / Tucson, Arizona Most Americans Say Politics Played No Role in Shooting Nearly 6 in 10 don't blame rhetoric, says CBS poll By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Jan 11, 2011 5:39 PM CST Copied In this Jan. 5, 2011 file photo, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., takes part in a reenactment of her swearing-in, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Pundits aside, most Americans don't actually think the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was caused by inflammatory political rhetoric, CBS News reports. Of 673 people polled on the issue, 57% said political discourse had nothing to do with the shooting, while 32% said it did. In a reflection of the opinion war being waged between liberal and conservative political figures, fewer Republicans (19%) felt the shooting was related to rhetoric than did Democrats (42%). Report an error