Republican senator Lamar Alexander has already cranked up the Republican spin machine. In an interview on CNN, Candy Crowley asked Alexander about Sarah Palin's map targeting Democrats with crosshairs.

Alexander's response: "Well, I think the way to get away from it is for you not to be talking about it."

Notice that Alexander doesn't deny the crosshair/target image. He just takes the standard Republican reaction to anything negative about Republicans that all you need to do is to just ignore it and it'll be as if it didn't happen. He wants to "get away from it" as quickly as possible.

Just as Dana Perino pretends that 9/11 didn't happen by saying that there were no terrorists attacks on the US during George Bush's administration.

The next stage in Republican spin will come from the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Here's a general overview of what they'll be saying about it.

Jared Lee Loughner, the suspected shooter, will be portrayed as a left-wing, liberal nut, and the whole thing is the fault of the left-wing liberals. Judge John Roll, an honorable man whose death is a tragedy, will become a Republican martyr while Democrat Giffords will have to be ignored because, well, she's just a Democrat.

And, the Giffords shooting will, somehow or other be twisted, distorted and spun until it becomes her own fault for her left-wing, liberal extremist policies that incited a left-wing liberal extremist to shoot her. Never mind the obvious contradiction there, it'll just be ignored, as usual.

Then, she'll be dropped from the conversation as if she didn't exist. And hate monger Loughner who actually followed the incitements of his fellow hate mongers Palin, Beck and Limbaugh will turn into not such a bad guy after all. Even though he's suspected of shooting a Republican, he's also suspected of shooting a Democrat, too.

And, as usual, this shooting in Arizona will be spun into the best thing that has ever happened for Republicans.

Look for it. It's coming.