Once upon a time in America, a country with a two-party political system stretching back more than two hundred years, when people of one party learned that a respected member of the other party was ill, they put aside their political differences to express sympathy and extend good wishes.

On the Republican side of the aisle, that continues to be the case.  On the Democrat side, though, too many people no longer pretend to feel sympathy for the sick or the bereaved.

To these fanatic leftists, all conservatives are effectively Hitler.  This means that the only right and proper response to hearing bad news about a Republican is to celebrate.  And that, sadly, is how some Democrats and their NeverTrump fellow travelers are choosing to respond to the news about Rush Limbaugh's cancer diagnosis.

Reza Aslan is a well known religious scholar, as well as being a religious gadfly.  Raised as a Shia Muslim, he converted to evangelical Christianity, only to convert back to Islam, this time of the Sufi stripe.  You'd think that between his personal religious journey and his religious scholarship, he would have developed some sense of kindness, decency, and humility, but you'd be wrong.

The last time Reza Aslan made big headlines for being a cruel, mannerless person was when he saw the picture of Nick Sandmann smiling nervously as Nathan Phillips tried to intimidate him:

Just last month, Sandmann sued Aslan for that tweet.

Aslan has since learned his lesson.  Sadly, the lesson he learned isn't to be a kind, compassionate, decent human being.  Instead, he's learned to couch his cruelty and hatred in more discreet ways in order to avoid litigation.  So it was that he offered a philosophical question regarding Rush's illness rather than an outright incitement to violence:

Ask yourself this simple question: is the world a better place or a worse place with Rush Limbaugh in it?

— Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) February 3, 2020

Rick Wilson, the virulent NeverTrump who amused Don Lemon so much by ridiculing Trump voters as stupid rednecks, incapable of thought or knowledge, also learned his lesson from pushback against his last effort to denigrate Republicans.  This time, he ostentatiously said something mildly decent and then, in the same tweet, congratulated himself on being such a great guy:

I just heard the news that Rush Limbaugh has advanced lung cancer.

I’m going to show you how this should be done:

I wish Rush a speedy and complete recovery from his cancer.

Human being pro-tip: don’t wish cancer on *anyone*...even on your adversaries.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 3, 2020

Here's a hint, Rick: if you have to congratulate yourself for your compassion, you're doing it wrong.

And then there's this leftist charmer:

My dad's a republican who used to listen to Rush Limbaugh. When I'd be home, I'd ask him about it, what Rush was saying. And why. After a few years, my dad said, I started listening closer and you're right, he's a reactionary bigot who lies to sow hate. He never listened again.

— maura quint (@behindyourback) February 4, 2020

Nick Jack Pappas, who identifies himself as a "comedian," was decidedly unfunny when he posted this virulent tweet:

I'm so sorry for lung cancer, no one deserves Rush Limbaugh.

I wish him the best medical care he’s worked on denying to others.

— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) February 3, 2020

That same thought — that Rush deserves to suffer because he opposes socialized medicine — cropped up in other leftist tweets:

Not a matter of loving or hating, even in-between. Someone who strongly opposed the ACA, Medicare, Medicaid...

Having someone who now has a substantial medical condition, maybe it's time for Limbaugh to rethink.#RepublicansAreDisgustinghttps://t.co/jwnYgSjMtE

— Adam B. Bear (@democraticbear) February 4, 2020

To her credit, Tulsi Gabbard, although hard Left in her politics, sent out a graceful tweet:

To Rush Limbaugh: I and my family send our love and best wishes to you and your loved ones at this difficult moment in your life. May your hearts and minds be filled with and strengthened by God's love.

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) February 4, 2020

Likewise, Jonathan Meritt, who openly opposes Rush, had a good scold for those who celebrated Rush’s grim announcement:

I dislike most of Rush Limbaugh’s views or the way he articulates them, but I more dislike people who use the terrible misfortune of another human being as an occasion for celebration and cruelty. We *must* be better than this.

— Jonathan Merritt (@JonathanMerritt) February 4, 2020

One of the cool things about the Victorians was the fact that they had great, pithy expressions for so many things.  One of those was, "If you can't say anything good about someone, don't say anything at all."  That's a useless expression in the rough-and-tumble of ordinary political discourse, but it would have been a wise dictum for certain leftists to follow when sad news broke about someone whose mainstream politics they dislike.