Conservative radio hosts, still reeling from the criticism of their incendiary style, took a stab at a more conciliatory approach.

Michael Savage

Michael Savage

"This is mellow Mike Savage, a whole new approach in light of the Arizona problem. We don't want to upset any of the ninnies in Congress, so we're going to do Mellow Mike on the Savage Nation. We don't want the Prozac congressmen to go get a double dose." [Listen to clip.]

But his mellow mood could not long withstand news that Republican Congressman Peter King is planning on introducing legislation billed as a "strict new gun control law" that would bar anyone from carrying a gun within 1,000ft of a federal official.

They may as well ban pens, papers, electronics, any kind of electronic device should be banned because, after all, an electronic device could transmit something perceived to be a threat to a congressman. I mean, what if you had an electronic device within 1000ft of representative Peter King of New York? Just think about it: it could be considered an attack device, a BlackBerry within 1000ft of a congressman could be considered an attack device. You could be plotting something.

I have to admit I'm not entirely sold on Congressman King's proposal, either. I mean, why are only federal officials to be afforded protection? I don't want any gun-toters within 1,000ft of me or anyone I know either. Anyway, needless to say, most of King's Republican colleagues, including Eric Cantor and speaker John Boehner – who recently wept on the House floor for the victims of the Arizona massacre (that might not have happened had such regulations been in place) – have already voiced their opposition to the legislation.

After venting at length on the above, Savage played some mellow jazz music to try to calm himself down, but his blood pressure soon rose again when a new slur on his reputation, this from Chris Matthews of MSNBC, is brought to his attention.

I see on Drudge, MSNBC loser Chris Matthews cites 'Michael Savage as reason for Arizona shooting.' If he actually said it, I'll sue him! That loudmouth fraud!

The temperature rises as he reads on.

'By the time they go to commercial, they are just in some rage every night with ugly talk. Ugly-sounding talk and it never changes,' Matthews said. Matthews, you've always been a Democrat hack. You've always been a loser. 'Every time you listen to them, they're furious.' Do I sound furious!?

Well, just a little, but we'll let it slide.

Savage presumes such attacks are merely attempts by lesser talents to silence more popular broadcasters like himself, and he then proposes a modified version of Congressman King's legislation to deal with the threat to conservatives from leftwing losers.

I personally think that a law should be passed in America prohibiting Chris Matthews from appearing within 1000ft of anyone who's superior in radio.

Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham also got the memo about toning down her rhetoric, and she decides to give it a try. (Listen to clip)

"You know I've decided what I'm going to do. What I think is really required of me as a radio talkshow host is to try to emulate the more mellifluous and understanding tones of let's say Chris Matthews, or maybe Ed Schultz, maybe Keith Olbermann. Men who are truly, truly at one with this new zen understanding that we're all, I think, inching towards. I'm not – I'm just going to tell you – I'm not quite there yet, I'm not quite there. But with your help and your encouragement, I will, I think, get there to that promised land of mushy-middle, milk-toast conversations."

And with this newfound conviction in being less inflammatory, she tries to win her audience over with calm and dulcet tones, albeit in a voice dripping more with irony than honey.

I would submit this to you: is our national conversation really advanced by our indicating that so-called Sheriff Clarence Dupnik looks like Karl Malden?

Her audience doesn't seem to respond well to the new Laura, but she perseveres and tries to explain to them that they must get used to a new, more compromised vision of America as the loser nation portrayed by the media elite.

It's time for compromise, people. It is time to compromise. I mean who … the idea of America as No 1, I mean that [she sighs anxiously] … I can feel my blood pressure going up. I feel the stress rising in me. America No 1? I mean, do we really? We had our time. We had that time.

She continues to struggle to keep her blood pressure down as she listens to the embattled Sarah Palin trying to defend herself against what she termed a "blood libel".

Well, with all due respect to Sarah Palin, I find that her tone is a bit strident. In the aftermath of this horrible, horrible shooting on Saturday, we don't need anymore strident language. I think what this all shows us is that maybe we're wrong. Maybe, ah … it's hard to do this; it's hard to talk to you in these terms – but maybe, we're just wrong. Maybe, this path of conservatism makes us unhappy as people. She sounded unhappy in that cut don't you think? She sounded, I guess, defensive. I don't think we should be defensive. I think we should be coming together.

Like her colleague Michael Savage, however, her new mellow persona dissolved upon hearing murmurs from the anti-gun lobby about stricter regulations. She took particular exception to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell's suggestion that if the Arizona shooter had not been able to purchase the magazine that enabled him to fire off 30 bullets without reloading, the death toll from Saturday's shooting would have been considerably lower.

Of course, Lawrence O'Donnell doesn't know the facts, as is usual, because even if you wanted to take what he said about 'well, he wouldn't have had this many bullets if the Republicans didn't have their way on legislation of guns and magazine capacity etc.' Violent crime declined as gun sales climbed in 2009. Violent crime continued to fall in 2009, even as the gun sales reached an all-time high, according to the statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation – from that very biased outfit, I guess, the FBI.

Those statistics may be reassuring to Laura Ingraham and other gun enthusiasts, but I doubt they are of much consolation to the families of the six people who were shot dead last Saturday, or the almost 10,000 Americans killed last year by gun violence.

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

"Straight-shooting", peace-loving Rush Limbaugh was not about to pay lip service to liberals who find his style and tone offensive – at least, not until they stop being hypocrites about his friend and Tea Party ally Sarah Palin. (Listen to clip; read transcript)

"So, there's Obama being praised to the heavens, Obama being exalted and held up as only Obama can be. The Messiah, the One, being praised for this wonderful healing speech last night by the same people who are exhibiting and announcing and proclaiming a vicious hate against Sarah Palin, who gave a perfectly fine speech that morning."

As far as Limbaugh was concerned, other than the bit about journalists and pundits not manufacturing "a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred they purport to condemn", Palin's speech was identical to Obama's in its call for a new era of coming together and forgiveness. The characterisation of Palin by liberals as a divisive figure attempting to profit in some way from the shootings was simply more than he could handle.

I mean, seriously, the left is mad that Sarah Palin is inserting herself into this. Now, Sarah Palin was, I don't know, maybe killing and dressing a moose on Saturday afternoon; incident happens; 30 minutes later, she's responsible for it. So, three days later, she does a video on Facebook, and they accuse her of inserting herself and trying to take over the story, to put herself in front of it. They dragged her into it! So, here's more of the Drive-by Media pointing a finger of blame and suspicion at Palin.

I mean, what rightminded conservative is going to pander to that?

• More from Sadhbh Walshe's The Right Word series