Hands, but is also on ours.
In Palin's version of events, her controversial actions represented
common cause with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who a few days
before being critically wounded in the mass shooting had read the
First Amendment on the House floor.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own," Palin said in the
statement. "They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not
collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who
listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both
sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully
exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with
those who proudly voted in the last election."
Palin's statement contained an instance of provocative religious
imagery that might be missed by more secular voters who read her
statement, but which likely will be recognized by the religious
conservatives who constitute such an important part of her following.
Within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should
not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very
hatred and violence they purport to condemn," she wrote. "That is
reprehensible."
"Blood libel" is a phrase that refers to a centuries-old anti-Semitic
slander - the false charge that Jews use the blood of Christian
children for rituals - that has been used as an excuse for
persecution. The phrase was first used in connection with response to
the Arizona shootings in an opinion piece in Monday's Wall Street
Journal and has been picked up by others on the right.
Palin's defensiveness was apparent in the indirect reference to
criticism of a map on Palin's Web site during the midterm elections
that showed districts of congressional Democrats she had targeted for
defeat marked with crosshairs.
Giffords, whose district was one of those 20, had publicly complained
that this was an invitation to violence.
Palin's statement comes as President Obama is headed to Tucson to
speak at a service for the victims, and guarantees that her
perspective will be part of the storyline of the day.
In its careful timing and deliberate language, it also represents a
departure from her previous attention-getting Facebook posts and
tweets, many of which were reflexive spasms to even small criticisms.
On Thanksgiving, for instance, as most of the nation was still
sleepily digesting turkey dinners, she issued an angry blast at Obama
and the media, recalling a gaffe the president made during the 2008
campaign. It was an apparent reaction to the fact that she herself had
been ridiculed for a slip of the tongue in which she referred to North
Korea as South Korea.
"The one-word slip occurred yesterday during one of my seven
back-to-back interviews wherein I was privileged to speak to the
American public about the important, world-changing issues before us,"
Palin wrote. "If the media had bothered to actually listen to all of
my remarks on Glenn Beck's radio show, they would have noticed that I
refer to South Korea as our ally throughout, that I corrected myself
seconds after my slip-of-the-tongue, and that I made it abundantly
clear that pressure should be put on China to restrict energy exports
to the North Korean regime."
Those kinds of outbursts could be fatal in a presidential campaign,
and stand as a stark contrast to the statement that Palin released
Wednesday.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/12/AR2011011202145.html?hpid=topnews
Is Sarah Palin to Blame for the Tucson Shootings or Are We All?
The Washington Post and numerous other news agencies are discussing a
potential connection between a graphic released by Sarah Palin's Take
Back the 20 campaign and the Jan. 8 shooting of Arizona
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords is in intensive care as a result of
Jared Loughner's one-man rampage that left six people dead and 14
injured. The graphic in question was used in the 2010 midterm
elections. It featured 20 crosshairs with each set meant to denote a
seat up for re-election that was held by representatives who voted for
health care reform. Crosshairs covered Giffords' district.
Almost immediately after the shooting, the media picked up the story
of Palin's map and it targeting Giffords' congressional seat. At
first, Palin did not address this part of the developing story in
Tucson and instead extended condolences to Giffords' family and the
families of the other victims via her Facebook page on Saturday
afternoon, according to TMZ.
However, members of Palin's political action committee did offer
commentary by suggesting that the markings were denoting a map
location. But when messages were released by Palin promoting the
graphic, she used the words "Don't Retreat -- Instead RELOAD."
A map is not reloaded. A gun is reloaded.
Because of this graphic and the word choices that followed its issue,
are Palin and the tea party movement somehow responsible for the
shooting of Giffords and innocent bystanders at her public meeting in
Tucson?
The answer is "Yes." They are responsible. But they are only
responsible to the extent that every American who engages in partisan
politics is responsible. The level of American political discourse has
trickled down from a creation point of heated debate with an air of
respect to a cesspool of rhetoric best encapsulated in the phrase "You
are either for us, or you are against us."
More:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6207326/is_sarah_palin_to_blame_for_the_tucson.html
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
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