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Subscribe to RSSI syndicate columnist Tina Dupuy, who had this interesting observation on the Arizona shooting and Sarah Palin:
David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star
Last Saturday morning 20 people were shot in a Tucson Safeway parking lot by a 22-year-old who stated on YouTube he “won’t pay debt with a currency that’s not backed by gold and silver.” Fifteen minutes after the news broke, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin tweeted, “The price of gold today is at $1,368.90 an ounce.”
Coincidence?
Yes.
None of us want to live in a society where hyperbole, exaggeration, satire, bad taste and horrible timing are subjective. Stupidity is legal. So are bad jokes. Ditto for calls for revolution. As are declarations using violent imagery. Pornography, too.
So Sarah Palin has a right to display images on her sites SarahPAC, Facebook and TakeDownthe20.com. On those sites she had riflescope icons over the districts of Democratic congresspersons who voted in favor of health care reform. She stated in bold red letters: “We’ve diagnosed the problem. Help us prescribe the solution.”
David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star
In March, shortly after TakeDownthe20.com was launched, the window of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ Tucson office was shot out with a pellet gun. Giffords said in an interview, “The rhetoric and firing people up….we’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list. But the thing is that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district. And when people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that action.”
There were reports of Tea Party protesters outside her office with signs like, “It’s time to reload” and “One way or another, you’re gone.”
Why? Because people listened to Sarah Palin. They listened to her debunked baloney that reforming health care would kill your grandmother. According to Palin, Giffords was trying to kill everyone’s favorite elderly relative. Therefore, there was a target on her.
Joep Bertrams / The Netherlands
There is no evidence any of those people who listened to Palin shot the member of congress in the head with a semi-auto Glock. Besides being steeped in revolution, a cockeyed view of The Constitution and anti-government rhetoric, the shooter has no connection to Palin.
However, minutes after the former governor tweeted about gold, her website was scrubbed of the now infamous crosshairs graphic. It was gone. Then there was a note on her Facebook page: “On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.”
So in a moment of national peril – when a political “enemy” who was on a hit list had been “taken down” - the FIRST thing Palin does is act in her own interests?
In a word: yes.
This is the most cowardly thing I’ve ever witnessed. If you are going to say outrageous things, then you are going to have to stand by outrageous things.
AZ Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was targeted with cross-hairs by Sarah Palin's SarahPAC.
By law Palin has the right to hurl verbal grenades. But free speech doesn’t mean you’re not accountable for the things you say. It means the government can’t pass laws to make saying them a crime. It doesn’t mean you can beat the drum of rebellion, sell a couple books, delete a graphic, embrace the Bill of Rights and you are magically not a selfish weasel.
Sarah Palin has the courage to delete her convictions and saunter away whistling like nothing happened. All of it is legal. I agree, and I will fight for that: Sarah Palin has the right to be spineless.
Here’s the thing: Palin had an opportunity to have a “bullhorn moment.” She had the opportunity to rise to the occasion and prove all her critics wrong. She could have proven she truly is a leader. That she’s not just a capitalizing catty mean girl who can’t tell the difference between an opponent and an enemy. That she is worthy of all this presidential buzz and not just skating by on some mushy conservative platitudes and good looks. She could have come out strong and expressed regret for demonizing a member of Congress who was shot in the head with a 9mm.
But instead…she cowered. Pitiful.
To be clear, I’m not blaming Sarah Palin for 20 people being shot – six of them dying from their injuries. I’m blaming Sarah Palin for taking down her “take down” map sans comment. I’m not blaming her for throwing bombs. I am blaming her for not uttering remorse when they explode.
Palin wants her followers to “stand up?”
Her first.
Leave a Comment:
hear hear
Bravo! Brilliant article. You hit the nail right on the head.
Absolutely spot on!
This is just perfectly stated. Thank you.
Excellent article. You hit the nail right on the head. To Sarah Palin, heed your own words. Don't take down the graphic. "Don't retreat, reload". Show some courage and stand by your words you spineless weasel. People like her are going to try and distance themselves as far as they can. Didn't Michelle Bachmann say something to the effect as I want you armed and dangerous or armed and ready? How about the talk of 2nd amendment like remedies from Sharon Angle? Gangster Government? Death Panels? We came unarmed "this time" signs from some Tea Party protesters. The display of guns at political gatherings. No denouncement from some members of Congress on this kind of behavior. It's time for responsible people to end the hate and fear rhetoric and stop with "the other side does it too" defense. Just stop, PLEASE. It can only get worse. My thoughts and prayers for all of the victims and their families. I'm heartbroken that we can do something like this to one another. Shame on us for allowing this.
Sort of a sleazy attack with no sensitivity to the persons involved isn't it. The "Trophy" cartoon is absolutely repugnant, offensive and repulsive...you should take that one down or stand to be severely criticized for it. I received "targeted district" info and requests from democrats during the just past election phase. Your over-reaction to Palin's page and action is as insensitive and offensive as you blame Palin for being. Palin is not my personal favorite politician either, but I'm pretty certain that it was her staff who looked over her various sites and postings and elected to pull those they deemed potentially insensitive. Your opinion is your opinion and it is open to criticism such as mine. You are as much a part of the problem as those looking to paint the blame on political opponents but you are certainly NOT part of the solution.
Excellent!
Let's see…what are some of the platitudes we tell the kids?
Lead by example.
Ye shall know them by their deeds.
Did anyone notice on Sarah Palin's Alaska that she didn't even know how to hold a gun properly? She's a real amateur with guns, but apparently thinks the talk gets her plenty of desired attention.
Hopefully, now no one will take her seriously enough to elect her dogcatcher.
But she is part of a wider problem - reminds me of the beginning of the Civil War, when a Senator was clubbed by another Senator.
OK, you legal minds out there - could we now please have some new laws restricting verbal violence on the networks? There must be a way…
You hit the nail on the head with this blog.
Palin Tweets and Facebooks more than a 14 year old girl, now she's silent. You're right she has skipped her moment to prove she can be a leader instead of a negative mouthpiece.
John McCain bears more than a little culpability for foisting La Palin upon the American public in the first place. I hope he is thoroughly ashamed of himself. But probably not.
So, now that it is reported that this shooter is a LEFT wing Anarchist...oh wait..is that being reported by anyone out there in leftie media land? I would think that people from the left side of the isle would be ashamed of themselves for insighting more political turmoil by USING the death of a judge and a 9 year-old girl who probably knew more about our political system and what our country should be than 90 percent of Americans do. The entire gammot of news media and folks quick to point a finger without having an ounce of knowledge of this shooter's motivations and intentions should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. I am sickened to see this incident cause even more unnecessary political turmoil at the expense of grieving families and stricken victims.
If she hadn't taken down the posts, then your article would be crucifying her for that. A no win situation seems to me. But at least she has the sensitivity for the families that you do not. Using this incident to "take down" those with views opposing yours is no way to "stand up" either.
Fantastic article. Someone who is as insane as he is isn't right or left. He is simply insane! But I'm curious what people who keep claiming his is a lefty will do if it does come out that he did in fact use Palin's map? I doubt it will be that but nowhere in the article did the author claim it was the motivating factor.
Also, isn't a left anarchist a bit of an oxymoron? Typically anarchists want no government involvement which lines up quite nicely with the conservative ideal of limited government.