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Sarah Palin Blamed by Bloggers for Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords
Politics Daily ^ | January 8, 2011 | Matt Lewis

Posted on 01/08/2011 2:29:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

Some prominent liberal bloggers wasted little time before politicizing the horrific and tragic shooting of a congresswoman in Arizona on Saturday.

Almost immediately after the nation learned of the shooting of Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and several others (including a federal judge), a few prominent liberal web writers sought to blame Sarah Palin and other conservatives for the action.

Linking to a map of U.S. House districts that Sarah Palin's pac wanted to "target" during the 2010 mid-term elections -- which sadly included crosshairs over Rep. Giffords' district (among others) -- DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas Tweeted, "Mission accomplished, Sarah Palin."

The liberal blog Firedog Lake also went there.

(Palin has deleted the image from her website, and issued a short statement on the shooting, writing on her Facebook page: "My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona. On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice."

Liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias Tweeted out several other examples of "violent rhetoric," including Rep. Michele Bachman saying, "I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous" to block climate change legislation.

A few personal observations...

First, it is sad to see folks immediately politicize such a tragedy. If your first response to such an event is to think of Sarah Palin, something is wrong.

Like it or not, the sort of rhetoric and imagery employed by Palin's PAC is not terribly unusual. Politicians constantly talk about "targeting" voters -- does anyone think they want to shoot them? Political consultants tell politicians to "hunt where the ducks are, " but they certainly don't mean to shoot voters. Ironically, Moulitsas has also previously urged his readers to "target" Giffords and put a "bulls eye" on her district because she "sold out the Constitution..."

To be sure, it is possible for a politician to use words to incite violence, but putting a target on a congressional district is clearly not an example of that.

Our culture is full of rhetoric that uses violent analogies for everyday events. Here is a headline I just pulled up: "Aaron Rodgers in the Eagles' Crosshairs...Literally." (Here's another: Lindsay Lohan in Sheriff's Crosshairs, Calif. Investigators Ask ..." (Clearly, we had better hope nothing happens to the Aaron Rodgers or Lindsay Lohan in the near future).

It's also worth noting that the majority of the most egregious comments were made on Twitter, an outlet that allows folks to Tweet before thinking.


TOPICS: Arizona; Parties; State and Local; U.S. Congress
KEYWORDS: arizona; freepressforpalin; giffords; nutroots; palin
Who here saw this coming?
1 posted on 01/08/2011 2:29:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Basshole Liberal Jerks ought read the Urgings and Calls for Violence by Van Jones, Obozo and All of His Communist Administration!! And the Shooter touted Communism on His Website!


2 posted on 01/08/2011 2:36:55 PM PST by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Greatest President :George W. Bush!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Basshole Liberal Jerks ought read the Urgings and Calls for Violence by Van Jones, Obozo and All of His Communist Administration!! And the Shooter touted Communism on His Website!


3 posted on 01/08/2011 2:37:03 PM PST by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Greatest President :George W. Bush!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Now that he is a confirmed leftist lunatic (is there any other kind?), the left wing America haters will be apologizing any time. Yea, any time. (do I really need a /sarc tag?)


4 posted on 01/08/2011 2:41:13 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Islam is the religion of Satan and Mohammed was his minion.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

FreeRepublic is soooo slow right now.

Honest to pete this is worse than Bush Derangement Syndrome and she’s not even president. They want to destroy her and they’ll take any chance to do it. No matter how low or how wrong. This is disgusting and really infuriates me.


5 posted on 01/08/2011 2:44:34 PM PST by ReneeLynn (Bachmann ping list. Ping me or Onyx to get on.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis blamed the Jews for everything, much the same way Liberals and Democrats blamed Reagan, Bush, and Palin. All it took was a young Jewish teenager killing a Nazi ambassador in Paris, and the Nazis used that as an excuse to begin killing Jews in Germany.
6 posted on 01/08/2011 2:56:36 PM PST by MuttTheHoople (Democrats- Forgetting 9/11 since 9/12/01)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Of course the left are going after Sarah Palin, they can’t admit that kook was one of THEM


7 posted on 01/08/2011 2:56:49 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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From Jared Lee Loughner's YouTube Webpage:

Name:Jared Lee Loughner
Channel Views:271
Joined:October 25, 2010
Website:http://Myspace.com/fallenasleep Hometown:Tucson
Country:United States
Schools:I attended school: Thornydale elementary,Tortolita Middle School, Mountain View Highschool, Northwest Aztec Middle College, and Pima Community College.
Interests:My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar. Conscience dreams were a great study in college!
Movies:(*My idiom: I could coin the moment!*)
Music:Pass me the strings!
Books:I had favorite books: Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver's Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno.


Pyx's comment ---> Interesting "FAVORITE" books. Fahrenheith 451, The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf. --Pyx.


8 posted on 01/08/2011 2:59:42 PM PST by pyx (Rule#1.The LEFT lies.Rule#2.See Rule#1. IF THE LEFT CONTROLS THE LANGUAGE, IT CONTROLS THE ARGUMENT.)
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To: ReneeLynn

Anyone who tries to make political hay out of this tragedy is beneath contempt. As for the political left who can’t tell a political metaphor from an implied threat, there is no hope for them!


9 posted on 01/08/2011 3:00:16 PM PST by 2nd Amendment
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The shadow government owned MSM will blame ANYthing on Sarah Pslin in a heartbeat! This proves that they are scared to death of her because she represents, in one person, the Consearvative American people they’ve been trying so hard to obliterate! We are seeing the first vestiges of anarchy!

My fervent prayers toing up for Rep. Gifford and her cohorts


10 posted on 01/08/2011 3:03:06 PM PST by Paperdoll ( On the cutting edge)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Why does the State Media and the RNC and even FOX disregard the RIOTS and Mass Murders of Christians and the Burning Down of Christian Churchs. In Kenya when U.S. Senator Barack Obama and His Cousin Odinga Lost the Kenyan Presidential Elections with those Riots Not Ending until Barry and Odinga were given a Co-Presidency by the Rightful Winner? Thousands of Christians were Burned Alive in the Churches by Obama’s and Odinga’s “Peaceful Muslim Followers!”(sarq)


11 posted on 01/08/2011 3:10:03 PM PST by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Greatest President :George W. Bush!!)
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To: ReneeLynn

Anyone know why it’s so slow?


12 posted on 01/08/2011 3:10:59 PM PST by GOPJ (When liberals are FORCED to pay for Rush Limbaugh's show, I'll be happy to pay for NPR.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

In the rush to the bottom, no one gets there faster than liberals.

I hope the lefties picked up on the fact that almost every post here on FR were prayers for the woman and the victims.


13 posted on 01/08/2011 3:11:52 PM PST by freedumb2003 (Nothing sharpens the mind like not being able to get a job. /Nonstatist)
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To: ReneeLynn

Anyone know why it’s so slow?


14 posted on 01/08/2011 3:12:04 PM PST by GOPJ (When liberals are FORCED to pay for Rush Limbaugh's show, I'll be happy to pay for NPR.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Facts-Don’t-Matter alert.


15 posted on 01/08/2011 3:51:19 PM PST by the invisib1e hand
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Palin's response should be a one time repudiation of the act. Palin and those who agree with her politically and philosophically spend far to much time defending themselves against bogus charges (i.e. racism).
16 posted on 01/08/2011 3:58:20 PM PST by windsorknot
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To: GOPJ
I believe there was a huge amount of traffic....

System is responsive tonight...course it is late on the East Coast.

17 posted on 01/09/2011 8:23:13 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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