“Don’t Retreat – Reload.” That’s Sarah Palin’s wild-west, gun-blazing, backwoods mantra that serves as a rallying cry for rowdy rednecks from Selma to Seattle - and, perhaps, has unleashed an untold number of lunatics on an unsuspecting society.
Palin’s continued use of gun-related rhetoric, including a map that marked Democratic Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ district with rifle crosshairs, is indeed troubling and has provoked public debate about the hate-filled national political discourse. Some Democrats have even insisted that Palin’s incendiary comments have resulted in violence at political rallies across the country.
Last week, Jared Lee Loughner unloaded a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol outside a Tucson, Arizona supermarket and murdered six people, including a federal judge, a congressional aide and nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green. Giffords and 13 others were injured in Saturday’s senseless rampage.
Palin was certainly not the direct cause of Loughner's murder spree, but she has certainly fired up a cult-like electorate hell bent on promoting violent tendencies.
But Palin's star, which once burned bright, may now be flickering and fading fast. Angry top Republicans say Palin – once considered a formidable candidate for the White House in 2012 - missed a remarkable opportunity on Wednesday to demonstrate that she is capable of helping unite a nation.
In an eight-minute video Palin posted online about Saturday’s shooting in Tucson, she missed the mark and further damaged her own credibility when she uttered this statement: “Especially 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. That is reprehensible.”
The phrase “blood libel” was immediately criticized by a number of Jewish organizations, who say it’s wrong to liken criticism of her to an anti-Semitic myth that sparked centuries of persecution. Blood libel is a term most closely associated with a false accusation, first spread in the Middle Ages, that Jews killed Gentile babies and children and used their blood for baking matzos, the unleavened flatbread eaten during Passover.
It's questionable whether Palin - who, despite having attended five colleges, is not exactly a scholar of either history or politics - even knew what it meant.
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, told Politico that while it was “inappropriate at the outset to blame Sarah Palin and others for causing this tragedy or for being an accessory to murder,” Palin went too far in calling the attacks on her “blood libel.”
And then there was this unintelligible offering from Palin’s teleprompter-read video message: “There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those calm days when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols?”
Dueling pistols? Back in what days? Another gun-related analogy? Once again, Palin proves that she only opens her mouth to change feet.
Many of her fellow Republicans were unimpressed by her latest salvo, which was widely hammered for being blatantly self-referential at a time of others' great pain.
“She should have offered prayers and compassion for the victims and let it go at that,” GOP strategist Ed Rollins, a veteran of presidential campaigns, told reporters. “This is not about her. A short statement would have been better than a video.”
According to media reports, Palin’s advisors are “furious” that Palin is being linked to Saturday’s tragedy, but the response from her staff – and Palin – should be to immediately tone down her rhetoric and communicate in a more civil tone instead of using the date of Wednesday’s .....
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Palin and Beck are just capitalizing on the hate for President Obama and getting rich off of it. You can not hate on the people that are getting rich from the ignorance of these people. That is the American Way. Unfortunately, we all pay for this including the people that hate too!
by
Sherian williams
January 17, 2011, 6:42 am
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Any one should be able 2 C thru Sarah Palin. Her bigger goal is not politics; but making millions of dollars. She's marketing her wares; and doing a darn good job bc she's in the news constantly. And everytime she's n the news she sells another book, and is asked 2 come speak somewhere where she makes thousands of dollars. I don't agree with her politics at all; but we have to take our hats off 2 her marketing agent. Sarah is great at projecting her nonsensical rheotoric. Even the websties geared toward African Americans have played into her hands by posting articles like this one.
by
Oceanbeach
January 16, 2011, 10:19 am
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... Palin: is not EVEN OUT-HOUSE worthy-now WHAT TOILET would like to be in her company?? That FOOT in her mouth, is SO BIG-she has TOES FOR TEETH!!!!
by
Rubinisk
January 14, 2011, 9:58 pm
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MertisD, when and where has Palin encouraged anybody to "take up arms". You lefties crack me up; you seem to*ume that leveling the charge is tantamount the charge being fact. I'm not saying whether she has, or has not-I don’t know; but I will bet a years worth a paychecks that you cannot provide a single example of her having encouraged people to "Take up Arms!" Whatever example you provide will be something one must arrive at via irrational inference. Again, not a fan of Palin, but the left obsession is troubling.
by
WhatIThink
January 14, 2011, 8:16 pm
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Sara knew she was never ready for the main show. She is just raking in the dough. Plus she was not involved with that toyota runaway org site with the horrible pics of Slaves.
by
Moley 1
January 14, 2011, 7:40 pm
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It’s a given that some teachers may be bad. Let's start looking at their students.
If history is any indication, the outrage over Saturday's rampage won’t last.
For the longest, calm, rational voices have urged the country to tone it down.
In that battle, drugs are winning, while civil liberties take a pounding.
I had hoped things would have ended better for Michael Steele. Oh, well.
These cases speak to the urgent need for the work the NAACP and our allies are doing.
The presidential perks are great, but the drawbacks and risks are huge.
That’s how I frequently referred to Teena Marie, who passed away last weekend.
ODS makes it hard for some to find value in any effort launched by the president or first lady.
Teena was one of the purest examples of how music goes much deeper than color, especially when it comes from the soul.
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