Palin accuses critics of 'blood libel'

SARAH PALIN: America's Enduring Strength
Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent Victims. No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent, but we do mourn for the victims’ families as we express our sympathy. I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass held in honor of the Victims. The mass will hopefully help begin a healing process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country. Our exceptional...

The Politics of Insinuation
David Warren: While it did not quite rise to a blood Libel, the headline in Monday's Guardian (U. K.) did not fail for want of trying: "Gabrielle Giffords shooting reignites row over right-wing Rhetoric in U.S." Elsewhere in the Guardian, the distance was bridged. Consider this heading (over a piece by Michael Tomasky): "In the U.S., where hate rules at the Ballot Box, this tragedy has been coming for a long time: The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords may lead to the temporary hibernation of right...

Palin getting death threats after libs attack
ABC News: An aide close to Sarah Palin says death threats and security threats have increased to an unprecedented level since the shooting in Arizona, and the former Alaska Governor's team has been talking to security professionals. Since the shooting in Tucson, Palin has taken much heat for her "crosshairs" map that targeted 20 congressional Democrats in the 2010 mid-term election, including that of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was the main target of Saturday's attack. Friends say Palin, a po...

Did 'blood libel' hurt Palin for president?
Will Sarah Palin's use of the term "blood Libel" hurt her chances if she decides to run for president in 2012? That is the question being debated in political circles and the answers are mixed. Palin attracted Controversy by accusing her critics, particularly in the News Media, of committing "blood Libel" by blaming incendiary political Rhetoric by her and other Conservatives for the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. A new USA Today/Gallup Poll finds a majority of those surveyed say the idea ...

Obama: We Can Do Better
Seeking to distance himself from the premature opportunism of the Far Left, U.S. President Barack Obama stuck to Centrist themes in addressing the Victims of last weekend’s tragic Tucson shooting - which left six people dead and fourteen (including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords) wounded. “I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us,” Obama told a sellout crowd at ...

Rand Paul: Democrats Trying To 'Manufacture' Controversy From Shooting In Arizona
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) accused Democrats Wednesday of attempting to "manufacture" the Controversy that has arisen over "vitriol" and political Rhetoric in the wake of the shooting in Tucson over the weekend. "Well, these are the kind of things that I think some on the left decided to manufacture even before the events occur. I mean, this is part of the playbook of Rahm Emanuel where they say any crisis should be used to their advantage to further their agenda," Paul said Wednesday on the FOX B...

Christie: Palin should have left out "blood libel"
On Good Morning America today, Chris Christie defended Sarah Palin against critics of her Rhetoric, in general, but also suggested she should have been more parsimonious in yesterday's video. STEPHANOPOULOS: Sarah Palin, coming into some criticism today, after using that term "blood Libel". Do you think she knew what she was getting into with that? CHRISTIE: I don't know. I have no idea. But what I would say is I think that, you know, I don't think anybody really believes that Governor Palin w...

Anyone can use 'blood libel' even Sarah Palin | Alan Dershowitz
As a lifelong Liberal Democrat, I am no political supporter of Sarah Palin. I also oppose her use of rifle sight crosshairs as political symbols. Yet, I have no problem with her use of the term "blood Libel" to characterise what she perceives to be false charges that her Rhetoric and symbols were partly responsible for the deaths and mayhem in Tucson. The term blood libel has taken on a broad metaphorical meaning in public discourse. Although its historical origins are rooted in theologically ba...

On Faith: Will Palin regret using 'blood libel'?
In response to the tragic shooting in Arizona, Sarah Palin on Wednesday released a nearly eight-minute video that said that those who imply that she bears some responsibility for Jared Lee Loughner's act of violence are guilty of "blood Libel." "Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn," Palin said in the statement. The term may come to haunt Palin. According to the Anti-De...

Sarah Palin's 'blood libel' comment overshadows a calibrated message
Sarah Palin's statement Wednesday in response to the Tucson shootings, in which she has found herself at the center of a debate over civility in political discourse, was crafted as both a defense of her own actions and a strike against her critics - but reaction to the statement was dominated by a fresh Controversy over her use of the phrase "blood Libel." This Story Sarah Palin's 'blood libel' comment overshadows a calibrated message Gabrielle Giffords, congresswoman from Arizona, ...

Iowa politicos differ on impact of heated rhetoric
Iowa Democrats and Republicans have drawn very different conclusions about what role heated political discourse may have played in the Jan. 8 shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and what changes politicians might make in the way they communicate following that event. Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky said politicians can’t control who hears what they say and how they react to it, but it is politicians’ responsibility to monitor what they say. “I think ...

Sarah Palin Plays By Her Own Rules On Shootings, Politics
WASHINGTON — With her video accusing critics of "blood Libel," Sarah Palin again showed an unprecedented and daring political command of Social Networking to maintain a high profile in speculation about the Republican Party and the 2012 presidential race. The former Alaska Governor regularly gets nationwide attention with her selective use of Facebook and Twitter, choosing provocative words when others testing the presidential waters prefer a lighter touch. Some political pros say her ta...

Two Addresses; Two Approaches; Which One Speaks To The Heart Of America?
Much is being written in the blogosphere about the difference between Sarah Palin’s reaction to the Arizona shootings and the approach taken by President Obama.  For Palin, it was an opportunity to define herself as able to handle a personal Political Crisis, and to display an understanding of nuance and tonality.  The qualities we seek in our leaders, after all, are undefinable. It is not just about promising legislative victories or  thrilling one’s base; it’s ...

VIDEO: Sarah Palin strikes back, accuses critics of blood libel
In an 8 minute video , Sarah Palin has responded aggressively to the slanderous charge that she and other prominent Conservatives are to blame for Saturday’s tragedy in Tucson: The transcript is posted on her Facebook page , which is accessible to everyone. Key point: President Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions....

Obama Urges Americans to 'Stay United'
President Barack Obama called on Americans to stay united on Wednesday evening during a memorial service in memory of the people who were killed and to honor those who were injured in the Tucson, Ariz., shooting last Saturday. It was a chance for Arizonans as well as all Americans to remember and begin to heal. At times, the crowd of 14,000 was moved to tears and at other times they were moved to tears of joy, as President Obama remembered each of the six people killed and voiced America's ho...

Barack Obama Reconnects
Has there ever been a bigger contrast between crass and class than former Governor Sarah Palin’s video statement and Pres. Obama’s address at the Tucson memorial? Pres. Barack Obama gave the Speech he wanted to give to the nation last night, conjuring up memories of his 2004 Speech at the Democratic convention, as well as the reason Republicans crossed over to vote for him and Young People engaged to elect him. The atmosphere was a bit odd, the raucous, almost never ending applause m...

Gun control? Civility? My Predictions
Nothing will happen. I anticipate we will see reduced restrictions on Gun Control actually, as the NRA and its allies push back against the Tucson tragedy. That means no laws requiring gun registration, closing private sale and gun show Loopholes, reinstating the ban on extended clips, eliminating open carry laws, better Background Checks, etc. That's just not the way gun proponents roll, regardless of the tragedy. After all Columbine had no effect, nor did the Virginia Tech shooter. Why shoul...

Systematic Assassinations Not Part Of Our Politics
The steam seems to be going out of the move to "deftly pin this" -- the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others -- "on the Tea Partiers," as one unidentified senior Democratic operative put it to Politico. It has become obvious that the murderer was crazy, the follower of no political movement, motivated only by the bizarre ideas ricocheting through his head. If any blame attaches to others, it is to authorities who had notice of his madness and did not do enough to confine hi...

Palin gets an experienced attorney in the rapidly-growing field of blood-libel accusation
A Controversy has arisen over Sarah Palin’s injudicious use of the term “blood Libel” to describe the accusation that her inflammatory Rhetoric inspired the grisly Arizona Murders. Apparently she thought it permissible to utter those words, unaware that they may only be applied to the infamous lie about using Christian blood as a matzo ingredient, and may not be appropriated for any other use without the express written consent of the ADL. Condemnation was immediate. In one LA Times art

Why the Left Lost It: Most Important Article You Will Read Today
This is an absolutely perfect analysis of why the Left went so overboard in politicizing the Assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and why they surpassed the disgusting “Paul Wellstone” moments of the past in their zeal to attack Governor Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck in the wake of this tragedy:  “Why the Left Lost It” by Daniel Henninger. It is a must read. (1) Leftist writers like Paul Krugman, Ezra Klein, Jonathan Alter, and the ...

Rhetorical bookends
RHETORICAL BOOKENDS.... The political world spent a fair amount of time yesterday pondering the career-changing errors of Sarah Palin's video message, and its petty, defensive, resentful qualities. A half-day later, that same political world saw President Obama speak at a memorial service, delivering an inspiring address. The New York Times noted this morning that the day was therefore "bookended by two remarkable -- and remarkably different -- political performances that demonstrated the vast...

The Morning Plum
* After Obama's Speech: The President's speech last night, in which he eloquently called for healing, civility and national unity in the wake of the Arizona killings, has been rightly hailed on all sides. He managed to call for us all to tone down the political discourse without appearing political, tackling large themes in plain, emotionally accessible language. In a remarkably agile way, the speech implicitly bridged the gap between both sides of the argument over the meaning of the shooting...

Left really hates it when people respond to their attack narrative
Image via Wikipedia Lori Ziganto: ... A pitch perfect response, both from the heart and smart. Naturally, that then caused the Left to lose whatever tenuous grip they had left on reality. See, Sarah Palin was bad for being “silent and on the lam” last night. But, today, she is super icky for responding and not remaining silent. After being accused for days of having “blood on her hands” and of being responsible for the acts of a madman. Who, incidentally, apparently did...

Sarah Palin: Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel
Early Wednesday morning, Sarah Palin issued a statement and a video addressing the Arizona shootings.  She specifically targeted the mainstream press who tried to blame her, Glenn Beck and the Tea Party for what is now being called the "Tucson massacre." Vigorous and spirited public debates during Elections are among our most cherished traditions. And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere. If you don’...

Tea Party Foes Smell Blood, Shanghai Children Into Their Cause
In the wake of the Tucson shooting tragedy, leftists are decrying all the violence. Yet they are clearly out for blood.  Sound contradictory? Of course it does, but there it is.  Those who hate on the citizen movement for smaller government, as exemplified by the Tea Party, really smell blood now. The shots from Jared Loughner’s gun truly have been heard around the world.  An article in Sunday’s Guardian online describes the sort of feel-good event