Palin aide says target map not irresponsible

Palin, Paranoia, and Political Assassination
I don't know if I want to, or can, add anything that's not already been said in the din following Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' shooting. The act alone is jarring, though not altogether surprising—the tide of this Time Magazine article from a few months back has done nothing if not escalate. But in the paranoic, partisan backlash that's already occurred—dotting Facebook walls, churning HuffPo and RedState articles, turning up the bleat of Talk Radio ever-more—it seems as if there ...

Palins Target List
WASHINGTON — Shortly after news broke that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) had been shot at a congressional event in her district, observers began noting that she had, during the campaign, literally been Sarah Palin’s target. But a Palin aide is now explaining that it was all a misunderstanding: the infamous image was never meant to evoke guns or violence. Palin’s “Take Back the 20″ campaign (the website has been taken down since the shooting) called on Americans ...

The Tucson tragedy: freedom from violent rhetoric and imagery
So far, there's no connection between alleged murderer Jared Lee Loughner and the extremes of the Tea Party movement. But that's beside the point now, if you ask me. The horrific violence in Tucson saw Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) go from being in the crosshairs of opponents metaphorically to literally being gunned down on Saturday. As a result, we are now finally engaging in a long overdue conversation about the violent Rhetoric and imagery polluting national political discourse. Since the...

Americas Hate-Filled Rhetoric Unworthy of a Democratic Nation (Die Thuringische Landeszeitung, Germany)
Have Extremist Republican attacks against President Obama and left-wing Americans resulted in the Assassination attempt against an American lawmakers and the Murder of six others? Continuing with our coverage of the massacre in Tucson, columnist Axel Zacharias of Germany’s Die Thüringische Landeszeitung writes that Republican party spokespeople like Sarah Palin have a lot to answer for. For Die Thüringische Landeszeitung, Axel Zacharias writes in part: Slander and threats against Obama ...

Political opportunism never lets a crisis go to waste
I continue to be incredulous of the blatant political opportunism this shooting of Rep. Giffords has unleashed on the left. OK, not really. But in a way, it is the Paul Wellstone memorial all over again on a national level. First, all of this angst over political Rhetoric is so overwrought and overblown as to be laughable.  There has never been a time in the history of this land that the language hasn’t been rough or partisan.  Never.  Pretending this is the worst it has ever be...

Was the Tucson shooting a product of the Tea Party?
Georgians join the people of Arizona in condemning the senseless act of violence and mourning the Victims of the recent Tucson shooting.  Georgians also wonder what Jared Lee Loughner’s motive was.  Was he trying to make a political point or was he simply deranged? In the days since the shooting in Tucson, leftists have rushed to denounce the Murders as the result of radical right-wing Rhetoric.  Specifically, left-wing Bloggers on Politico.com cited a “Veteran Democra...

Palin Aide: Symbols Weren't Rifle Sights, but Surveyor's Marks
Sarah Palin New Media aide Rebecca Mansour sought to deflect attention from an electoral map Palin posted on her Facebook page last March in an appearance on Tammy Bruce's radio show Saturday. The images long described as crosshairs or rifle sights were actually just surveyor's symbols, Mansour said. The exchange, via Weigel: MANSOUR: I just want to clarify again, and maybe it wasn't done on the record enough by us when this came out, the graphic, is just, it's basically -- we never, ever, ever...

Palin staffer: 'Nothing irresponsible about our graphic'
An aide to Sarah Palin is defending the former Alaska Governor's Controversial campaign target map, saying the circles over certain districts were never meant to be gun sights. However, Palin herself described the symbol as a "bullseye." Palin's "Take Back the 20" campaign came under renewed fire after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was severely injured by a gunman on Saturday. The campaign featured a map with crosshairs over Giffords' district, along with the districts of 19 other Democratic...

Rush: Dont Blame Shooting on Talk Radio
CNN reports: Conservative Talk Radio host Rush Limbaugh offered a vigorous defense of himself and Sarah Palin Monday in response to claims from some media commentators and those on the left that some of their charged statements and colorful language may have inspired the Arizona shootings. “[The media] is unnecessarily stirring up the country in ways that don’t merit,” Limbaugh said on his radio program Monday. “It’s fatuous and silly to even verify and justify th...

Unbelievable! Democrat Rep James Clyburn blames Tucson shooting on reading of constitution last week
Unbelievable! Democrat Rep James Clyburn blames Tucson shooting on reading of constitution last week Lets see how Democrats and their usurpers in the media have played this Tucson shooting. First it was Sarah Palin’s fault for the “targets” on 20 Congressional Districts deemed winnable in the 2010 Midterm Elections. Then it was Glenn Beck’s fault (of course). Then the popular excuse still going to today was to blame the Tea Party, and claim that Jared Lee Loughner. Now,...

The left use tragedy to attack conservatives
 On January 8, 2011 a tragic shooting near Tucson, Arizona occurred at a political Town Meeting held by United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Twenty people were shot, six of them fatally including a nine year old girl and a Federal Judge. This was a senseless massacre by a mad man. This should be a time for prayers and mourning for the Victims and families. Rather what we are getting are attacks on Conservatives, the Tea Party, guns, Fox News, Talk Radio and even Sarah Palin. Even...

Get Progressively Trained
As someone who has been involved somewhat in the punditry circuit (for lack of a better term), I have been asked by progressive friends what I think is needed for the Left to compete with the Right, not so much in the war of ideas, as idea distribution. To begin with, we need people who can confidently promote progressive values on television and radio. While the last decade has seen the creation and expansion of progressive Think Tanks, Air America Radio (an incubator of such talent as Rachel ...

How to Eliminate Inflammatory Right-Wing Rhetoric
I don’t have much to say about the recent Arizona shootings by madman Jared Loughner, except this: Many commentators almost as mad as Loughner have attempted to connect this lunatic’s actions to “inflammatory right-wing Rhetoric.” I won’t go into here the long list of inflammatory left-wing rhetoric (and actions) that spill over into open violence. (Michelle Malkin has a good summary — with detailed proof — if you’re interested.) Instead, I’ll make...

Palin Aide: Crosshairs On Target List Not Actually Gun Sights
An aide to Sarah Palin claims the crosshairs depicted in her now-infamous target list of Democrats were not actually gun-sights, and that it's "obscene" and "appalling" to blame Palin for the shooting. "We never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights. It was simply cross-hairs like you'd see on maps," said Rebecca Mansour on the Tammy Bruce Radio Show. Moreover, there was "nothing irresponsible" about the image, and to draw a line connecting Palin and Saturday's shooting is "obscene" and "ap...

That's exceptional, America: Printed crosshairs bad, but actual Glocks OK
In my fair-and-balanced article today on hateful political Rhetoric and the mass Murder in Tucson, I noted that Philadelphia Rep. Bob Brady is proposing a law that would make it a crime to use certain violent imagery against members of Congress -- an idea that he acknowledges is inspired by Sarah Palin's infamous 2010 map that targeted Saturday's Assassination-attempt Victim Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and others, with the image of crosshairs. I'd like to go deeper on that at some future point, b...

The Right Wing Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks
Andrew Sullivan has a compilation of some of the more prominent -- and vitriolic -- responses to the requests from just about everyone to take it down a notch.A survey of the bloggy scene suggests a rigid, uniform, passionate position that this Assassination has nothing whatsoever to do with violent Rhetoric and political polarization. It is as if some loony had just randomly shot some schoolkids or ran into a mall killing strangers. If you are looking for reflectiveness, you won't find it, in ...

Glenn Beck Makes Sarah Palin the Victim
Here's the shameless flim-flam artist melodramatically pretending that Sarah Palin is in physical danger of being attacked. You know, because there are maniacs "on all sides." Bring the Republic down?! What maudlin horseshit. The Republic?? The entire nation would crumble if Sarah Palin were assassinated? Oh yeah, and Beck's disciples actually buy that crap on a stick. Sad, sad, sad. Elvis wrote on Twitter: Dear @glennbeck The ACTUAL Assassination of Abe Lincoln didn't even bring the Republic ...

Rush Limbaugh blames Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for Tucson shootings (Audio)
Today Rush Limbaugh handed out a very sharp verbal rebuke at Pima County Sheriff Charled Dupnik.  In the six minute-long audio clip to the left.  Limbaugh personally addresses the "sheriff" multiple times, and lays out all kind of accusations against Dupnik.  Limbaugh was responding to Dupnink's criticism of the "vitriolic Rhetoric" coming from "some people in the radio business."  While Dupnik did not mention any names, most people thought Dupnik was referring to right-wing ...

Sarah Palin's group denies 'crosshairs' ever existed over Giffords district
Sarah Palin political action committee, SarahPAC, appears to be taking Palin's phrase "Don't retreat, reaload!" to a whole new level.  In a recent interview on the Tammy Bruce Talk Radio show SarahPAC staff member Rebecca Mansour calls it "obscene" and "appalling" to make any connection between Palin and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords yesterday.  Mansour denies that Giffords' district was ever targeted or put in crosshairs by SarahPAC in the map produced by their orga...

Palin Staffer Defends Crosshairs Map
The Alaska Dispatch reports: The news was barely out today when social networks were erupting, blaming Sarah Palin and the Tea Party for inciting the 22-year-old alleged gunman who shot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, and 16 others in a Grocery Store in Tucson, Ariz. Giffords was one of those 20 moderate Republicans and Democrats that were on Palin’s now infamous “target list” that Palin compiled early last year. The graphic that went with the list fe...

No More Mister Nice Blog
TURNING POINT FOR PALIN? THE HELL IT IS Jonathan Marin of Politico thinks the Tucson shooting is a turning point for Sarah Palin. That sounds right, but it's nonsense: ... the rush on the left to affix some of the blame on her for the Assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has suddenly turned the tragedy into a defining moment in Palin's meteoric Political Career. Whether she defends, explains or even responds at all to th...

Lower The Rhetoric, But Don't Yet Link Massacre To Tone, Ex-Rep. Says
What is this? A makeshift memorial outside of the District Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) on Sunday. The sign sends this message: "violence solves nothing; love is greater than hate." A makeshift memorial outside of the District Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) on Sunday. The sign sends this message: "violence solves nothing; love is greater than hate." Saturday's tragedy in Tucson, Ariz., has been followed by a hot debate over whether the seemingly ever-more-rough tone of Amer...

Democrat hate machine politicizes Arizona tragedy
Cover of Rush Limbaugh James Rosen, Fox News: When Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords collapsed outside the Safeway in Tucson Saturday morning, felled by a hail of bullets that killed six and wounded another 13 innocent people that had come to see her, some were quick to claim that the carnage was the product not merely of the tortured mind and trigger-happy fingers of the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner. Rather, many on the American Left said the horror could be traced to the mal...

Van Fleins name dropped from Anchorage law firm
There's been a shake up in the name of a well-known Alaska Law Firm. Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness LLC has dropped the "Van Flein" and added a "Johnson." (To be clear, the firm's new name is Clapp, Peterson, Tiemessen, Thorsness & Johnson.) Blame it on Thomas Van Flein's latest career move. In addition to departing from the firm, he's saying goodbye to his stint as a paid advisor for SarahPAC, Sarah Palin's political action committee, and as the Palin family's and Sen...

With E-mail, Palin and Beck Discuss the Arizona Shootings
As the nation reacted this weekend to the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others outside a Tucson Supermarket, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, a conservative radio host, took to e-mail on Sunday to have a conversation of their own. “I hate violence,” Ms. Palin wrote, according to Mr. Beck, who read what he said were excerpts of their e-mail exchange on his radio show on Monday. “I hate war.” Mr. Beck said that Ms. Palin reached out to him to ask h