Sarah Palin says blaming rhetoric for shooting is 'a blood libel'

Tucson Tea Party Co-Founder Says Tea Party Is Victim Too
AP Sarah Palin and the Tea Party have received a lot of criticism in the wake of last weekend's tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, prompting Palin to defend herself in a video yesterday, using the antiquated claim of "blood Libel." Now, Tucson Tea Party co-founder Trent Humphries has gone one step further, calling the Tea Party Victims of the shooting, and arguing that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is partially responsible for having a lack of security. Regarding Palin's Controversial gun-target ma...

Noah Baron: The Libel of "Blood Libel"
Recently I've heard a lot of people talking about how the shooting in Arizona was merely the product of violent Rhetoric on the part of America's right-wing. Such claims, I feel, are disingenuous. What information I can find about the situation points to the killer being more mentally unbalanced than a political actor. Nonetheless, I feel that this situation presents an opportunity of us to seriously examine the way we discuss politics in our country -- and, especially, how we value Speech. Re...

Mitchell Bard: Right Wing Media Lies and the Arizona Tragedy
In the days since the massacre in Arizona, the mainstream political media (and much online discussion) have zeroed in on one question: Did the uncivil political discourse (with violent imagery) of the Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs and Sarah Palins of the world create an environment that encouraged or allowed an unhinged character to go on a Shooting Spree aimed at a Democratic congresswoman. I would like to focus on a related question: Are the Right Wing pundits telling the truth? The reason for...

Sarah Palin Refudiates Sarah Palin
Everyone's all aflush with talk of Sarah Palin's invocation of "blood Libel," so this section of her prepared statement probably isn't getting the attention it deserves: 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." Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, ...

Sarah Palin Appearing On Sean Hannity's Fox News Show Monday (VIDEO)
Sarah Palin will give her first interview since the Arizona shootings--and her Controversial "blood Libel" video--to Fox News' Sean Hannity. Palin will appear on "Hannity" on Monday, Jan. 17. The New York Times first reported the news. The Times said that the interview is scheduled to span over several commercial breaks. Palin has been a locus for criticism in the wake of the shootings, as people centered on her infamous crosshairs map, and then on the video she released on Tuesday which conta...

Sarah Palin doing interview on 'Hannity' Monday
After a week in which she was criticized by both liberals and Conservatives, Sarah Palin is planning to appear on Fox News' "Hannity" Monday night. It will be her first extended interview since the shootings in Tucson last Saturday. Palin does not sit down for interviews often; however, in recent months she has opened herself up more often to the Mainstream Media. She waited for days after the tragic event to respond, even as her name was raised repeatedly in connection to the shootings due to ...

The Lefts Attack On Palins Response to the Tucson Tragedy is All About Appeasement, Not Gun Imagery
In the wake of this weekend’s shooting in Arizona, the opportunists of the Left barely waited for the bodies to cool or for confirmation of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ fate before pouncing on what simply had to be the atrocity’s root cause: Sarah Palin. Even though indications of culprit Jared Loughner’s true mindset started appearing on the very day of the shooting, agenda-driven vultures proceeded to lecture Palin on everything from what she needed to say to the proper level of remo

Obama praised for leadership after U.S. shooting
Sheldon Alberts, Washington Correspondent, Postmedia News · Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011 TUCSON, Arizona — John Jewell did not vote for Barack Obama — and he never voted for Gabrielle Giffords either, for that matter. But as the 59-year-old Tucsonan paid silent tribute to Ms. Giffords on Thursday outside the Hospital where the Arizona congresswoman is recovering from her gunshot wound, he had a message for his president: Well done. On the day after Mr. Obama rallied Americans to beg...

Beating a dead horse
An example of violent conservative imagery Gallup: Most Doubt Political Rhetoric a Major Factor in Ariz. Shootings A new USA Today/Gallup Poll finds Americans dubious that the heated language used in politics today was a major factor that influenced the alleged gunman in last week’s shootings in Tucson, Ariz. Twenty percent say such rhetoric was a major factor in the shootings, while 22% cite it as a minor factor; 42% say it was not a factor at all. Democrats are more likely than indepen...

Happy Hour Roundup
* The "tale of two speeches" narrative continues with a nice piece by Dan Balz, with this blunt headline: "As Obama urged unity, Palin brought division." * Nice catch by Jonathan Capehart on what one of Obama's off-script moments last night tells us. * John Dickerson reports that Obama stayed up all night writing the Speech, and that it embodied the hopes and fears of a husband and father. * DADT dead-ender watch! T-Paw wants the rubes to believe he would reinstate don't ask don't tell. * Whi...

A Tale of Two Speeches: Roundup and Reactions
As far as I can tell, the reaction to Palin's video statement and President Obama's Speech has been pretty disparate, and interesting. One theme shines through: Both were commenting on the same event, but the focus was very, very different. The video is The Nation's John Nichols commenting on the differences and similarities. His conclusion: If Democrats claim the mantle of civic involvement and responsibility, that's not such a bad thing. Tristero over at Digby's blog thinks this Speech transce...

I'll raise your vitriol with rhetoric!
The January 8th shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in a "Congress on Your Corner"  event in Tucson, Arizona was tragic and horrific. The outpouring of emotions from regular citizens for Rep. Giffords and the other Victims of the shooting has been nothing short of spectacular, and the good emotions FAR outweigh the bad emotions........ However, the bad thoughts are still there. Once again, the most politically polarized era has decided to show in full force. Sheriff Dupnik, seem...

Did Pima County Sheriff Dupnik ignore Jared Loughner's warning signs before Gabrielle Giffords shooting?
Almost immediately after the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and several others by Jared Lee Loughner, Pima County, Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik began politicizing the tragedy [1]. Part of that politicization was justified, part was not. Specifically, considering the role that an overly hostile political environment might have played in the tragedy and urging calm is acceptable, but naming specific persons (Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh) as possible contributing factors is not. In any case, ...

Radio Host Mark Levin Challenges Chris Matthews, Threatens To Sue Any MSNBC Host
Conservative radio host Mark Levin is tired of baseless accusations being hurled at himself and at Sarah Palin, and is now putting some money up in a challenge specifically to MSNBC host Chris Matthews. Levin said on his Radio Show, “I challenge Chris Matthews, I’ll put $100,000 on the table, to find any example where Sarah Palin has promoted the Murder of anybody.” And the same offer exists if Matthews can find an example where Levin himself advocated for the Murder of a poli...

Mayor Bloomberg: Cant Blame Sarah Palin, Rhetoric For Arizona Mans Shooting Spree
Mayor Bloomberg struck the post-partisan tone of which he's so fond when asked today about the role (or lack thereof) (Read more...) ...

Bloomberg: Palin Didn't Kill People, Guns Killed People
(via nycmayorsoffice's flickr). Mayor Bloomberg, who has already used the Assassination attempt in Arizona to push his gun agenda, was

Video: Olbermann Attacks Palin on Blood Libel Reference
Well that didn't take long. It's ironic that this sanctimonious blowhard that himself hurls political Rhetoric bombs on a daily basis lecture anyone about Civil Discourse: Visit MSNBC.com for breaking news, world news, and news about The Economy More Palin Derangement Syndrome over at MSNBC: Schultz Charges Palin Used ‘Blood Libel’ to Appeal to To Appeal To Extremist Christian Conservative Base Lovely... ...

Right-Wing Media Rush To Defend Palin's Use Of "Blood Libel"
Right-Wing Media Defend Palin's Use Of "Blood Libel" Washington Times: "This Is Simply The Latest Round Of An Ongoing Pogrom Against Conservative Thinkers." In an editorial titled, "Blood libel against Palin, Limbaugh," The Washington Times stated: "Typical of blood libel, the attack against Mrs. Palin is a false charge intended to generate anger made by people with a political agenda. They have made these claims boldly without evidence and without censure or consequence." From the Times: Som...

Youngest US shooting victim laid to rest
The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, after Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of the attacks which unleashed a wave of soul-searching about America's political culture. Hundreds of people lined the streets as her small coffin was borne into the St. Elizabeth...

Imus Rips 'Angry,' 'Vile,' 'Psycho,' 'Spittle-spewing' Chris Matthews
As NewsBusters previously reported, Chris Matthews on Tuesday blamed conservative Talk Radio hosts Mark Levin and Michael Savage for supposedly creating the climate of hate that led to Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Arizona. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to monopolize opinion or suppress freedom of thought, expression, and worship. Read more... We invite all Americans who share these values ...

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, ...

Palin lashes out at blood libel critics over Arizona shooting
TUCSON,Arizona — Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Wednesday lashed out at critics for Manufacturing “blood Libel” with claims she bore some responsibility for the attempted Assassination of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In a lengthy video posted on her Facebook page, Ms. Palin rejected charges she has stoked political anger to dangerous levels and urged Americans to reject calls from those “seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults....

Giffords Shooting 'Start of the Revolution,' Says Dem Congressman
Were the heinous acts that occurred on Jan. 8 in Arizona the product of an isolated deranged mind, or were they the spark of something scarier with more violent implications? According to California Democratic Rep. Bob Filner, it's something on a much grander scale that people should take very seriously. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to monopolize opinion or suppress freedom of thought, expre...

Leftovers - January 13, 2010
Sen. Mark Udall proposes mixed seating during the State of the Union. Mitt Romney is not-so-subtly beefing up his political operation. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin promises to "offend" the Constitution. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison won't run for Reelection in 2012. NJ Gov. Chris Christie knocks Sarah Palin's "blood Libel" comment. The right-wing media finds the most ridiculous reasons to attack President Obama. Rep. Louie Gohmert just can't help himself. ...

9-year-old AZ shooting victim laid to rest
Stumble This! Tucson, Arizona - The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, after Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of the attacks which unleashed a wave of soul-searching about America's political culture. Hundreds of people lined the streets as her small ...