Post Politics, The Take: As Obama urged unity, Palin brought division
[Rather an unfair headline, in my view, as Palin was simply defending herself from 2 days of vitrolic and unfounded attacks. What was she supposed to say???? Over-arcingly, the Democrats want a socialist country, the Republicans want a republic, and the two do not mix]
President Obama did not miss the moment. From the generally positive overnight reaction, Obama's speech in Tucson on Wednesday night struck just the right notes. Amid grief over a senseless tragedy and against a raging debate that threatened to further divide the country, the president urged healing and reconciliation rather than recrimination and hatred.
The role of mourner-in-chief is relatively new in the history of the presidency, but it is now an important part of the job description for anyone who seeks the nation's highest office. In times of tragedy, people turn to presidents to help soothe the pain and bind the wounds, to give hope at times where there is little or resolve when it is needed.
Ronald Reagan did it with a short and eloquent Oval Office address the night that the shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff in 1986. Bill Clinton did it with a pointed and yet uplifting speech at a memorial after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. George Bush did it after Sept. 11, 2001, first at Washington National Cathedral with sobering words at a somber ceremony and later that day from the rubble of Ground Zero with belligerence offered through a bullhorn.
Obama had been there before - after the massacre at Fort Hood in the first year of his presidency and after the coal mine disaster in West Virginia last spring. But Tucson presented a unique challenge, with a congresswoman the target of the attack in a state that has been roiled politically by violence, hot rhetoric and strong actions that had drawn national attention and condemnation.
Wednesday's event in Tucson was billed as a memorial service to the six dead and the many wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who remains in critical condition after being shot in the head. It became something else, unsettling to some - a moment of release for a community still in shock, a pep rally of sorts complete with cheers and applause and whistling at every line from every speaker that was meant to convey hope and optimism. It was anything but the somber service that many people may have expected.
Before the speech, White House officials told reporters the president's remarks would mostly focus on the victims. While partly true, their description mischaracterized the totality of what Obama decided to try to do with his time on the stage. Without assigning blame and in words shorn of partisanship, he delivered a political message. He asked all Americans to use the tragedy to make themselves and the country better - as a way of paying tribute to those who had been killed or wounded.
"The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives - to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents," he said. "And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud."
The president's speech was unique, given the circumstances. It was lengthy - more than 30 minutes - when most presidents have chosen to be brief. It was not partisan but it was political, causing some negative reaction. Most important, it offered Obama an opportunity to reprise the message of unity and hope that first made him a national figure. If he offered implicit criticism of what has transpired since the shootings, it was aimed as much at those on the left who have sought to link the shootings to right-wing rhetoric.
He said: "At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized - at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do - it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds."
Whether Obama's speech changes the trajectory of his presidency will be a subtopic of the post-Tucson political discussion. For all the reasons that people now point to Clinton's Oklahoma City speech as a turning point in his fortunes after the Democrats' debacle of 1994, many now will look to see whether Tucson proves that kind of moment for Obama.
Perhaps. The circumstances of the two events do not provide a neat comparison, given that the bombings were the acts of anti-government terrorists and the Tucson shootings appear to be the work of a deranged man with no clear political identity. More than public reaction to Obama's speech will determine its effect on his presidential fortunes. As important is how Obama internalizes this episode in the context of how he governs.
The political debate that erupted within hours of Saturday's shootings was a reminder of the depth of the divisions in the country today. Obama sought to elevate himself out of that climate of apportioning blame, as presidents can do in such circumstances. It is where he appears most comfortable as a politician but, as his presidency has shown, not an easily maintained position. In his first two years, he was unable to change the tone in Washington, as he had promised.
Policy debates await him that will soon thrust him back into the political and partisan realms, where he has sometimes proved thin-skinned and defensive. His calls for civility and unity will bump against the real differences that divide the two parties. Those times will test whether he can continue to unify the country or change the tone, or at least command a real majority.
The contrast between Obama and Sarah Palin was especially striking. Wednesday was a textbook example of how two politicians chose to handle a moment of national tragedy. Perhaps by an accident of timing, Palin put herself into the same news cycle as the president. After several days of silence, she offered her first extended commentary on the shootings.
Much of what she said was proper, but not all. Michael Gerson, who was Bush's chief speechwriter and has been no fan of Palin, observed on CNN Wednesday night that her speech was "seven minutes Reagan and 30 seconds Spiro Agnew." Her careless use of the charged words "blood libel" to criticize those who she believed had unfairly attacked her and other conservatives created more controversy, not less.
Obama has proven to be a polarizing figure in office, but on Wednesday he sought to unify. Palin ended up dividing. On a day of scripted messages, presumably carefully considered, Obama made the most of his. Palin did not.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
12 Jan, 2010, Wed, Washington Post: Analysis: Sarah Palin's use of 'blood libel' sparks new controversy
Analysis: Sarah Palin's use of 'blood libel' sparks new controversy
By Karen Tumulty
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2011; 11:23 AM
Sarah Palin's Facebook page essay and video in response to the Tucson shootings - a tragedy in which she found herself the centerpiece of a debate over civility in political discourse - was crafted as both a defense of her own actions as part of the grand tradition of "our exceptional nation," and a strike against her critics.
That she waited four days and then issued such a delicately calibrated and polished statement also displayed a trait not normally associated with the former Alaska governor: discipline.
In Palin's version of events, her controversial actions represented common cause with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who a few days before being critically wounded in the mass shooting had read the First Amendment on the House floor.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own," Palin said in the statement. "They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election."
Palin's statement contained an instance of provocative religious imagery that might be missed by more secular voters who read her statement, but which likely will be recognized by the religious conservatives who constitute such an important part of her following.
"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," she wrote. "That is reprehensible."
"Blood libel" is a phrase that refers to a centuries-old anti-Semitic slander - the false charge that Jews use the blood of Christian children for rituals - that has been used as an excuse for persecution. The phrase was first used in connection with response to the Arizona shootings in an opinion piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal and has been picked up by others on the right.
Palin's defensiveness was apparent in the indirect reference to criticism of a map on Palin's Web site during the midterm elections that showed districts of congressional Democrats she had targeted for defeat marked with crosshairs.
Giffords, whose district was one of those 20, had publicly complained that this was an invitation to violence.
"She's her own best spokesperson and she wanted to talk about this," said Tim Crawford, the treasurer for Palin's political action committee. "The reason we did the video was we wanted the statement in total out there. We wanted the video to be seen in its entirety."
Palin's statement comes as President Obama is headed to Tucson to speak at a service for the victims, and guarantees that her perspective will be part of the storyline of the day.
In its careful timing and deliberate language, it also represents a departure from her previous attention-getting Facebook posts and tweets, many of which were reflexive spasms to even small criticisms.
On Thanksgiving, for instance, as most of the nation was still sleepily digesting turkey dinners, she issued an angry blast at Obama and the media, recalling a gaffe the president made during the 2008 campaign. It was an apparent reaction to the fact that she herself had been ridiculed for a slip of the tongue in which she referred to North Korea as South Korea.
"The one-word slip occurred yesterday during one of my seven back-to-back interviews wherein I was privileged to speak to the American public about the important, world-changing issues before us," Palin wrote. "If the media had bothered to actually listen to all of my remarks on Glenn Beck's radio show, they would have noticed that I refer to South Korea as our ally throughout, that I corrected myself seconds after my slip-of-the-tongue, and that I made it abundantly clear that pressure should be put on China to restrict energy exports to the North Korean regime."
Those kinds of outbursts could be fatal in a presidential campaign, and stand as a stark contrast to the statement that Palin released Wednesday.
The new level of political professionalism to her approach - if that indeed is what this represents - also might not be merely a coincidence in its timing.
Republican operatives report that Palin has been calling around in recent weeks to seek advice not only on whether but how she should run for president in 2012. This statement might suggest she is not only seeking that counsel, but taking it as well.
By Karen Tumulty
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 12, 2011; 11:23 AM
Sarah Palin's Facebook page essay and video in response to the Tucson shootings - a tragedy in which she found herself the centerpiece of a debate over civility in political discourse - was crafted as both a defense of her own actions as part of the grand tradition of "our exceptional nation," and a strike against her critics.
That she waited four days and then issued such a delicately calibrated and polished statement also displayed a trait not normally associated with the former Alaska governor: discipline.
In Palin's version of events, her controversial actions represented common cause with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who a few days before being critically wounded in the mass shooting had read the First Amendment on the House floor.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own," Palin said in the statement. "They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election."
Palin's statement contained an instance of provocative religious imagery that might be missed by more secular voters who read her statement, but which likely will be recognized by the religious conservatives who constitute such an important part of her following.
"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," she wrote. "That is reprehensible."
"Blood libel" is a phrase that refers to a centuries-old anti-Semitic slander - the false charge that Jews use the blood of Christian children for rituals - that has been used as an excuse for persecution. The phrase was first used in connection with response to the Arizona shootings in an opinion piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal and has been picked up by others on the right.
Palin's defensiveness was apparent in the indirect reference to criticism of a map on Palin's Web site during the midterm elections that showed districts of congressional Democrats she had targeted for defeat marked with crosshairs.
Giffords, whose district was one of those 20, had publicly complained that this was an invitation to violence.
"She's her own best spokesperson and she wanted to talk about this," said Tim Crawford, the treasurer for Palin's political action committee. "The reason we did the video was we wanted the statement in total out there. We wanted the video to be seen in its entirety."
Palin's statement comes as President Obama is headed to Tucson to speak at a service for the victims, and guarantees that her perspective will be part of the storyline of the day.
In its careful timing and deliberate language, it also represents a departure from her previous attention-getting Facebook posts and tweets, many of which were reflexive spasms to even small criticisms.
On Thanksgiving, for instance, as most of the nation was still sleepily digesting turkey dinners, she issued an angry blast at Obama and the media, recalling a gaffe the president made during the 2008 campaign. It was an apparent reaction to the fact that she herself had been ridiculed for a slip of the tongue in which she referred to North Korea as South Korea.
"The one-word slip occurred yesterday during one of my seven back-to-back interviews wherein I was privileged to speak to the American public about the important, world-changing issues before us," Palin wrote. "If the media had bothered to actually listen to all of my remarks on Glenn Beck's radio show, they would have noticed that I refer to South Korea as our ally throughout, that I corrected myself seconds after my slip-of-the-tongue, and that I made it abundantly clear that pressure should be put on China to restrict energy exports to the North Korean regime."
Those kinds of outbursts could be fatal in a presidential campaign, and stand as a stark contrast to the statement that Palin released Wednesday.
The new level of political professionalism to her approach - if that indeed is what this represents - also might not be merely a coincidence in its timing.
Republican operatives report that Palin has been calling around in recent weeks to seek advice not only on whether but how she should run for president in 2012. This statement might suggest she is not only seeking that counsel, but taking it as well.
Monday, January 10, 2011
10 Jan 2011, Yahoo Newws: Giffords tragedy could be a defining moment for Palin
Giffords tragedy could be a defining moment for Palin
Within an hour of Saturday's tragic shooting in Arizona, the Twittersphere had quickly seized on a map put out by Sarah Palin's political action committee last year that had gun-sight images over the congressional districts of House Democrats she wanted to win for the GOP in 2010.
Among her targets: Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, who was critically wounded by a gunman Saturday. His motives, authorities say, are not fully known. But friends of the suspect, Jared Loughner, have suggested that he had held a grudge for at least three years against Giffords dating back to when he met her in 2007.
Still, some believe that incendiary rhetoric like Palin's bears some responsibility in the tragedy. Giffords herself had previously raised concerns about Palin's map: "The way that she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that action."
[Photos: Nation mourns the tragedy in Arizona]
On Sunday,the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, cited the Palin map as a sign of the "toxic rhetoric" that has come to define national politics in recent years. He said he was not making a direct connection between Palin and the shootings.
Palin offered her condolences after the massacre Saturday in a brief message on Facebook and has said little else of it. But she did email conservative radio host Glenn Beck, who read part of their exchange on the air Monday morning, per Politico's Keach Hagey. "I hate violence," Palin wrote Beck. "I hate war. Our children will not have peace if politicos just capitalize on this to succeed in portraying anyone as inciting terror and violence."
[Related: The intern who helped save Giffords' life]
Still, Palin has become a focal point in the debate over heated rhetoric, and her response is likely to be a defining moment in her political career. One informal but telling sign of the potential stakes for Palin: According to Facebook, the top question dominating debate on the site over the weekend was "Is Sarah Palin to blame?"
Click image to see more photos of scenes after the Arizona shooting
AP
So far, Palin's team, angry that the former governor is being linked to the shooting, has struggled to contain the controversy. On Saturday, the map citing Giffords was abruptly pulled from the SarahPAC site — even though it remained on Facebook. Rebecca Mansour, a Palin aide, said on Twitter that the map was pulled because it "was no longer relevant" since the 2010 campaign was over.
In a subsequent interview with GOP radio host Tammy Bruce, Mansour defended the map. They weren't gun sights but "surveyor's symbols," Bruce suggested, according to Alaska Dispatch, and Mansour agreed. But that contradicted Palin's own prior characterization of the map's symbol as a "'bullseye' icon."
According to Alaska Dispatch, Mansour said attempts to link Palin to the shooting were "obscene" and "appalling." She said there was "nothing irresponsible about our graphic."
Palin is hardly the first politician to use gun or military imagery in campaigning. As the Palin's supporters on the right noted, even President Obama has used similar metaphors, telling Democratic donors in 2008, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun." And Palin's former running mate, Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, had defended Palin's call for followers to "reload" as they rallied to capture Congress. "I've heard all of the language throughout my political career," he said.
[Photos: Images of the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner]
But the bigger question is whether Palin will seek to passionately defend her comments and political ground — as she has been known to do during past controversies — or whether she, like other political figures in recent days, will urge her supporters to cool the rhetoric.
As Politico's Jonathan Martin says: "Whether she defends, explains or even responds at all to the intense criticism of her brand of confrontational politics could well determine her trajectory on the national scene — and it's likely to reveal the scope of her ambitions as well."
Saturday, January 8, 2011
8 Jan, The Improper: Sarah Palin Reality Show Snuffed by TLC; Is She Running?
Sarah Palin Reality Show Snuffed by TLC; Is She Running?
Sarah Palin appears to have stalked her last caribou and bludgeoned her last halibut, at least on camera. Her reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” appears to have been slaughtered and gutted by the folks at TLC.
The reasons are complicated and largely speculative, but the cancellation could be an indication that Palin, indeed, will be running for president in 2012. Yikes!
Palin’s show was a hot button issue from the get-go. It exploded in the ratings; the first episode drew a record breaking (for TLC) five million viewers. But curiosity killed the cat, just as quickly as Palin gunned down her big buck.
The ratings fell 40 percent for the second episode. The only person interested in the series was probably Kate Gosselin, who reportedly fretted that Palin was replacing her as the cable channel’s sweetheart.
But it was not to be, according to Entertainment Weekly.
It reported that the show would not be renewed, making Sunday’s (Jan. 9) first-season finale likely the final airing.
If Palin were choosing to sit out the 2012 election, the show would be in the clear. But as a candidate, TLC would have to give equal time to her presidential opponents.
Palin was made to look cold-blooded after a video of her and daughter Bristol in a bloody orgy of halibut clubbing.
Then, she was shown on the show stalking and killing a caribou. Then, her crew swept in to gut the helpless animal. Palin made some suggestions that it was all about eating. But few bought it.
“I don’t watch snuff films and you make them. You weren’t killing that animal for food or shelter or even fashion, you were killing it for fun. You enjoy killing animals,” wrote screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in the Huffington Post.
Sarah Palin appears to have stalked her last caribou and bludgeoned her last halibut, at least on camera. Her reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” appears to have been slaughtered and gutted by the folks at TLC.
The reasons are complicated and largely speculative, but the cancellation could be an indication that Palin, indeed, will be running for president in 2012. Yikes!
Palin’s show was a hot button issue from the get-go. It exploded in the ratings; the first episode drew a record breaking (for TLC) five million viewers. But curiosity killed the cat, just as quickly as Palin gunned down her big buck.
The ratings fell 40 percent for the second episode. The only person interested in the series was probably Kate Gosselin, who reportedly fretted that Palin was replacing her as the cable channel’s sweetheart.
But it was not to be, according to Entertainment Weekly.
It reported that the show would not be renewed, making Sunday’s (Jan. 9) first-season finale likely the final airing.
If Palin were choosing to sit out the 2012 election, the show would be in the clear. But as a candidate, TLC would have to give equal time to her presidential opponents.
Palin was made to look cold-blooded after a video of her and daughter Bristol in a bloody orgy of halibut clubbing.
Then, she was shown on the show stalking and killing a caribou. Then, her crew swept in to gut the helpless animal. Palin made some suggestions that it was all about eating. But few bought it.
“I don’t watch snuff films and you make them. You weren’t killing that animal for food or shelter or even fashion, you were killing it for fun. You enjoy killing animals,” wrote screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in the Huffington Post.
8 Jan 2011, Saturday: CBS News; Sarah Palin Criticized Over Gabrielle Giffords Presence on "Target List"
Sarah Palin Criticized Over Gabrielle Giffords Presence on "Target List"
We do not yet know what prompted 22-year-old accused gunman Jared Loughner to allegedly shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and others, including a child and federal judge who died from their wounds.
But critics of Sarah Palin have already drawn a link between the shooting and the fact that the former Alaska governor put Giffords on a "target list" of lawmakers Palin wanted to see unseated in the midterm elections.
In March, Palin released a map featuring 20 House Democrats that used crosshairs images to show their districts. (You can see it here.) Critics suggested at the time that she was inciting violence by using the crosshairs imagery and for later writing on Twitter to her supporters, "'Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!'"
"We're paying particular attention to those House members who voted in favor of Obamacare and represent districts that Senator John McCain and I carried during the 2008 election," Palin wrote when she released the target list.
She specifically cited Giffords and then went to say: "We'll aim for these races and many others."
In response to the news that Giffords had been shot, Palin posted the following on Facebook: "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."
In the comments section below, her critics did not hold back.
"What a hypocrite you are," wrote Kathy Henn. "You targeted this woman - literally with a target on her district - one of your freaky Fox followers hunted her down - and now you try to distance yourself from blame." (There is no evidence at this point that Loughner was a "Fox follower," that he held views in line with Palin, or that he had ever seen the target list.)
"More than condolences, I hope you will think carefully in the future when you call on supporters to 'take aim' at opponents, and refer to elections as 'salvos,'" wrote Kirsten Sherk. "A child was killed today by someone who can't tell the difference between 'inspiring' speech and a call to arms. I was appalled by your violent speech before, I'm horrified now."
Arizona Democrat Rep. Raul Grijalva, meanwhile, told The Nation in the wake of the shooting that "we're feeding anger, hatred, and division for quite a while. Maybe it is time for elected officials and leaders in this country that have been feeding that disease to realize that there are consequences to it."
Asked if the Tea Party right was to blame, he added: "[When] you stoke these flames, and you go to public meetings and you scream at the elected officials, you threaten them--you make us expendable you make us part of the cannon fodder. For a while, you've been feeding this hatred, this division...you feed it, you encourage it....Something's going to happen. People are feeding this monster....Some of the extreme right wing has made demonization of elected officials their priority."
Giffords is in the beginning of her third term in office after recently winning a very close election. She is a conservative Democrat in a conservative state, but was the target of heated rhetoric.
Around the time of the Palin post, Giffords's district office was vandalized with a window being shot out. CBS News's Jill Jackson reported at the time that staffers were "kind of shaken up" after receiving numerous threats including "nasty language, foul language."
In August of 2009, someone dropped a handgun at a Giffords town hall meeting, prompting calls to police from Giffords' staff. A spokesman said then that "We have never felt the need before to notify law enforcement when we hold these events."
Asked by the New York Post in the wake of the shooting if Giffords had any enemies, her father responded, "Yeah. The whole Tea Party."
In reacting to today's shooting, Jane Fonda, a well-known liberal, pointed the finger at Palin on Twitter. "Progressive Arizona Rep Gabrielle Giffords is shot. In her ads, Sarah Palin had her targeted in a gun site. Inciting to violence," she said.
The Tea Part Express, meanwhile, said in part: "These heinous crimes have no place in America, and they are especially grievous when committed against our elected officials. Spirited debate is desirable in our country, but it only should be the clash of ideas. An attack on anyone for political purposes, if that was a factor in this shooting, is an attack on the democratic process."
John McCain, the man who brought Palin to national attention by tapping her to be his running mate, didn't mention Palin in his response to the shooting in his home state. "Whoever did this; whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law," he wrote.
When Palin was being criticized for the target list, McCain came to her defense, saying, "I have seen the rhetoric of targeted districts as long as I've been in politics."
"This is -- any threat of violence is terrible, but to say that there is a targeted district or that we 'reload' or go back in to the fight again, please...Those are fine. They're used all the time," he said, adding: "Those words have been used throughout of my political career. There are targeted districts, and there are areas that we call battleground states, and so please, that rhetoric and kind of language is just part of the political lexicon. There is no place for threats of violence or anything else, but to say that someone is in a battleground state is not originated today."
Responding to Palin's rhetoric last year, Giffords herself told MSNBC's The Daily Rundown, that "the rhetoric is incredibly heated."
Giffords - who is a gun owner and supporter of gun rights - went on to say: "The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district, when people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that," she added.
Palin is not the only politician taking heat in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy - critics are also pointing the finger at Giffords' general election opponent, Jesse Kelly. The liberal website firedoglake noted that Kelly held an event on June 12th urging supporters to "Get on Target for Victory in November/Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office/Shoot a fully automatic M15 with Jesse Kelly."
Here's how the Arizona Daily Star described the event at the time:
We do not yet know what prompted 22-year-old accused gunman Jared Loughner to allegedly shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and others, including a child and federal judge who died from their wounds.
But critics of Sarah Palin have already drawn a link between the shooting and the fact that the former Alaska governor put Giffords on a "target list" of lawmakers Palin wanted to see unseated in the midterm elections.
In March, Palin released a map featuring 20 House Democrats that used crosshairs images to show their districts. (You can see it here.) Critics suggested at the time that she was inciting violence by using the crosshairs imagery and for later writing on Twitter to her supporters, "'Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!'"
"We're paying particular attention to those House members who voted in favor of Obamacare and represent districts that Senator John McCain and I carried during the 2008 election," Palin wrote when she released the target list.
She specifically cited Giffords and then went to say: "We'll aim for these races and many others."
In response to the news that Giffords had been shot, Palin posted the following on Facebook: "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."
In the comments section below, her critics did not hold back.
"What a hypocrite you are," wrote Kathy Henn. "You targeted this woman - literally with a target on her district - one of your freaky Fox followers hunted her down - and now you try to distance yourself from blame." (There is no evidence at this point that Loughner was a "Fox follower," that he held views in line with Palin, or that he had ever seen the target list.)
"More than condolences, I hope you will think carefully in the future when you call on supporters to 'take aim' at opponents, and refer to elections as 'salvos,'" wrote Kirsten Sherk. "A child was killed today by someone who can't tell the difference between 'inspiring' speech and a call to arms. I was appalled by your violent speech before, I'm horrified now."
Arizona Democrat Rep. Raul Grijalva, meanwhile, told The Nation in the wake of the shooting that "we're feeding anger, hatred, and division for quite a while. Maybe it is time for elected officials and leaders in this country that have been feeding that disease to realize that there are consequences to it."
Asked if the Tea Party right was to blame, he added: "[When] you stoke these flames, and you go to public meetings and you scream at the elected officials, you threaten them--you make us expendable you make us part of the cannon fodder. For a while, you've been feeding this hatred, this division...you feed it, you encourage it....Something's going to happen. People are feeding this monster....Some of the extreme right wing has made demonization of elected officials their priority."
Giffords is in the beginning of her third term in office after recently winning a very close election. She is a conservative Democrat in a conservative state, but was the target of heated rhetoric.
Around the time of the Palin post, Giffords's district office was vandalized with a window being shot out. CBS News's Jill Jackson reported at the time that staffers were "kind of shaken up" after receiving numerous threats including "nasty language, foul language."
In August of 2009, someone dropped a handgun at a Giffords town hall meeting, prompting calls to police from Giffords' staff. A spokesman said then that "We have never felt the need before to notify law enforcement when we hold these events."
Asked by the New York Post in the wake of the shooting if Giffords had any enemies, her father responded, "Yeah. The whole Tea Party."
In reacting to today's shooting, Jane Fonda, a well-known liberal, pointed the finger at Palin on Twitter. "Progressive Arizona Rep Gabrielle Giffords is shot. In her ads, Sarah Palin had her targeted in a gun site. Inciting to violence," she said.
The Tea Part Express, meanwhile, said in part: "These heinous crimes have no place in America, and they are especially grievous when committed against our elected officials. Spirited debate is desirable in our country, but it only should be the clash of ideas. An attack on anyone for political purposes, if that was a factor in this shooting, is an attack on the democratic process."
John McCain, the man who brought Palin to national attention by tapping her to be his running mate, didn't mention Palin in his response to the shooting in his home state. "Whoever did this; whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law," he wrote.
When Palin was being criticized for the target list, McCain came to her defense, saying, "I have seen the rhetoric of targeted districts as long as I've been in politics."
"This is -- any threat of violence is terrible, but to say that there is a targeted district or that we 'reload' or go back in to the fight again, please...Those are fine. They're used all the time," he said, adding: "Those words have been used throughout of my political career. There are targeted districts, and there are areas that we call battleground states, and so please, that rhetoric and kind of language is just part of the political lexicon. There is no place for threats of violence or anything else, but to say that someone is in a battleground state is not originated today."
Responding to Palin's rhetoric last year, Giffords herself told MSNBC's The Daily Rundown, that "the rhetoric is incredibly heated."
Giffords - who is a gun owner and supporter of gun rights - went on to say: "The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district, when people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that," she added.
Palin is not the only politician taking heat in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy - critics are also pointing the finger at Giffords' general election opponent, Jesse Kelly. The liberal website firedoglake noted that Kelly held an event on June 12th urging supporters to "Get on Target for Victory in November/Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office/Shoot a fully automatic M15 with Jesse Kelly."
Here's how the Arizona Daily Star described the event at the time:
Jesse Kelly, meanwhile, doesn't seem to be bothered in the least by the Sarah Palin controversy earlier this year, when she released a list of targeted races in crosshairs, urging followers to "reload" and "aim" for Democrats. Critics said she was inciting violence.
He seems to be embracing his fellow tea partier's idea. Kelly's campaign event website has a stern-looking photo of the former Marine in military garb holding his weapon. It includes the headline: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
5 Jan 2011, Wed, Palin's retweet of gay radio host's DADT comment sparks speculation over stance
Washington Post: Palin's retweet of gay radio host's DADT comment sparks speculation over stance
Sometimes a rose is just a rose - but that doesn't tell us anything about what Sarah Palin's tweets mean.
The former Alaska governor is famous for using Twitter to muse and zing and occasionally make news in 140 characters or less. This week, she did it by sending out a post from an openly gay talk radio host criticizing opponents of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
But what does it mean? Does Palin, who has spent the better part of two years cultivating her popularity with conservative Republicans, support allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the armed forces? And if so, what is she playing at?
At issue is a tweet posted early Tuesday by Tammy Bruce, a conservative talk radio host who is openly gay: "But this hypocrisy is just truly too much. Enuf already - the more someone complains about the homos the more we should look under their bed."
A little later in the day, Palin "retweeted" Bruce's post, meaning she sent it out to the more than 350,000 people who follow her on Twitter. Palin didn't add her own comment to the post. Nor has she said anything publicly since to explain what she meant.
"It's hard to know what the meaning is," said Mathew Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Va. "I doubt if she has changed her position, but if she has, she will have lost a large base of her support."
But will Palin also have gained support? And really, let's just cut to the chase: How does the tweet affect Palin's presidential ambitions? Does it change the conversation? Or was it simply meant to keep her in the conversation without the damage of an explicit position?
Bruce explained in a subsequent blog post that her own tweet referred to the Navy captain who was relieved of his command Tuesday for making a series of lewd videos that were shown to 6,000 sailors and Marines serving under him on the USS Enterprise.
Bruce also wrote that she believes that Palin, in retweeting the post, meant to support Bruce's point of view on "don't ask, don't tell."
"When it comes to Sarah Palin's position on DADT, I have never asked her about it and she has never spoken to me about it - but I assess her as a conservative with libertarian influence," Bruce wrote. "Both her husband and son are independents, with Mr. Palin serving as his wife's primary adviser. I will remind people of things already in the public realm about the governor - she refused to veto partner benefits legislation as governor of Alaska and is a firm believer in fairness and "live and let live." She is not a culture warrior, however. She is, which should be apparent by her Facebook postings and opinion pieces, a policy wonk. She is also, which is clearly evident, a charismatic leader who remains grounded by her character, faith and family."
Bruce also said that she took Palin's retweet as a "condemnation" of efforts by a number of conservative groups to protest this year's upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference because the pro-gay rights Republican group GOProud is a sponsor.
Staver, of Liberty Counsel, is among those protesting the CPAC conference. He is certain that Palin, in the past, has opposed lifting the "don't ask, don't tell" ban - and that, more generally, she opposes what he calls the "homosexual agenda." He also thinks that Palin chose not to to attend CPAC last year because GOProud was a sponsor then, too.
Palin's record is a bit murkier than that. At the time, published reports indicated that Palin declined the invitation because of controversies surrounding CPAC's organizer, the American Conservative Union. The group's leader, David Keene, had been accused of demanding a large payment from FedEx in exchange for support of its legislative agenda - which Palin confidants said cast a "pay-for-play" pall over the conference.
Palin also has been unclear about "don't ask, don't tell." In an interview with Fox News in February, she said she was surprised that President Obama was pushing to repeal the ban - but she never condemned his position on the substance. "There are other things to be worried about right now with the military," Palin said. "I think that kind of on the back burner, is sufficient for now. To put so much time, and effort, and politics into it, [is] unnecessary."
Such statements have placated social conservatives, some of whom were reluctant this week to interpret her tweet.
"I'm not going to comment on what constitutes a position put forth by Governor Palin, particularly when it involves a retweet of a tweet," said Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, a group that generally supports Palin but that is also protesting CPAC this year.
Palin undoubtedly will be asked about the issue the next time the opportunity arises.
"Only Sarah Palin can answer that question," Staver said. "That will be an interesting answer."
Sometimes a rose is just a rose - but that doesn't tell us anything about what Sarah Palin's tweets mean.
The former Alaska governor is famous for using Twitter to muse and zing and occasionally make news in 140 characters or less. This week, she did it by sending out a post from an openly gay talk radio host criticizing opponents of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
But what does it mean? Does Palin, who has spent the better part of two years cultivating her popularity with conservative Republicans, support allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the armed forces? And if so, what is she playing at?
At issue is a tweet posted early Tuesday by Tammy Bruce, a conservative talk radio host who is openly gay: "But this hypocrisy is just truly too much. Enuf already - the more someone complains about the homos the more we should look under their bed."
A little later in the day, Palin "retweeted" Bruce's post, meaning she sent it out to the more than 350,000 people who follow her on Twitter. Palin didn't add her own comment to the post. Nor has she said anything publicly since to explain what she meant.
"It's hard to know what the meaning is," said Mathew Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Va. "I doubt if she has changed her position, but if she has, she will have lost a large base of her support."
But will Palin also have gained support? And really, let's just cut to the chase: How does the tweet affect Palin's presidential ambitions? Does it change the conversation? Or was it simply meant to keep her in the conversation without the damage of an explicit position?
Bruce explained in a subsequent blog post that her own tweet referred to the Navy captain who was relieved of his command Tuesday for making a series of lewd videos that were shown to 6,000 sailors and Marines serving under him on the USS Enterprise.
Bruce also wrote that she believes that Palin, in retweeting the post, meant to support Bruce's point of view on "don't ask, don't tell."
"When it comes to Sarah Palin's position on DADT, I have never asked her about it and she has never spoken to me about it - but I assess her as a conservative with libertarian influence," Bruce wrote. "Both her husband and son are independents, with Mr. Palin serving as his wife's primary adviser. I will remind people of things already in the public realm about the governor - she refused to veto partner benefits legislation as governor of Alaska and is a firm believer in fairness and "live and let live." She is not a culture warrior, however. She is, which should be apparent by her Facebook postings and opinion pieces, a policy wonk. She is also, which is clearly evident, a charismatic leader who remains grounded by her character, faith and family."
Bruce also said that she took Palin's retweet as a "condemnation" of efforts by a number of conservative groups to protest this year's upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference because the pro-gay rights Republican group GOProud is a sponsor.
Staver, of Liberty Counsel, is among those protesting the CPAC conference. He is certain that Palin, in the past, has opposed lifting the "don't ask, don't tell" ban - and that, more generally, she opposes what he calls the "homosexual agenda." He also thinks that Palin chose not to to attend CPAC last year because GOProud was a sponsor then, too.
Palin's record is a bit murkier than that. At the time, published reports indicated that Palin declined the invitation because of controversies surrounding CPAC's organizer, the American Conservative Union. The group's leader, David Keene, had been accused of demanding a large payment from FedEx in exchange for support of its legislative agenda - which Palin confidants said cast a "pay-for-play" pall over the conference.
Palin also has been unclear about "don't ask, don't tell." In an interview with Fox News in February, she said she was surprised that President Obama was pushing to repeal the ban - but she never condemned his position on the substance. "There are other things to be worried about right now with the military," Palin said. "I think that kind of on the back burner, is sufficient for now. To put so much time, and effort, and politics into it, [is] unnecessary."
Such statements have placated social conservatives, some of whom were reluctant this week to interpret her tweet.
"I'm not going to comment on what constitutes a position put forth by Governor Palin, particularly when it involves a retweet of a tweet," said Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, a group that generally supports Palin but that is also protesting CPAC this year.
Palin undoubtedly will be asked about the issue the next time the opportunity arises.
"Only Sarah Palin can answer that question," Staver said. "That will be an interesting answer."
Saturday, January 1, 2011
1 Jan 2011, Knox News: Guess what Albert Gore Jr., Sarah Palin and an albino raccoon have in common
Knox News: Guess what Albert Gore Jr., Sarah Palin and an albino raccoon have in common
Albert Gore. Jr., Sarah Palin and an albino raccoon all the made the knoxnews most read article list.
For a few weeks in December, we asked readers to tell us the top stories of 2010 based on a list editors developed.
And those may have very well been the top regional stories of last year, but they certainly weren't the most read on knoxnews.com.
Only three of those 10 made the list of the 10 most read stories on knoxnews based on page views.
February and April were particularly "big story" months.
Here are the top 10 stories of 2010 on knoxnews based on page views, or how many times the page was called up on a computer screen.
1) UT to give Gore honorary degree
Feb 27, 2010
Former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will receive an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Tennessee.
The degree - an Honorary Doctor of Laws and Humane Letters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - will be given to Gore at the spring commencement exercises of the College of Arts and Sciences on May 14, where he will be the featured speaker.
2) Jury convicts Palin e-mail intruder on two counts; mistrial declared on ID theft
April 30, 2010
A federal jury convicted Sarah Palin e-mail intruder David C. Kernell of felony destruction of records to hamper a federal investigation and misdemeanor unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer.
The jury acquitted Kernell, 22, of felony wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips declared a mistrial on another charge, felony identity theft, after the jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked.
3) Inskip teacher charged; principal, assistant principal in hospital after shooting
Feb. 10, 2010
An Inskip Elementary School fourth-grade teacher faces prosecution tonight on two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shootings of the school's principal and assistant principal.
Mark Stephen Foster, 48, of Clinton was taken into custody minutes after the shootings at the school, 4701 High School Road in North Knoxville.
4) Powell man charged with vehicular homicide, left passenger to die
Sept. 15, 2010
A Powell man has been charged with vehicular homicide after crashing his car and then leaving his passenger to die.
Harry Duggan, 46, was driving east on Kodak Road on Tuesday when he ran off the right side of the road and struck a tree. His passenger, 35-year-old Melissa Cameron, was partially ejected from the car, and died at the scene, according to a Knox County Sheriff's Office accident report.
5) TBI, police investigating suspended Clinton High teacher
Feb. 5, 2010
A Clinton High School teacher suspended without pay and charged with "improper conduct" by school officials is the focus of a criminal investigation, officials confirmed today.
Officials declined to comment about specific allegations against Megan Baumann, who was placed on unpaid leave shortly after noon Thursday by Anderson County Schools Director Larry Foster. Her suspension is until further notice.
6) Mom who threw pricey 'Super Sweet 15' party indicted in fraud
Oct. 10, 2010
Leslie Anne Janous was arraigned Friday on a 13-count wire fraud indictment accusing her of bilking Scancarbon, a brokerage firm for precious metals, high purity coal and silicon products that are exported to countries across the world, of nearly $2.4 million this year alone. FBI Agent Christopher S. Lucado alleges in a criminal complaint, however, that Janous has been stealing from the firm since 2006 and puts her thievery haul at $4.5 million.
7) Rare albino raccoon captured in West Knox
July 30, 2010
Randy Wolfe, owner of Varmint Busters Wildlife Management Services, trapped a male albino raccoon Thursday near Nubbin Ridge in West Knox County.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife biologist David Brandenburg said finding an albino raccoon is very uncommon.
"You don't see more of them because natural selection usually takes care of that," he said. "White is not a good color for a wildlife creature."
8) Judge: No testimony from Utah student who accessed Palin account
April 23, 2010
With the government wrapping up its case, the defense attorney for a former University of Tennessee student accused of illegally accessing one-time Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's private e-mail account tried and failed to put another college student in the hot seat.
Attorney Wade Davies this afternoon sought to convince U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips to allow him to force a reluctant Justin Hill to testify as a defense witness.
9) Woman killed man who shot husband during S. Knox home invasion
Nov, 22, 2010
A woman shot and killed a man during a South Knoxville home invasion robbery after the intruder had struggled with and shot her husband, authorities said this morning.
A second interloper escaped, apparently uninjured, and was being sought by police.
10) Police: Parkwest victims 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'
April 20, 2010
The man police said shot and killed a woman, wounded two others and then killed himself believed a doctor had implanted a tracking chip in his body during an appendectomy, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this afternoon.
Abdo Ibssa, who would have turned 39 today, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ethiopia, used a stolen .357-caliber magnum pistol to shoot the women and then himself about 4:34 p.m. Monday outside Parkwest Medical Center.
Albert Gore. Jr., Sarah Palin and an albino raccoon all the made the knoxnews most read article list.
For a few weeks in December, we asked readers to tell us the top stories of 2010 based on a list editors developed.
And those may have very well been the top regional stories of last year, but they certainly weren't the most read on knoxnews.com.
Only three of those 10 made the list of the 10 most read stories on knoxnews based on page views.
February and April were particularly "big story" months.
Here are the top 10 stories of 2010 on knoxnews based on page views, or how many times the page was called up on a computer screen.
1) UT to give Gore honorary degree
Feb 27, 2010
Former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will receive an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Tennessee.
The degree - an Honorary Doctor of Laws and Humane Letters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - will be given to Gore at the spring commencement exercises of the College of Arts and Sciences on May 14, where he will be the featured speaker.
2) Jury convicts Palin e-mail intruder on two counts; mistrial declared on ID theft
April 30, 2010
A federal jury convicted Sarah Palin e-mail intruder David C. Kernell of felony destruction of records to hamper a federal investigation and misdemeanor unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer.
The jury acquitted Kernell, 22, of felony wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips declared a mistrial on another charge, felony identity theft, after the jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked.
3) Inskip teacher charged; principal, assistant principal in hospital after shooting
Feb. 10, 2010
An Inskip Elementary School fourth-grade teacher faces prosecution tonight on two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shootings of the school's principal and assistant principal.
Mark Stephen Foster, 48, of Clinton was taken into custody minutes after the shootings at the school, 4701 High School Road in North Knoxville.
4) Powell man charged with vehicular homicide, left passenger to die
Sept. 15, 2010
A Powell man has been charged with vehicular homicide after crashing his car and then leaving his passenger to die.
Harry Duggan, 46, was driving east on Kodak Road on Tuesday when he ran off the right side of the road and struck a tree. His passenger, 35-year-old Melissa Cameron, was partially ejected from the car, and died at the scene, according to a Knox County Sheriff's Office accident report.
5) TBI, police investigating suspended Clinton High teacher
Feb. 5, 2010
A Clinton High School teacher suspended without pay and charged with "improper conduct" by school officials is the focus of a criminal investigation, officials confirmed today.
Officials declined to comment about specific allegations against Megan Baumann, who was placed on unpaid leave shortly after noon Thursday by Anderson County Schools Director Larry Foster. Her suspension is until further notice.
6) Mom who threw pricey 'Super Sweet 15' party indicted in fraud
Oct. 10, 2010
Leslie Anne Janous was arraigned Friday on a 13-count wire fraud indictment accusing her of bilking Scancarbon, a brokerage firm for precious metals, high purity coal and silicon products that are exported to countries across the world, of nearly $2.4 million this year alone. FBI Agent Christopher S. Lucado alleges in a criminal complaint, however, that Janous has been stealing from the firm since 2006 and puts her thievery haul at $4.5 million.
7) Rare albino raccoon captured in West Knox
July 30, 2010
Randy Wolfe, owner of Varmint Busters Wildlife Management Services, trapped a male albino raccoon Thursday near Nubbin Ridge in West Knox County.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife biologist David Brandenburg said finding an albino raccoon is very uncommon.
"You don't see more of them because natural selection usually takes care of that," he said. "White is not a good color for a wildlife creature."
8) Judge: No testimony from Utah student who accessed Palin account
April 23, 2010
With the government wrapping up its case, the defense attorney for a former University of Tennessee student accused of illegally accessing one-time Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's private e-mail account tried and failed to put another college student in the hot seat.
Attorney Wade Davies this afternoon sought to convince U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips to allow him to force a reluctant Justin Hill to testify as a defense witness.
9) Woman killed man who shot husband during S. Knox home invasion
Nov, 22, 2010
A woman shot and killed a man during a South Knoxville home invasion robbery after the intruder had struggled with and shot her husband, authorities said this morning.
A second interloper escaped, apparently uninjured, and was being sought by police.
10) Police: Parkwest victims 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'
April 20, 2010
The man police said shot and killed a woman, wounded two others and then killed himself believed a doctor had implanted a tracking chip in his body during an appendectomy, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this afternoon.
Abdo Ibssa, who would have turned 39 today, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ethiopia, used a stolen .357-caliber magnum pistol to shoot the women and then himself about 4:34 p.m. Monday outside Parkwest Medical Center.
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