Palin on 'Crosshairs' Controversy: 'I Hate Violence'

Supporters urge Palin to hit back at liberal critics on Giffords shooting
Sarah Palin has stayed mostly silent on the Arizona massacre. This may be smart for her in the long-term - and if so, she is right to take the long-term view. After all, at this point no one should second-guess Palin’s political instincts . You do not rise from PTA mom to the head of the conservative political stratosphere by making dumb moves. Facing a firestorm of unwarranted criticism over gun metaphors that her enemies claim fed the heated political climate surrounding the Tucso...

Arizona Lawmaker In Palin's 'Crosshairs' Says Blame Game Is Not Helpful (VIDEO)
Arizona Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who like Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was targeted by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, said in an interview Tuesday that "the blame game is not helpful right now." Still, former Rep. Kirkpatrick said that being featured on Palin's list of 20 districts -- complete with a map of what a Palin aide called "surveyor marks" -- "was especially disconcerting for our families." "Well, you know, it was angry and mean-spirited campaign in many ways and I think it's real...

Tuesday's Mini-Report
TUESDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits: * It seems hard to even imagine, but Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is already able to breathe on her own, though she remains in critical condition. One of her doctors told reporters today, "She has no right to look this good." * Speaking from China today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said North Korea's nuclear and intercontinental Ballistic Missile programs are "becoming a direct threat to the United States." * Gates' visit just ha...

Adolf Hitler responsible for Arizona shooting?
While Victims of the Tucson shooting still lied in the Parking Lot, propagandists on the left started to lay the ground work in an attempt to spin the horrific incident into a rightwing self-fulfilling prophesy.  With no regard for the truth, a broad spectrum of liberals jumped on the political vitriol bandwagon attempting to connect Conservatives from Sarah Palin to Rush Limbaugh to the shooting.  However, to date the only information gleaned from the investigation indicate the discov...

Palin responds to Ariz. shooting: 'I hate violence'
Rightly or wrongly, Sarah Palin has been thrust into the debate over political Rhetoric in the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson. Now, she's weighed in briefly through an e-mail to Fox News personality Glenn Beck. "I hate violence. 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. Thanks for all you do to send the message of truth and love and God as the answer," Palin said, accordin...

Exclusive: Pawlenty addresses Palin-attack story
Earlier today, the media reported on a supposed dust-up between Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin over the Controversial use of “crosshairs” symbols on her website. Peter Hamby at CNN tweeted that “Pawlenty didn’t really ‘jab’ or ‘swipe’ at Palin,” but the former Minnesota Governor began taking criticism from Palin supporters nonetheless.  What Pawlenty said was that the imagery wasn’t really “his style” and he wouldn’t ...

Congressional leaders lay blame for Tucson killing
Partisan representatives and their aides have slung Rhetoric over the circumstances that led to the Murder of 6, and the wounding of 14 more, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, last weekend.  While Obama assured the country that “the perpetrator of a heinous crime” would be brought to justice, Democrats and Republicans slumped into their comfort zone.  Most media outlets have concluded that Jared Loughner, the man who held the gun, is mentally unstable, yet politi...

Rick Santorum Opposes Bullseye Ban
By Grant Bosse (MANCHESTER, NH) Rick Santorum doesn’t want to restrict Political Speech in the wake of this weekend’s shooting in Tuscon, Arizona. The former Republican Senator discussed calls for toning down fiery political Rhetoric following the attempted Assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, which left six people dead. Congressman Robert Brady (D-PA) has proposed banning cross-hairs and bullseyes in political ads, as liberal commentators have tried to tie accu...

Zev Yaroslavsky: A Time to Cool the Rhetoric
On Saturday morning, before she was shot, Gabrielle Giffords was performing one of her most vital duties as a public servant. She was meeting with the public. The Arizona congresswoman knew there were risks; last March, the windows of her office were shattered after her vote for Health Care reform. During her hotly contested campaign for Reelection, gun gimmicks and imagery abounded. On a map on Sarah Palin's political action committee's website, Giffords' district was among a number that had ...

Palin caught in crosshairs map controversy after Tucson shootings
In her more than two years on the national stage, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has proven to be a master of attention-grabbing quotes and vivid images. As a result, she finds herself at the center of a political and media Controversy - unfairly in the estimation of her allies - after Saturday's shootings in Tucson. This Story Arizona shooting suspect Loughner makes first appearance in Federal Court The faces of Jared Loughner Bullet's path may determine Giffords's injuries A look at the...

Is It Possible to Avoid War Analogies in Politics?
Political commentators are embroiled in a heated discussion of whether or not the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords should lead to changes in how we frame political disagreements; whether the aggressive, martial language employed by Sarah Palin was over the line; and whether more frequent use of such language in the past two years is to blame for the shooting in Tucson Saturday. According to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, authors of 2003's "Metaphors we Live By," it may not be possible to av...

Dan Savage Remixes Sarah Palin
This will be the cover of this week's issue of The Stranger, for whom Dan Savage is editor. Embiggen for the names. Labels: Dan Savage, Gabrielle Giffords, Sarah Palin New! Share this on Facebook: Share ...

Sarah Palin's leadership moment
Whether she likes it or not and whether it's fair or not, Sarah Palin is a major character in the drama surrounding the tragedy in Tucson. This comes with the territory when one has operated as a hub in the nation's political discourse since the 2008 presidential contest. But while I understand the defensive crouch she is now in, it's time she actually be the image she likes to project: a leader. Conservative commentator David Frum gives Palin an excellent eight-point plan to respond in a manner...

Brewer: Arizona is a place of 'heroes'
Tucson, Ariz. — Gov. Jan Brewer made an impassioned defense of her state Tuesday in the same city where a local sheriff decried Arizona as a “mecca of intolerance and Bigotry.” “Since Saturday, all of us have read and heard a lot about the state of Arizona,” she said. “I want to speak to you about the Arizona I know, the place we saw again even on such an awful Saturday,” Brewer told nearly 700 civil and business leaders who had gathered for her Speech...

Leading evangelical halts effort to increase political civility
By Dan Gilgoff, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor At a moment when many Americans are decrying the overheated tone of American politics, an influential Evangelical voice said Tuesday he is folding a project he helped found to increase political civility. Mark DeMoss said he is halting the initiative, called the Civility Project, due to lack of interest. “After only three members of Congress agreed to sign this Civility Pledge last year I’ve decided to shut it down,” DeMoss told CNN by e-mail on

Sarah Palin: I Hate Violence
Via Glenn Beck, we have Sarah Palin's first real words on the Controversy that has erupted since Saturday's shootings: On his radio program on Monday, Glenn...

Sarah Palin: I hate violence
On his radio program on Monday, Glenn Beck described an email exchange with Sarah Palin over Saturday's tragedy in Tuscon. Beck said there was no evidence that Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged shooter, was directed by political Rhetoric and motivations. "The media continues to toss blame around but they didn't get it right," Beck said during the program, stating that the media have "no evidence, you don't have the full story, you don't know what's going on!" He mentioned that Palin had reached ou...

Sarah Palin responds to Arizona shooting: 'I hate violence'
Rightly or wrongly, Sarah Palin has been thrust into the debate over political Rhetoric in the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson. Now, she's weighed in briefly through an e-mail to Fox News personality Glenn Beck. "I hate violence. 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. Thanks for all you do to send the message of truth and love and God as the answer," Palin said, according to Beck. V...

Palin: I Hate Violence
Glenn Beck told his radio audience this morning that Sarah Palin had e-mailed him about the tragic shootings in Arizona this weekend, writing, “I hate violence. 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,” Palin added. During his show, Beck also urged Palin to seek extra security for herself and her family. Hon. John M. Roll, R.I.P. Suddenly, 2012 has a new must-watch ...

Palin Tells Beck: I Hate Violence
Politico ’s On Media blog reports: Sarah Palin reached out to Glenn Beck over the weekend, and Beck read some of their email exchange on his Radio Show this morning. “Sarah, as you know, peace is always the answer. I know you are felling the same heat, if not much more on this,” Beck wrote. Beck expressed concern about Palin’s safety, and urged her to hire the same Los Angeles-based security firm that he uses. The Rhetoric of both Beck and Palin has been cited by both liberals and

Sarah Palin Tells Glenn Beck: "I Hate Violence"
Sarah Palin and her campaign website targeting Congressional Democrats. On his radio program on Monday, Glenn Beck described an email exchange with Sarah Palin over Saturday's tragedy in Tuscon. Beck said Palin told him, "I hate violence." Beck said he wrote to Palin urging her to look into security measures in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others because "there are nutjobs on all sides." He told listeners he gave the former Alaska Governor the name of the security fir...

Sarah Palin E-mail to Glenn Beck: I Hate Violence
Glenn Beck reads part of an email from Sarah Palin to him in light of the massive smear job the Left is perpetrating against her. Beck reads his part first and then part of her response. Here is how she replied to him (according to Beck): I hate violence. 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. Thanks for all you do to send the message of truth and love and God as the answer. -Sarah You mus...

Maybe people just aren't buying it
Has the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson Saturday made Americans more worried that opponents of Barack Obama’s policies will turn to violence? Actually, a little less so, according to pollster Scott Rasmussen. When he asked the question last March, 53% of respondents said they were very or somewhat worried. When he asked the question again on Sunday and Monday, after the Tucson shooting, 45% said they were very or somewhat worried. Not the response I would have expect...

We Dont Understand Why This Happened: Loughners Release Statement About Son
Randy and Amy Loughner are the parents of Jared Loughner , the alleged assailant in this weekend’s tragic shooting. News reports have already surfaced regarding the “devastation” they feel over the alleged actions of their son, and today they bravely faced the press and spoke about their son. “This is a very difficult time for us. We ask that the media to respect our Privacy. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were so that we co...

Shot US politician can now breathe on her own
Gabrielle Giffords with her husband, NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly. Photo: AP The Arizona politician shot in the head in an attack that killed six in Tucson remains in critical condition but is now capable of breathing on her own, doctors said. "She's holding her own," said Michael Lemole, the head neurosurgeon who operated on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, adding on Tuesday that she was still responding to simple commands, a key sign for her recovery prospects. "In fact, she's able to generate h...