The shooting in Tucson has brought calls for civility from both sides of the aisle. Republicans and Democrats are talking about sitting together for the SOTU on the 25th. John McCain called for toning back the violent language, and most of the MSM are talking about the feel good atmosphere in Washington. However, all is not a cheery as it seems. One Democrat threatened a Tea Party leader, and the offensive to blame Democrats from the right continues unabated, especially on Fox. Leading the charge is Sara “Blood Libel” Palin, but Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment details several Republican attempts to distract from their hate speech. Republicans even ginned up a bogus Facebook page for Loughner, making him a liberal. It might have worked better had they spelled his name right.
Almost a week after the release of her disastrous Tucson shooting video, Sarah Palin stepped off her usual Twitter and Facebook platform and into the relative comfort of Sean Hannity’s softball field. On the Fox News host’s Sunday night “Hannity” program, the Wasilla Wonder returned to the public stage to once again deny any culpability whatsoever regarding the toxic political discourse in America today and, more so, how her behavior on the video was justified and appropriate.
In the video, which history will remember as her “I am not a witch” moment, she continued to blame the media for her public relations woes and in a very over-simplified way tried to excuse the “blood libel” reference she made. She was emotionless and calculated, and extremely defiant as she vociferously defended her timing of the video, her choice of words, and her ability to denounce who or whatever she opposes.
“I will continue to speak out,” a clearly agitated Palin said. “They’re not going to shut me up. They’re not going to shut you up (Hannity), or Rush or Mark Levin or Tea Party Patriots.”
When Hannity asked her to explain her timing of the video’s release the same day as the Tucson memorial, and then the use of “blood libel,” she came across as a flip 15-year-old who obviously memorized the answer to impress us with her knowledge of the subject matter. It was so contrived and insincere.
“I don’t know how the heck they would know whether I did or didn’t know’ the term blood libel, nobody’s ever asked me. Blood libel obviously means being falsely accused of having blood on your hands. In this case that’s exactly what was going on. And yes, the historical knowledge that people have of the term blood libel goes back to the Jews who were falsely accused back in the medieval European times of using the blood of children and…ya know…(snickers)…The criticism of even the timing of this statement is being used as another diversion.”
She then fell into some lame spin about liberals wanting to sidetrack voters from Congress not doing its job to combat the “trifecta” of growing debt, the “looming energy crisis” and weak national security policies. Talk about diversion… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Huffington Post>
Now a manufacturing blood libel is more than just a false accusation. It is a false accusation of grotesquely heinous proportions. I can’t, nor would I want to reach into her head, but part of the doctrine common to a large segment of Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christianity is the belief that Jews have lost God’s promises to Israel for their failure to recognize the messiah. It follows that the Supply-side Christians have inherited those promises as part of their reward, so that they, in effect, are the new Jews. Therefore, I suspect that Palin’s accusation was that she is being persecuted for her faith. If so, she knew that many on the extreme right would understand exactly what she meant, but most on the left would not, because we don’t understand the doctrine.
Here’s Keith:
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Most of the things he listed are things I didn’t even know. But two things are clear. Before the shooting, almost all the violent rhetoric came from the right. Since the shooting most Republicans refuse to claim that words from the left have consequences and words from the right do not.
9 Responses to “Tucson: The Republican Offensive Continues”
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Keith really nails it in his special comment (also an excellent quote by Clinton in there). It is clear to me that one of the biggest differences between left and right is the left is much more apt to take responsibility, question itself, examine its conscience while the right never does any of that, just doubles down on whatever they believe or say. As for “blood libel,” yes, it is totally a code word to the right.
Thanks Mimi. I fully agree. Republicans depend on emotion to fuel their base, because if they used rational thought, their base would evaporate.
I think mayhaps these people are watching to many Chuck Norris movies and TV show re-runs. Hell even I get up from my PC for a bit and go somewhere I am not inundated by the witless non stop rhetoric of people in general much less that of the right. It is enough to know that there is a segment of society that is ever vigilant and desirous of taking away and further infringing on my civil liberties as an American and a veteran. Knowing they are out there is enough for me to actively push back against them of the right with my own spiritual understanding of all God has accomplished, all that Christ has done, and what Siddarta meant when as a Buddha when he said “find your own path.”
I am not in need of knowing exactly what is said and done because I see and feel the results of their actions on every level of my being from the physical to the spiritual. There is hate and it does destroy good because light both is strong and fragile. Strong when it holds mass and matter together yet fragile when that light is framed in terms of understanding and darkness is called light and some believe it so strongly they act in their “righteous” indignation.
Olbermann forgot that a member of the right did not too far back assassinate a member of the left. Dr. George Tiller was gunned down in church by an anti abortion extreme right wing zealot named Roeder. They have acted out recently and in the past spurred on by rhetoric of them they heard. They have acted out violently and irrationally because of their fears. My goodness do they not realize that Hitler and Stalin though in general collectivists were extreme in their conservative ideologies. To compare anyone who simply would allow others to live and let live is ludicrous yet they do not see this dichotomy do they.
For all of that the crucible moment still is inside of one’s own self, the individual, do you decide whether sane or insane, left or right do you pick up arms against them that have come to take away your liberty and replace it with a vision of their own. I for one will not allow anyone to tell me what is right or wrong but I will use a lifetimes worth of experience to look out on the universe and see for myself what is right and what is wrong. And I will as I age continue on to do what I can where I can to aid and comfort them in honest need and never look back once the deed is done.
In case that is not clear enough. I will not let any one person or philosophy dictate to me my personal morality. No one stands for me as long as I can stand for myself and yes I am a liberal hopeful of further progress but doubtful of our ability to get much further for I doubt the earth will sustain any human life more than a hundred years on unless all of change and stop labeling each other with terms and boxes that are counterproductive and divisive.
Mark, I also consider myself an independent ethical agent. As I see it, morals are how other people tell us to behave. Ethics are how we choose to behave, although a Venn Diagram would show both cover considerable common ground. You may have a valid point in that most of our entertainment median revolves around heroes using violence, especially gun violence, to overcome evil people.
This is one of KO’s finer moments.
The Today show interviewed Beck this morning along with his co-author/shrink of “Seven Wonders.” It’s a gudie to defeat andger and find compassion!!! What else can I say?
Beck needs a guide to find sanity. Take away the hair and he’s Loughner’s twin.
Typical Republican bullcrap. They can dish it out, but just can’t take it. They way they constantly lie is disgusting, and their biggest lie ever is that Loughner is a liberal. GIVE ME A BREAK, YOU SCUMBAGS!
I agree, Jack!