House of Reps. member Giffords shot in Arizona today

Damn, man. I wasn't here until now.

Great question.

I don't think she was trying to get people to literally kill Democrats, but that sort of rhetoric is downright reckless and irresponsible because it can incite violence and have very tragic consequences--as Gabrielle Giffords herself pointed out in this March 25, 2010 interview I posted earlier in this thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOANGfahyUI

Two things,

There have been instances were automobile drivers mowed
down victims with their cars on purpose. Hate driven crimes.

I see no irresponsible actions from Palin or anyone @ SARAH PAC.

Set-
I don't like Sarah Palin. I thought she was interesting, different and had possibilities of being something better than the norm when she was first introduced on the national scene. Since then, I've been repulsed by her views. However, the usual partisan piling on and politically-driven over-reaction, in my opinion, is sourced by the same small-minded, gotcha mentality that fuels Palin's group. When 99% of a group is all saying the same thing, I like to think from and present a different viewpoint.

I do think the crosshairs were a horrible idea. I don't think we should be held up for manslaughter charges for a tasteless PR campaign. I appreciate your comments and questions.

I propose that the sort of rhetoric spewed on The View and most
liberal democrat web sites is downright reckless and irresponsible
because it can incite violence and have very tragic consequences.

I read an article in which a high school classmate of the shooter reported that he dressed in all black clothes and black boots.
He was a "goth-type."
We need to get rid of the Goths.
We should send them somewhere where they can spend their days moping around, sighing deeply.
We need to send them to someplace that gets a lot of rain and not much sun. Portland, OR, comes to mind. Or someplace in Canada. Perhaps Australia.
(Have I managed to offend everyone?)

rjb, Seattle would fit that bill more nicely!

I'm already on record in this thread saying that neither Palin nor the PAC is likely to be held criminally responsible. That does not alter my conviction that she and the PAC are morally reprehensible for that tasteless, idiotic rhetoric.

I think a lot of people can publicly shame Palin and crew with their opinions - and they will. I strongly prefer the open exchange of ideas and speech, rather than the establishment of new laws to address and uphold one group's opinion.

This reminds me of some heinous crap going on in Cali. The elite veggie crowd has been waging war on McDonald's. The want to run McD's out of business. It isn't enough to them that they can simply choose not to eat there - they don't want YOU eating there either. Latest grenade lob in this war: They are seeking to make it illegal for toys to be placed in children's Happy Meals. This way, children will beg less feverishly for McD's.

What about freedom? Parents saying no?

These are the questions we should be asking: Who sold this schizo a weapon? Where did that failure occur?

Lash, All good points that I also agree with.

I'll sign on with that.

We should be asking about security at the event.
Who was in charge of security?
What caused the total failure to protect anyone?

It would be possible to trace it to those that want to sell guns to anyone without restrictions. Whether anyone is willing to lay the blame there is another thing.

WTF?

Why do Democrats need security squirt? Are you saying they are all targets and the government needs to pay to protect them?

Did any of that "liberal democratic" rhetoric graphically show a specific congressional district in the crosshairs of a gunsight--with the message, "Don't retreat, reload"--as was done by Palin?

As Giffords herself prophetically said about Palin's "target list"--"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".

I would like to see Palin acknowledge that her rhetoric has been irresponsible and reckless, and urge others to moderate their discourse to avoid inciting violence. That would show some flicker of mature leadership on her part.

This has probably been my biggest culture shock since moving to Cali, CI. Not accents or more diverse population...but the fact that people don't get livid when other people try to reduce their ability to make their own minds up about issues. My eyes bug out every time I hear a new one. Nice to hear from you.

Dipshit, we are a country at war with a determined adversary - security should be a priority at any public gathering regardless of the groups political leanings.

I do think Palin should issue a statement. I think her handlers probably know that one of her primary selling points is the fact that she's a bit tough (hunting, shooting = metaphor for cutting through political bullshit) and they try to play that up whenever they can. This cutesy thinking was likely responsible for the ill-thought ads...