"Included among Palin's Democratic targets: North Dakota's at-large Rep. Earl Pomeroy, Southeast Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello." USA Today, Sept 24
The link to Palin's Take Back 20 web page is no longer operating.
Palin's active use of violent imagery and violent rhetorical phrases like targeting goes a step further than the defamers of JFK and President Obama. The images of a rifle site crosshairs are paired with the phrase, "We've diagnosed the problem. Help us provide the solution." While defeat in the upcoming elections was the goal, the entire approach to the campaign carried with it a violent double entendre.
Townhall.com, a major right wing web site, ran an article endorsing Palin's campaign. Sarah Palin's "Take Back 20" presented one of Palin's campaign images, a map of the United States (screenshot). The map shows crosshairs, bulls eye images, over each of the 20 congressional districts, targets to be defeated in the 2010 congressional elections. This included Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.
In the article, commentator Jillian Bandes said that, "Twenty House Dems from districts that McCain carried in 2008 voted for the health care bill, and Sarah Palin has a target on every single one," including Representative Gabrielle Giffords district in Arizona. Bandes continued, "The targets were released on the six month anniversary of Obamacare." She concluded that, Palin's "site should go a long way towards knocking off the politicians who put their party affiliation ahead of their constituent's demands." (Author's emphasis)
Violent Imagery with Dead Seniors as the Predicate
Unlike the charges against the two presidents, Kennedy and Obama, Palin's core factual claim was accurate. The 20 House Democrats up for election in 2010 had each voted for health care reform. However, the charges that preceded Palin's Take back 20 campaign were the same type of vile lies presented in the charges against Kennedy and Obama.
The newly formed Tea Party, financed by right wing lobbyists, claimed that the Obama reforms would introduce "death panels." Some reform opponents claimed that these fictitious panels would decide whether seniors would live or die at a certain point in their later years. This was, of course, an absurd lie. Nevertheless, the foundation for irrational hate and fear was established. The composite form of the message was:
The 20 targeted House members voted for a health care bill that created "death panels" to kill seniors simply due to their age. The votes were cast in support of a Muslim president bent on creating a Marxist world government.
Turning Hate into Action
We don't know the story behind accused assassin Jared Lee Loughner. Nor can we assign a certain role for the culture of political hate created over the last few years, including Palin's Take Back 20 campaign. One of those closest to the assassination attempt on Giffords plus the other assaults and murders spoke out clearly. The Sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, said:
"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," Dupnik said. "Unfortunately, Arizona has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry." CNN
Ironically, Gabrielle Giffords made the strongest connection between Palin's violent images and real world consequences when she warned Palin of the consequences of her web site images and rhetoric.
We don't need political assassinations to justify ending the climate of vile lies that has dominated the political landscape over the past two decades. Then again, we didn't need anti-abortion advocates killing doctors to demand that extremists end the charges that doctors performing abortions are "baby killers." We certainly didn't need presidential candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona, singing "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" when a calamitous attack on that country was a possibility.
The purveyors of mass delusions tied to violent imagery and hate filled rhetoric are circling the wagons to defend their inalienable right to lie and inflame those on the edge of reality. Nothing much will change from the top. All the while, critical issues of war and peace and economic survival will remain perpetually on the back burner while the culture of violence erupts repeatedly. This represents an unacceptable and tragic distraction that points to our rapid demise unless leaders listen to the people of this country who, most assuredly, have had enough.
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