Washington – Palin Explains ‘Blood Libel’ Comment

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    Washington – Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, defending herself against criticism following the Tucson, Ariz., shootings, said Monday that she used the term “blood libel” to describe comments made by those who falsely tried to link conservatives to the assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

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    Speaking out for the first time since she used the term in a video, Palin said on Fox’s Sean Hannity show that the term referred to those “falsely accused of having blood on their hands.”

    Some Jewish groups strongly protested her use of the term, which historically was used to accuse Jews of using blood of Christians in religious rituals.

    “I think the critics again were using anything that they could gather out of that statement,” she said. “You can spin up anything out of anybody’s statements that are released and use them against the person who is making the statement.”

    Palin, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012, said the criticism won’t stop her from speaking out and accusing Democrats of taking the country in the wrong direction.

    “They can’t make us sit down and shut up,” she said.

    Palin said her political action committee’s use of crosshairs to identify targeted congressional districts for Republican pickups was not original and has been used by Democrats. As she spoke, a Democratic map was shown on the screen with circular targets of districts Democrats wanted to win.

    The former governor said the crosshairs graphic was taken down by the PAC’s hired graphic artist after the criticism began. “I don’t think that was inappropriate,” she said

    The shooting on Jan. 8 killed six and wounded 13, including Giffords. Her district was among those in the Palin site’s crosshairs.

    Palin insisted that she has “repeated over and over my condemnation of violence.” She said she was frustrated that conservatives who responded to false accusations —blaming them for the shootings — have become part of the story.

    Asked why she was singled out for criticism, Palin, speaking from her hometown of Wasilla, said, “I know that a lot of those on the left hate my message and they will do all they can to stop me because they don’t like the message.”

    Palin added, “I receive a lot of death threats. My children do.”

    The former governor said she supported calls for civility in politics but added, “we should not use an event like that in Arizona to stifle debate.”

    Asked what she thought of Obama’s speech at a memorial for the victims, Palin said, “I thought there were parts of it that really hit home that all of us can hold onto and live out.”

    Palin received lower marks for her handling of the tragedy from more Americans than President Barack Obama did, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Monday found.

    Nearly 8 in 10 of those surveyed gave Obama high marks for his response, and 71 percent of Republicans approved of Obama’s leadership after the shootings, the Post reported. About 30 percent of those polled approved of Palin’s response; among Republicans, her positive marks rose to 56 percent.

    More than half of those polled said the tone of the country’s political discourse didn’t contribute to the shootings.

    The poll of 1,053 adults, conducted by telephone Jan. 13-16, had a margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.


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    25 Comments
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    Mark Levin
    Mark Levin
    13 years ago

    Mrs Palin , there is NO REASON for you to have to explain yourself. You called it as it was. There is no monopoly on the words you used. If anyone has a problem with it, TOO BAD!!

    Member
    13 years ago

    Noone wants Mrs. Palin to “sit down and shut up”.. I would be content if she gabbed the rest of her life in a closed unaired room. Thanks Sarah, we are not interested.

    Oyvey
    Oyvey
    13 years ago

    Those loony lefty loser liberals libeled Sarah Palin again when they accused her of misusing the “blood libel” term. Every linguistic expert, including, surprisingly, one from the NY TImes, agreed that her use of the term was correct and that is how it’s been used by many in the past.

    torontonian
    torontonian
    13 years ago

    An interesting phenomena of the US culture seems to be that the evaluation of events are measured by a telephone survey. AP calls 1053 adults who appear to give a psak din on events. The real problem them is that others are actually influenced by this statististical nonsense.
    Palin was right in her comments. The words blood libel do not need a toisves and a lomdishe kvetch.

    13 years ago

    I have no problem per se with Sarah Palin, but he made two major errors here:

    1) Americans recoil for self-pitying politicians — the line between decrying heavy-handed attacks and wallowing in victimhood is very narrow — especially for a nation that takes the view that if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

    2) she misread the moment — America’s most successful politicians — FDR, Reagan, Clinton etc. had, a bove all, an exquisite sense of timing and the ev er changing shifts in the national mood.

    If she’s going to have a future political career, and reach out beyond her core, she needs to figure these things out.

    unbelvbl
    unbelvbl
    13 years ago

    I didn’t know that we Jews had a copyright or trademark on the term blood libel.
    As for the presidents speech, its more what he did not say that is the problem. Why didn’t he come out and immediately denounce the attack against Palin? Because he enjoyed every minute of it! so he is guilty in the hate rhetoric just as the other leftist hate mongers.
    Keep it up Palin, we’re behind you!

    PMOinFL
    PMOinFL
    13 years ago

    Why does anyone care about this woman? Who is she? A failed governor who stole $400MILLION of *OUR * money for her bridge to nowhere (which she never built), a failed VP candidate, and a touring ‘community organizer’. Why does ANYONE give a rats toe about this woman? She is the Al Sharpton of the stupid, and I really do believe her 15 minutes of fame are ALMOST up.

    As for the “blood libel” comment: I agree that she was not equating herself to the actual blood libel. Many have used the term as a metaphor in the past. However, this was no metaphor. No rational person could honestly think that this brainless conspiracy theorist could possibly have even known what the term meant. I really do believe that this was an innocent case of a stupid person using words they don’t understand.

    Tzi_Bar_David
    Tzi_Bar_David
    13 years ago

    Sarah can’t stand being out of the limelight; as one person stated, “Even at a funeral, Sarah wants to be the corpse.”

    13 years ago

    Narcissism as a political tool, only works when it is attached to intelligence. Sadly, Palin isn’t too bright.

    Hosshi
    Hosshi
    13 years ago

    It’s amazing how willingly blind and deaf are those here who support Mrs. Palin. Why do you persist in not recalling her words, her language (“Take aim, reload, shoot!”) or her support of Teapartiers who call for “2ND Amendment remedies”? Why are you so proud of continuing to be ignorant? Can you not differ in your political views without hatred?

    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    13 years ago

    Sarah Palin stands for common sense values that have made our nation great. If amateur intellectuals are able to spin that into something negative, I admire their talents but don’t take them seriously. There are many personalities out there, some people are tough, some people are jovial, some people are angry, some people dress well, are more eloquent, have Southern drawls, are hunters, are housewives, the list goes on. All that matters to people who care about the political direction of this country is a politicians politics. So when Sarah Palin is lambasted by a Left-leaning media and this nonsense is lapped up by PMOinFL, charliehall and others of their ilk (G-d bless their misguided souls), it surprises me.

    Any extreme is no good. But conservatives, talk radio, the tea party, etc. are not evil Nazis and enemies of Jews, minorities, noncombatant muslims, women and all other specific-interest groups who don’t have in their mandate the destruction of national security, the economy, liberty and family values. Why do some of you fail to get that? Especially reasonably intelligent folks?

    Thoughtful
    Thoughtful
    13 years ago

    Shame on all those “jewish” organizations who criticized a well meaning fine lady for abosolutely no reason other than playing politics on her expense and at the expense of the real jews out there who know precisely what she meant and are proud of her for standing up for herself….

    Hosshi
    Hosshi
    13 years ago

    Amazing! In 20th-century America, if an international politico said he was not a socialist or a communist, he got a free pass among conservatives, even though he oppressed his own people; we greased his palm anyway. In 21st-century America, if you are not a liberal or a progressive, you get a free pass among the conservatives, no matter your language of “Grab for your 2ND Amendment remedy: reload, take aim, shoot!” the Other. This if you are not with me, you are against me mind is an immoral trap. Conservatives lost their conservatism a long time ago. They now prefer radicalized prevaricating contumely. They refuse to examine life from more than one perspective before coming to a conclusion. They do not read. Reading and thinking give them headaches. They do not read in the home to their children. Their children grow up ignorant of the worlds around them. No sense of rational discourse. No analytical thinking. America’s schools are moribund, for the schools and the broken households have failed their children. AMAZING!

    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    13 years ago

    Why are some of you hell bent on grouping conservatives, who are pro-Israel and pro-Jewish (I don’t care for the reason) with neo-Nazis and other fringe-groups? Are all liberals Helen Thomas, Michael Moore, Al Sharpton, Jimmy Carter, etc.? I’m sorry but these shrill comments are not lending gravitas to your views and opinions.