First off, let's clear up the crap here: The Tucson Citizen reports that Rep. Giffords was "shot point blank in the head."
That, my dear sirs, indicates it was indeed an assassination attempt and not merely some random shooting. So let's not try and minimize it by saying he was on some weekend shooting spree and just "happened" to wing Gabrielle Giffords or, as Gizmo alleged earlier, that he may have been targeting someone else. Giffords WAS the target of this incident, of this there is no doubt.
Indeed, and that's the same call as the GOP. They are --- one and the same. Look, I know you don't like me making the connection, but the connection is huge, and the events that have transpired, the list presented, the two remaining candidates, with Gifford as the first on that list, all of it is obvious. And if it's obvious to me, it would be obvious to a "nutter." So, while I'm not making a conspiracy call, I am indicating that Palin's actions were grossly negligent, at the very least, and her actions, along with people like Glenn Beck and O'Reilly, have been fueling the fires of wing-nuttery for far too long. This --- is the result of irresponsible politicizing. This --- is the fault of the Republicans for not putting a halt to such behaviors. You simply cannot sit idly by whilst irresponsible Republican figureheads encourage criminal behavior. And yet, that is exactly what the Republican party, and it's representatives, have done. By their silence, they provided tacit permission.
Gizmo, the huge difference with your map and the one presented by Palin, is she targeted specific individuals, literally calling it a, "hit list," in addition to making comments like, "reload." In contrast, the 2004 map was innocuous. When that map first came out, along with Palin's "reload" post on Twitter (and elsewhere), there was indeed a lot of concern in the White House (and, by default, the U.S. Secret Service) that "nutters" would construe her posts as a request to assassinate the Representatives she listed.
This is what I'm stating, because although it may not have been a direct request, it was indeed inferred and an inference is sufficient to motivate a "nutter," particularly when the person making the inference is a political entity of no small measure. Add to that the well-known fact there are a helluva lot of "nutters" in the Tea Party, which is no doubt a radical wing of the Republican Party, with Palin directing many of her talks, and her fliers, to the Tea Party wingnuts. The end result is one of only two remaining Democrat Representatives in Palin's hit list, now teeters on the precipice, in critical condition with a bullet hole through her brain.
A year ago, when Palin's hit list was released, shortly thereafter Gifford's office was vandalized. In response, Representative Gifford stated, "We're on Sarah Palin's targeted list. But the thing is, the way she has it depicted it has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. And when people do that, they've got to realize there are consequences to that action."
Indeed --- consequences. Like the words of a ghost, Gifford's statement made a year ago will haunt the GOP for a long time to come, a foretelling of this tragic day.
