# Sarah Palin takes no responsibility for the Tucson shootings? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 10, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104 "2011-01-10T16:09:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/121 "2011-01-10T21:47:58Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > Nah…“bullets” is just a metaphor for “citizen involvement and solidarity.” What do I know anyway, I’ve been known to listen to heavy metal 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/122 "2011-01-10T21:48:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I know. The only people who hate SP more than the folks on the left are the mainstream Republicans. So Bricker’s **fringe** now? Well, I guess he _did_ vote for the black guy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/123 "2011-01-10T21:53:26Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > All right, my mistake. I knew Kilborn did it, and I didn’t realize he had left the Daily Show when he did it. > > Kilborn, _who once hosted the Daily Show_, did it. > > Everybody’s panties unbunched now? > > Or are we going to continue to move goal posts with this “Well, sure, Jon Stewart is a liberal icon as the current host of the Daily Show, but Craig Kilborn’s a meaningless nobody!” The Daily Show itself was just a fluffy comedy show when Kilborne hosted. It was not very political then, and had not attaned the status among liberals that Jon Stewart brought to it. Associating Kilborne’s joke with the Daily Show in any way is pointless and inaccurate. Kilborne’s show and Jon Stewart’s show are completely different shows. Stewart totally revamped it and changed it. Under Kilborne, it was just celebrity interviews and goofball news. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/124 "2011-01-10T21:53:32Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > Let’s all stop using the word “gunsight”. > > [This](http://tinypic.com/r/s6807s/7) is a gunsight. So is [this](http://www.piersystem.com/clients/c651/92529.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/125 "2011-01-10T21:55:23Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Why were they crosshairs, instead of stars, dots, squares, or some other sort of demarcation? Because she was “aiming” for certain races, I suppose. You can’t aim with a star. You can shoot for the stars, however. How odd. 😕 My whole point was that it’s beyond stupid to be worried about crosshairs, gunsights, targets, pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers, blue diamonds, purple horseshoes or red balloons. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to shut up about gunsights and pick a more neutral word, but nooooo. It’s ok though, because I’m trying to ignore the Lucky Charms of Loughner. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/126 "2011-01-10T22:16:05Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > So Bricker’s **fringe** now? > Well, I guess he _did_ vote for the black guy. 😃 I knew I shouldn’t have said “mainstream”. Strike that. “Establishment Republicans”. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/127 "2011-01-10T22:27:12Z")
It’s a gun sight. That’s why we’re not using a more neutral word - because it’s not a “more neutral” subject. Because Sarah Palin painted the crosshairs of a gunsight on the hometown of a specific person - a person, who was, not incidentally, subsequently shot. The handwaving just makes you look stupid. **jayjay** - I posted this link in the other thread in GD: [http://www.politicususa.com/en/Obama-Philly](http://www.politicususa.com/en/Obama-Philly) Yeah, Obama said it, at a fund raiser in Philadelphia, as a joke about Philadelphia Eagles fans: > [@](#): > > At a fundraiser in Philadelphia where he was flanked by PA governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, and Sen. Bob Casey, Barack Obama said, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun. Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.” So you know, TOTALLY the same thing as Palin deliberately targeting people with surveyor’s marks, because, you know, she’s always been so passionate about chalk lines. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/128 "2011-01-10T22:32:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I knew I shouldn’t have said “mainstream”. Strike that. “Establishment Republicans”. Still, it was a good chuckle, John. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/129 "2011-01-10T22:49:07Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > I was wrong for giving you the benefit of the doubt; you’re a fucking scumbag who argues in bad faith. FTR I completely agree with Bricker’s assessment. The issue he raises underlies all these types of discussions, including non-lethal issues, e.g. “raising the level of discourse” and such. I think Harry Truman once commented about his “give 'em Hell, Harry” nickname, saying “I just told the truth about those fellas - they thought it was Hell”. And that’s how it seems to be as a general rule. In my own subjective judgment, there is more violent rhetoric directed from the left at the right than vice versa. No way to prove this, of course, and I could be wrong, just as the lefties here arguing the opposite could be wrong. But I will say that I find the tortuous hairsplitting on this thread in an effort to isolate Palin as the sole example (“no, I mean only this type of guy, and exactly that type of rhetoric”) to be somewhat amusing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/130 "2011-01-10T22:55:25Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > I’d argue that you’re defining “mainstream Republicans” extremely narrowly with this assertion, given her ubiquity/popularity on Fox News (among other things), but that would be too much of a hijack for the thread. See Post 126. Poor choice of words on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/131 "2011-01-10T23:22:53Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > It’s a gun sight. That’s why we’re not using a more neutral word - because it’s not a “more neutral” subject. Because Sarah Palin painted the crosshairs of a gunsight on the hometown of a specific person - a person, who was, **not incidentally, subsequently shot**. > > The handwaving just makes you look stupid. The bolded parts make you look stupid. I just want you to know I’m not “handwaving” to protect Palin, but to quiet stupid OMG-GUNSIGHTS reactions, when there are infinitely better things to be outraged about. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/132 "2011-01-10T23:50:55Z")
The fucking back-pedalling and hand-waving on behalf of the loony fringe of a political party here is really quite sad. Even the sane Republicans are all over this shit. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/133 "2011-01-10T23:55:47Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > In my own subjective judgment, there is more violent rhetoric directed from the left at the right than vice versa. No way to prove this, of course, and I could be wrong, just as the lefties here arguing the opposite could be wrong. There’s always the almighty ‘cite!’ There have been plenty of cites for the opposite, even outside of Palin’s dopey crosshairs. Sharon Angle pimping the ‘Second Amendment Remedies’; the ‘bullets are better than ballots’ guy; the freakshows taking their AR-15s out for a walk; the constant cries for ‘the blood of tyrants’ from the tea-bagger … we could go on. Where’s the violent rhetoric on the left that overshadows that? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/134 "2011-01-10T23:56:05Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The fucking back-pedalling and hand-waving on behalf of the loony fringe of a political party here is really quite sad. Even the sane Republicans are all over this shit. Exactly. IMO anyone who uses that type of hateful rhetoric deserves to be shot. Oh, wait a minute … never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/135 "2011-01-11T00:01:43Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > There’s always the almighty ‘cite!’ There have been plenty of cites for the opposite, even outside of Palin’s dopey crosshairs. Sharon Angle pimping the ‘Second Amendment Remedies’; the ‘bullets are better than ballots’ guy; the freakshows taking their AR-15s out for a walk; the constant cries for ‘the blood of tyrants’ from the tea-bagger … we could go on. > > Where’s the violent rhetoric on the left that overshadows that? No, there’s not always the almighty ‘cite’. Because you guys will just nitpick it to death, with all sorts of bogus distinctions that serve just to get your guys off the hook and leave the other side guilty. If you want a cite for _that_, just read this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/136 "2011-01-11T00:06:21Z")
Nice game. I contend that all conservatives have small penises and you’ll get no cites from me, because you’ll just argue against it. Sorry, Charlie, you’ll just have to sit there with your tiny johnson and deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/137 "2011-01-11T00:08:29Z")
OK, I guess you win. I mean, now that you put it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/138 "2011-01-11T00:12:59Z")
It’s okay. I’m sure you have a terrific personality. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/139 "2011-01-11T00:16:29Z")
Well at least I don’t rely on small penis insults. That’s one thing. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104/140 "2011-01-11T00:21:43Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The fucking back-pedalling and hand-waving on behalf of the loony fringe of a political party here is really quite sad. Even the sane Republicans are all over this shit. The attempted exploitation of a really portentous disaster for petty political grudges here is really quite sad. Good luck on your crusade against rhetoric. If ever you want to discuss mental healthcare, gun screenings or anything like that, I’ll be over here flossing my teeth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-takes-no-responsibility-for-the-tucson-shootings-really/567104.md?page=8)