WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prominent Republican
Sarah Palin on Wednesday accused critics of
"blood libel" by blaming her rhetoric for
contributing to the shooting rampage in Tucson
that killed six and wounded 14, including
Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their
own. They begin and end with the criminals
who commit them," the conservative Tea Party
favorite and former Alaska governor said in her
first major response to critics.
"Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding,
journalists and pundits should not manufacture
a blood libel that serves only to incite the very
hatred and violence they purport to condemn.
That is reprehensible."
Palin, the Republican Party's 2008 vice
presidential nominee, posted her remarks to her
Facebook page in both a video and text.
Suspected gunman Jared Lee Loughner faces
five federal charges, including the attempted
assassination of Giffords, who was in critical
condition with a bullet wound to the head after
being shot at a constituent outreach event at a
Tucson, Arizona, shopping mall.
Some commentators and bloggers questioned
whether last year's election rhetoric from
conservative Republicans including Palin and
some Tea Party candidates created a climate that
bred violence.
Politicians from both parties have urged a
softening of the often bitter political tone.
Authorities have not cited a motive in the
shootings.
Palin urged conservatives to "reload," not retreat,
after a fierce debate over President Barack
Obama's plans to overhaul the healthcare
system. She also published an electoral map
identifying vulnerable Democratic congressional
districts, including Giffords', with rifle cross-
hairs.
Palin said blame should rest "not with all the
citizens of a state, not with those who listen to
talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used
by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding
citizens who respectfully exercise their First
Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with
those who proudly voted in the last election."
Source: Http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70B3W320110112?ca=rdt
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