Sarah Palin, Gabrielle Giffords and Political Speech

Many are discussing whether there is any connection between vitriolic political speech and the unspeakable tragic shooting in Arizona.

As one example of the current political climate, many are abuzz about a campaign Sarah Palin launched called "Take Back the 20" (the website has been taken down since the shooting), which called on Americans to vote Democrats out of office. The districts Palin targeted for her campaign were designated by crosshairs, a symbol commonly associated with gun sights. A Palin aide has vehemently denied that the crosshairs were meant to be gun sights. Palin was also criticized, for tweeting "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" when discussing the 2010 midterm elections. After the elections, when Republicans won in 18 of the 20 districts she targeted, Palin referred to her targeted 20 districts as her "bullseye" list. Palin was quick to offer condolences to all who were murdered in Arizona on Saturday.  


The description above is meant for sole purpose of providing background to a larger discussion. The description is not meant to contain an opinion on this important debate. 

For more, click on the following links, FoxNews, Huffington Post, NYT, and WSJ.