Sarah Palin has spoken up about crosshairs and blood libel. She has taken responsibility for ... nothing. Instead she has offered up the lamest of age old excuses: somebody else has done it first. About planting crosshairs over the pictures of rivals, Palin said "The graphic that was used was crosshairs. That's not original. Democrats have been using them for years." When asked about her use of blood libel,"Just two days before an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal had that term in its title. And that term has been used for eons."
There are three problems with this approach. First, it doesn't make it right to do something because someone else has done it. Other businesses have dumped stuff in the river, so it's OK if we do. Other countries torture folks, so it's OK if we do. Other people have robbed banks, so it's OK if we do. Second, I'm growing increasingly tired of the Democrats do it too refrain. The recent spate of violent imagery coming from politicians has come disproportionately from the republican side of teh aisle. Have you heard a lot of gun control activists threatening to shoot NRA supporters? Have Democrats been marginalizing Republicans as un-American, seemingly legitimizing teh use of otherwise unacceptable tactics? Third, there isn't a shred of evidence offered for any of this.
Sarah Palin has spoken up, and offered nothing new. She says she won't shut up. This is unfortunate, but all it really means is that the rest of us need to continue to speak up too.
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