Politics

Palin speaks on Arizona shooting, says critics commit 'blood libel'

Apparently former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took to heart calls from pundits that she make a more substantive response to criticism her political rhetoric has received in the wake of the Jan. 8 shootings at a town hall gathering in Tucson, Ariz. Early Wednesday, the following video was posted to Palin's Facebook account, and almost immediately, controversy erupted anew. After expressing sympathy for the victims and their families, Palin (whose demeanor in this video stands in stark contrast to all previous images of her) defends the use of violent rhetoric and iconography, and fires back at critics. Most controversially, she says people who claim there's a connection between inciteful political speech in "our exceptional country" and the actions of the shooter in Arizona commit "blood libel," the odious, ancient, anti-Semitic falsehood that Jewish people use the blood of Christian children as an ingredient in matzo. Watch her remarks below.

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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