Posted on 06/15/2017 9:12:17 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
On a day when a Republican congressman is fighting for his life, shot by a deranged leftist, the only way these cretins could process the villain/victim narrative switcheroo was to claim that the right started it.
This is a smear, debunked years ago, and known as such even to devout liberals like Chris Hayes and Jonathan Chait. If I were Sarah Palin (or, more accurately, the head of her Super PAC), I would sue for defamation. Im not kidding.
TRENDING:
Palin should sue the NYT for its editorial blaming her for inciting the Gabby Giffords shooting; Update: "Sickening"; Update: NYT corrects
Was this attack evidence of how vicious American politics has become? Probably. In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palins political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs.
Conservatives and right-wing media were quick on Wednesday to demand forceful condemnation of hate speech and crimes by anti-Trump liberals. Theyre right. Though theres no sign of incitement as direct as in the Giffords attack, liberals should of course hold themselves to the same standard of decency that they ask of the right.
There is and never was any evidence that Loughner was inspired by the crosshairs map put out by Sarah PAC. Random liberals seized on the map after the shooting to try to connect the attack on Giffords to Republican rhetoric. The climate of hate among tea partiers had supposedly finally driven a fragile mind to try to murder a Democrat. In reality, Loughner was an unbalanced crank whose obsession with Giffords seems to have begun in 2007, a year before Palin became a national figure and several years before the tea party became a political force. The catalyst was Giffords answering a nonsensical question posed to her by Loughner at a townhall event in a way he didnt like. There are endless posts in our archives from 2011 about the lefts febrile and futile attempt in the aftermath of the shooting to link Loughner to the mainstream right. It never went anywhere, despite their determined efforts but the smear survives to this day. Even among the editors of the New York Times.
Under American defamation law, there are very limited circumstances in which a public figure can prevail over someone who smears them. For a private figure, i.e. the average nobody, its easier: All you need to show is that the defendant was negligent in printing a falsehood about you. A public figure, however, needs to prove actual malice that the falsehood was published knowing that it was false or with reckless disregard to its truth or falsity. If the excerpt above isnt an example of actual malice, what is? Loughners non-political motivations have been a matter of public record since Obamas first term. Palin has no connection to the case whatsoever except the phantom one invented by liberals in the name of scoring political points on Republicans. Yet the editorial goes so far as to claim that political incitement was more of a factor in the Giffords shooting than it was yesterday, despite all available evidence that James Hodgkinson was a committed leftist who sought out Republicans to attack. Reckless disregard for truth or falsity: Its right there in black and white. Thats actual malice under the law. And very likely actual malice in fact, given the editorial boards politics.
The wrinkle here is damages. It would be hard for Palin to show shes lost any income because of the Times defamation, although maybe not so hard to show that she lost media opportunities from the barrage of climate of hate smears aimed at her by various liberals after the Giffords shooting in 2011. The point of the suit wouldnt be to recover money, though; she could ask for a dollar in damages if need be. The point would be to force the Times to retract and acknowledge publicly, to its embarrassment, that this deathless left-wing canard that Loughner was some sort of Bircher hunting Democrats is a smear, out and out. Sue on principle, not for an award. Although under the circumstances, maybe punitive damages arent out of the question.
By the way, if youre thinking of complaining to the Timess public editor (i.e. ombudsman) about this, dont bother. They just abolished that position.
Update: Palin weighs in.
With this sickening NYTs editorial, the media is doing exactly what I said yesterday should not be done. Despite commenting as graciously as I could on media coverage of yesterdays shooting, alas, today a perversely biased medias knee-jerk blame game is attempting to destroy innocent people with lies and more fake news. As I said yesterday, Id hoped the media had collectively matured since the last attack on a Representative when media coverage spewed blatant lies about who was to blame. Theres been no improvement. The NYT has gotten worse. SP
Update: A wise move. The Times has amended its editorial:
Correction: June 15, 2017 An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly stated that a link existed between political incitement and the 2011 shooting of Representative Gabby Giffords. In fact, no such link was established.
Its not a complete retraction, though. They insisted on leaving the reference to Sarah PACs crosshairs map in the revised editorial, just without the claim of causation:
Was this attack evidence of how vicious American politics has become? Probably. In 2011, Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl. At the time, we and others were sharply critical of the heated political rhetoric on the right. Before the shooting, Sarah Palins political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs. But in that case no connection to the shooting was ever established.
Thats true, they did criticize the rights rhetoric after the shooting. But the rights rhetoric had nothing to do with Loughners motives. So why insist on mentioning it here?
Update: Here we go!
(1/2) @nytopinion commonsense suggestion by a journalist, am talking to attorneys this AM and exploring options. BTW, wonder.. pic.twitter.com/jACvxwUBZH
Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) June 15, 2017
(2/2) WHY someone would no longer be in public eye? Think constant libel & slander have anything to do with it? 🤔
Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) June 15, 2017
If I were Sarah, I would want partial ownership of the NYT in recompense.
A lie can get half way around the world before the truth can get it's shoes on.
OMG...what a GREAT find!
NY Times Tipped Off Shooter to GOP Practice Field Around Time He Moved to Area
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/06/ny-times-tipped-off-shooter-gop-practice-field/
Describing the security is where the Times showed what they were encouraging. We are in a civil war, rapidly becoming more uncivil.
Control of the NYT is in the tightly held shares of preferred stock. Money and common stock doesn’t affect its editorial policy.
Thanks for the link...appreciate it!
...am talking to attorneys this AM and exploring options. BTW...
You go girl.
Sarah tweeted that she already contacted her legal team this morning..she better sue..sue those SOB’s sue them for every penny they are worth!
Considering the hate-mongers at the NYT literally put Palin’s life at risk with the falsehoods - she should sue
YES!!!
GO SARAH GO!
The New York Times are re-spreading original fake news.
I'd sue for ownership of the whole kit and kaboodle. Then, after I win, I'd sue Pinch for everything he owned. Then, I'd tear it apart piece by piece, and use the pieces for target practice with Ted Nugent,NRA,et al.
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