Because it Rhymes With Bible

The following is an early draft for the "America's Enduring Strength" speech by Sarah Palin in response to her critics after the Mass Murder in Arizona that included the assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

Let me join all right-thinking Americans in deploring the horror that has happened in the wake of the tragedy in Tucson. I am referring to the linking of this tragedy to my own statements and the imagery I've used. To link a madman’s assassination of innocent people to my using rifle targets in a campaign poster and accusing Democrats of euthanasia is Blood Libel. That’s right, I’m comparing criticism of me to the persecution of the Jews.

One of my aides has already explained that my campaign poster with the cross-hairs on it really had surveyor marks on it, even though my whole branding effort is rife with gun imagery, so you know we’re not defensive about that. All the talk about the so-called extreme statements made by me, Glenn Beck, and other prominent Tea Party figures is an attempt to rein in our sacred right to free speech. It’s right there in the First Amendment: “The right to free speech shall not be infringed by any criticism of the things you say.”

There is no evidence that this mad killer was influenced by any of my statements. He was talkin’ all about words having meaning, which is hardly a pet issue of mine, or I wouldn’t have used the term Blood Libel just now. That man was all crazy way before there was a Tea Party. There were no campaign posters with cross-hairs or Tea Party literature at his house, like you’d expect. It would totally make sense if there had been, but there wasn’t, so you really can’t pin this one on me.

Beyond that is another factor that makes the criticism I’ve been receiving of late so heinous. All my rhetoric was never intended to generate anything like this kind of violence. If you examine my statements, from my vice presidential campaign on, it’s clear that my goal is not to incite this kind of attack, but rather to incite the assassination of Barack Obama. I said he palled around with terrorists. I accused him of setting up Death Panels to kill babies and grandmothers. I accused him of espousing Socialism. Heck, he’s the first black president, so it’s not like every racist in the country hasn’t already drawn a target on him. Would I have said such horrible things if I didn’t expect some nut-job to take a few shots at the president? A congresswoman is really beneath my radar.

My intentions have always been clear: assassinate the president, not some people in Arizona. Maybe start a race war against Muslims, but that’s really a sidebar project. Accusing me of anything else is really Blood Libel.

--Dan Kilian

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