By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--June 28, 2017
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even way back in Jan 2011 we knew that Loughlin's obsession began 3 years before the Palin map.https://t.co/9nJccuIQnb
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 15, 2017
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 Palin’s 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. They’re right. Though there’s 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.Their editorial was later "corrected," but it was a half measure. Instead of admitting that no such "link to incitement" existed, they simply softened their language to make the supposed link seem more tenuous. That seems to be what triggered Palin's lawsuit:
even way back in Jan 2011 we knew that Loughlin's obsession began 3 years before the Palin map.https://t.co/9nJccuIQnb
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 15, 2017
Former Alaska Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin filed a lawsuit against the New York Times Tuesday over an editorial that tied her to the January 2011 shooting of an Arizona congresswoman. Palin's attorneys claim the paper defamed her in the June 14 editorial, published hours after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot and wounded by a deranged man while Scalise was practicing with the GOP's baseball team in Alexandria, Va. "We have not reviewed the claim yet but will defend against any claim vigorously," New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha told Fox News. Palin is being represented by Kenneth Turkel, Shane Vogt and S. Preston Ricardo in the suit. Turkel and Vogt were part of the team that secured Hulk Hogan a $115 million award at trial from Gawker Media Group. Gawker appealed, but the two sides eventually settled for $31 million and Gawker and its founder, Nick Denton, were forced to file for bankruptcy. I have no idea if she'll win this. I'm not a lawyer. However, I do know that the team which brought down Gawker is nothing to scoff at. I doubt they'd take the case if they didn't think they had a solid shot at prevailing.
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