NYTimes reports on Mrs. Palin's "blood libel" comments w/links to responses

"The term blood libel is generally used to mean the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. That false claim was circulated for centuries to incite anti-Semitism and justify violent pogroms against Jews. Ms. Palin’s use of the phrase in her video, which helped make the video rapidly go viral, is attracting criticism, not least because Ms. Giffords, who remains in critical condition in a Tucson hospital, is Jewish."

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/palin-calls-criticism-blood-libel/?partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig

Links to Politico for quotes:

David A. Harris President and CEO, National Jewish Democratic Council :
Instead of dialing down the rhetoric at this difficult moment, Sarah Palin chose to accuse others trying to sort out the meaning of this tragedy of somehow engaging in a “blood libel” against her and others. This is of course a particularly heinous term for American Jews, given that the repeated fiction of blood libels are directly responsible for the murder of so many Jews across centuries -- and given that blood libels are so directly intertwined with deeply ingrained anti-Semitism around the globe, even today.

Garry South Democratic consultant:
Of course Palin didn't/doesn't know the origin or meaning of the term. She's basically an ignoramus who makes George W. Bush look like an erudite intellectual. This is the woman who recently tweeted "refudiate," referred to "our North Korean allies," and as a candidate for vice president didn't know the parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement. She is getting herself further into the tar baby by her protests attempting to extricate herself from her incendiary gun-related rhetoric. She's not a victim here, but the way she has handled the controversy surrounding the Tucson shootings does make her a political casualty of the situation as well.

Thomas J. Whalen Professor of Social Science, Boston University :
Victim? Are you kidding me? To paraphrase the late great Adlai Stevenson, Sarah Palin is "the kind of politician who could cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech on conservation." She is a demagogue of the worst kind and needs to be publicly shunned.

Drew Westen
Drew Westen Psychologist and neuroscientist :
As a psychologist, I find it remarkable that we’re having this discussion at all, especially in light of both the weight scientists put on prediction – Gabby Giffords’ own interview at the Capitol during the election when she warned that Palin putting people like her in the crosshairs has “consequences”— and what we know about what neuroscientists call priming, the influence of a prior stimulus on a later reaction, usually unconsciously...

http://www.politico.com/arena/archive/what-should-obama-say-in-tucson.html

charge also this morning.

People need to slow down and think about what they say or write.

The Tar-Baby is a doll made of tar and turpentine used to entrap Br'er Rabbit in the second of the Uncle Remus stories. The more that Br'er Rabbit fights the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he becomes. In modern usage, "tar baby" refers to any "sticky situation" that is only aggravated by additional contact. The only way to solve such a situation is by separation.<1> Used to describe a person it is considered a racist slur.

*****

Sounds like in this case the term is being used to describe the situation not a person.

I haven't even heard that term for over twenty years.

Disgusting.

I'd love to hear their response. I would love to see them put Sarah (or her ghostwriters) in her/their place.

Alvin S. Felzenberg 9/11 Commission Spokesman, Book Author and Professor :

"She had an opportunity to rise above the stereotypical portrait of her we have come to know well the past two years and to re-introduce herself to people who might have given her a hearing. Her career, both as a politician and as a celebrity, is over. Someone other than Glenn Bleck needs to tell her.

Disclosure: This from someone who just two days ago in this space called upon her critics to lay off Palin and who still believes it unfair to seek to establish causation between what Palin said on the campaign trail and the Arizona tragedy."

...Palin putting people like her in the crosshairs has “consequences”— and what we know about what neuroscientists call priming, the influence of a prior stimulus on a later reaction, usually unconsciously...

And Ari Fleisher thought her message was a missed opportunity.

Wait to see the reactions on her Facebook. Such as here: http://whatpalinfansreallybelieve.com/