After being blamed for last weekend's shooting in Arizona and today's
backlash from her somewhat
misguided attempt at refuting that blame,
Sarah Palin can use all the help she can get. Palin's utterance of the
term "blood libel" has ignited a whole new
pundit battle. This is why liberal blogger
Jonathan Chait is as shocked as anyone
else that, of all people,
he feels the need to come to Palin's defense
in this situation. "Okay, it's a little over the top for Sarah Palin to accuse her critics of 'blood libel,'" he admits. But you can sympathize with her situation, he points out-- "she had nothing to do with Jared Loughner." He writes at his New Republic blog:
What's
happening is that Palin has come to represent unhinged grassroots
conservatism, and people in the media immediately (and incorrectly)
associate Loughner with the far right. Moreover, the Republican
establishment understands her potential candidacy as a liability and is
looking to snuff it out. So you have this weird moment where Palin is
on trial for something she has no connection with at all.
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