Why Sarah Palin’s Crosshairs Map Was Violent And Why The DLC’s Wasn’t

Within hours after the tragedy in Tucson, which took the lives of six people and wounded a dozen or more others, including Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, conservatives immediately moved into defense mode, and looked for examples of Left-wing violence and violent rhetoric. Almost immediately, I saw a post on Twitter professing how the Democrats started the crosshairs map imagery, effectively proclaiming Queen Sarah Palin blameless.

Here’s why that’s such a typical conservative, right-wing lie, and why you should be working to get them to understand that words and images have meanings and consequences, and not all things are equal.

Above is Sarah Palin’s map. Here’s the Democratic Leadership Council’s map:

The DLC map has what we can agree look like bullseye targets on states. I’ll concede that the slight difference in bullseye marks and crosshairs are not worth arguing about. The DLC map includes the text that reads, “President Bush won nine by single-digit margins. Those states should be ripe targets for Democrats.”

Palin’s map, by contrast, NAMES “20 House Democrats from districts we carried in 2008 that voted for the health care bill.” (Honestly, I’m surprised she gave up the opportunity to use the word “Obamacare.”)

Palin’s map is a map. It is a unambiguous direction, with twenty destinations, to “take back” and “retire.”

By listing the names of people, it automatically makes people the targets — unlike the DLC map that focuses on states.

Also, the DLC map was not intended for the general public. It was essentially artwork for an insiders’ strategy, written by Will Marshall, the founder of the DLC, whereas Palin’s crosshairs map was a public declaration of war, and posted on her Facebook page.

As for Palin’s claim that they aren’t even gunsights, but “surveyor’s marks,” bull. Two days after the election she herself boasted, “remember months ago ‘bullseye’ icon used 2 target the 20 Obamacare-lovin’ incumbent seats?”

So much for intent, Sarah.

The bottom line: Palin used gunsights and crosshairs to target people, the DLC used bullseyes to target geographic areas.

Sadly, these simple and obvious facts seem to be out of the reach of even mainstream journalists, like New York Times’ Michael Shear, who gives an unchallenged platform to none other than Fox News Chief Roger Ailes, whom Shear quotes as saying, “We looked at the Internet and the first thing we found in 2007, the Democrat Party had a targeted map with targets on it for the Palin district,” Mr. Ailes said. “These maps have been used for for years that I know of. I have two pictures of myself with a bull’s-eye on my head.”

“He added, “Both sides are wrong, but they both do it.”

Words matter. Images matter. Context matters.