Grayson Blames Palin For Arizona Shooting
Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) places blame directly on Sarah Palin and Republicans for last week's deadly Arizona shooting in an email to supporters on Wednesday.
Grayson, a one-term Democrat who was ousted by Rep. Daniel Webster (R) by 18 points in November, is widely expected to run again in 2012. And while the note isn't an explicit appeal for money, there is a "contribute" link at the bottom of the message.
"When I opened my web browser yesterday, at yahoo.com, there was Sarah Palin, smiling at me," Grayson writes. "'Oh God,' I said to myself, 'what has she done now."
Reacting to Palin's defense of her controversial video on the Ariz. massacre and use of the phrase "blood libel," Grayson writes: "That's interesting, I thought. What else might Palin be defending? Cannibalism, maybe?
Grayson goes on to offer his own summary of Palin's appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show: "Palin: I am so misunderstood. Hannity: I am so misunderstood. Palin: I am so misunderstood."
Grayson says not only was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz), who was critically wounded in the shooting at her "Congress On Your Corner" event, wary of Palin's rhetoric, but that the former GOP vice presidential nominee used the same "crossfire" symbol against him.
"Even before I heard earlier Palin's whining about 'misguided finger-pointing' and 'irresponsible statements from people who are apportioning blame,' I thought about this: Palin came to my district, and told her people to 'take me out.' Palin told people again and again, 'don't retreat, reload.'"
Running down threats to him, Grayson says one of his five-year old twins "received a telephone death threat intended for me" the day before last March's health care vote.
"A right-wing commentator offered anyone $100 to punch me in the nose. We received so many threats of violence from tea baggers that we started a file," Grayson writes. "And the day before Gabby was shot, I received a postcard saying 'you better get some personal protection. You could very well be getting your ass kicked soon.'"
In addition to Giffords, Grayson notes other Democrats who had threats made to them during the 2010 campaign, including Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), and losing Reps. Frank Kratovil (D-Md.), Ron Klein (D-Fla.), and Tom Perriello (D-Va.).
"As I observed on MSNBC last week, there has been a stream of violence and threats of violence by the right wing against Democrats. Gabby warned against it, and then became a terrible victim of it," says Grayson. "Palin has instigated it, and then tried to pretend that it doesn't exist. What do I think? I think that Gabby said it best: 'We can't stand for this.' We have to stand against it."
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