SALON

Monday, Jan 17, 2011 9:32 PM UTC

Poll: 35% blame Palin for Tucson shooting

The media focus on Sarah Palin's notorious crosshairs map does some lasting damage

By

Topics: Sarah Palin, War Room, 2012 Elections, Gabrielle Giffords, Polling,

Poll: 35% blame Palin for Tucson shootingFILE - In a Nov. 30, 2010 file photo, Sarah Palin signs copies of her new book, "America By Heart," in Little Rock, Ark. Palin has posted a nearly eight-minute video on her Facebook page condemning those who blame political rhetoric for the Arizona shooting that gravely wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. In the video posted Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2010, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate said vigorous debates are a cherished tradition. But she said after the election, both sides find common ground, even though they disagree. (AP Photo/Brian Chilson, File)(Credit: AP)

 This new CNN poll on the Tucson mass shooting seems like bad news for Sarah Palin:

QUESTION: Overall, how much do you blame each of the following for the shooting in Arizona — a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or not at all?

The laws under which guns are bought and sold in this country

Great deal 30% … Moderate amount 22% … Not much 14% … Not at all 33%

The use of harsh rhetoric and violent metaphors by politicians and commentators

Great deal 25% … Moderate amount 23% … Not much 17% … Not at all 32%

A map on Sarah Palin’s website that marked 20 congressional districts, including the district represented by the congresswoman who was shot, with an image that looked like the crosshairs of a gun

Great deal 19% … Moderate amount 16% … Not much 15% … Not at all 44%

The resources available to deal with people who may be mentally ill

Great deal 41% … Moderate amount 29% … Not much 13% … Not at all 15%

So a substantial minority — 35 percent — blame the Palin map either a great deal or a moderate amount for what happened in Tucson. 

Granted polls don’t do nuance well, but that number should be 0 percent. My colleagues Steve Kornacki and Alex Pareene had a good exchange last week on whether inflammatory rhetoric on the right may have helped precipitate Jared Loughner’s rampage. There’s a real argument to be had. But there is simply no evidence that the Palin crosshairs map had anything to do with what Loughner did.

Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin More Justin Elliott.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 120 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Judge tells lesbian couple to separate or lose kids: "unmarried sexual relationships -- including straight ones – can be grounds for losing child custody"
116 points117 points | 21 comments
vote
Developers evict historic women’s shelter to build luxury hotel - The 104-yr-old Anna Louise Inn has ended its 2-year legal battle with a Fortune 500 company & will now move. Many view the victory of the insurance company over a community touchstone as a major blow to the city.
23 points24 points | 2 comments
vote
Anonymous rallies behind Kaitlyn Hunt
24 points25 points | 32 comments
vote
Report: Nearly a quarter of Americans struggle to afford food
13 points14 points | comment
vote
I don’t hate millennials anymore! <--- not my words, but good read on Gen X. IMO
9 points10 points | comment

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations