Digby and Turkana note Sarah Palin's most recent utterance on Twitter:
Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" Pls see my Facebook page.
Reload? Really?
Of all the images to convey about her movement, it is revealing that Sarah Palin chose one associated with violence. Palin's rhetoric comes amidst a surge in right-wing extremism, a time during which she should be urging cooler heads to prevail instead of fueling the most radical elements of her base.
Remember, just a few weeks ago, an anti-tax radical launched a suicide plane attack on an IRS building in Texas. Over the past few days, anti-reform thugs have vandalized Democratic Party headquarters in several states in retribution for the passage of health care reform.
And now, today, just hours after teapartiers posted the home address of Democratic Congressman Tom Periello's brother and told people to "stop by," authorities found a severed gas line running to the home. No matter that the tea party people mistakenly targeted the congressman's brother instead of the congressman himself, their goal was clear -- to influence the political process through the threat of violence.
That's not just way over the line, that's terrorism. And I don't care how much money Sarah Palin might want to make off her political celebrity, if she were the patriot she claims to be, she'd be doing everything in her power to rein in the rising tide of right-wing extremism.
The fact that she's not doing so undercuts everything she's ever said about loving this country and our political system. At best, she's a crass opportunist. At worst, she's palling around with terrorists.
Update (11:40AM): Several commenters point out that Palin's Facebook posted features more violent imagery: a map with gun sights marking the Democratic seats she's "targeting" for GOP takeover (including Periello's). Here's the image (more at HuffPost):