So what penalty does Palin deserve, if any?

[Rocknrule]

Just because there was no Sarah Palin pin-up poster or other "smoking gun" found to clearly link Loughner to right-wing hate speech does not mean it isn't at least partly to blame. This incident was a clear wake-up call for Americans to see just what kind of results right-wing eliminationist rhetoric can have. So what should happen to Palin in the wake of all this? Should all the negative press directed at her serve as a mere warning? Should she face civil litigation from the victims' families? Or is the destruction of her 2012 hopes enough? Some people even think she should be indicted and arrested, according to this petition: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?IndictSP&1

Personally, I think the victims' families should sue her. Even if they lost (which they most likely would), it would send her a much more forceful message than any amount of verbal or written finger-pointing.

[Enrique]

1. i think everything she's said is protected by 1st amendment n/t

[seabeyond]

2. shunned.... nt

[jkshaw]

17. I agree seabeyond, she needs shunning

But unfortunately shunning needs the cooperation of, at least, the media, and for some unbelievable reason, SP raises ratings. Perhaps because a lot of people just want to see what bonehead thing she'll say next, but it's ratings nevertheless.

[some guy]

19. + 1

[Malikshah]

22. +infinity

along with the Limbaughs, Becks, and Hannitys of the world.

[Pathwalker]

31. +1

[Taverner]

3. can we just shut her up? Have media never cover her or what she says again?

[FLAprogressive]

4. Unfortunately being clinically stupid is not a crime

[madmax]

5. Ignored for the rest of her life. nt

[opihimoimoi]

6. Her penalty is a further loss of creds and respect...down to single digets...8.6 % approval

[dkofos]

7. Send her back to Alaska pennyless and tell her to STFU

[EFerrari]

8. Old Fart made a good point. Giffords was frightened by that map.

That's terrorism.

[Lint Head]

9. Her punishment should be that she is ignored forever.

[Ian David]

10. Sarah Palin should be banished to The Phantom Zone

[ZombieHorde]

13. Funny. nt

[Cleita]

11. If they can find lawyers willing to do a class action suit,

it might get legs. Of course the lawyers usually get most of the money. But even so, getting her ill-gotten gains away from her would be some kind of justice. However, I don't think Sarah is alone in this. There is no reason Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, et al shouldn't be sued to. They have been even worse with these attacks on liberals and the President than Palin has.

[gratuitous]

12. The oblivion of non-attention?

Would Sarah Palin disappear if there weren't cameras around to record her deathless pronouncements? Does she exist if nobody's dancing attendance on her? If everyone simultaneously turned their back on her, would we hear a pop as her corporeal body winked out into nothingness and air rushed into the void?

[gkhouston]

15. It could be difficult to get Fox to do it, but if the other networks did, they might

follow suit. I'd be happy to never hear anything about her, ever again.

[Hello_Kitty]

14. Banished to obscurity like Morton Downey Jr. was. eom

[fishwax]

16. obscurity

alas, that's not likely to happen.

[WinkyDink]

18. Shunning.

[devilgrrl]

20. Send her ass to Coventry.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sent-to-coventry.html

[joe_sixpack]

21. Let her continue to fade into obscurity

as she was destined for anyway. She made her quick hit of cash. I actually believe our side here helps keep her relevant, and prolongs the agony somewhat.

[onehandle]

23. Deportation to Alaska. nt

[onenote]

24. in the absence of any evidence linking Loughner to anything Palin said or did

a lawsuit would border on the frivolous. And I think the outcome of her winning such a lawuit would be exactly the opposite of what you suggest. The only message she and her followers would take from a lawsuit that was brought against her and that she then won was that she is the victim here, not those who died or were injured.

The public has seen and will continue to see what she is and what she stands for. If she continues to promote herself as a polarizing figure she will never expand her base and will be little more than Pat Buchanan in a dress. If she tones down the rhetoric and tries to reinvent herself, she might broaden her appeal, while possibly alienating some of her more extreme supporters. At this point, I can't begin to guess as to what direction she will move.

[11 Bravo]

25. That which would hurt her the most. Indifference.

[Bandit]

26. Just exactly what sane people are giving her..ridicule and embarrassment

She should be shamed, and she is being done so by most..

[Warren DeMontague]

27. Obscurity. Beyond that, the 1st Amendment protects everyone's speech.

Sorry, "penalty" doesn't really enter into it.

[Urban Prairie]

28. Palin has obviously been found "guilty" by many in the "court of public opinion"

For inciting violent acts by her teabagging followers, and by pulling and deleting her cross-hairs web page a few hours after the tragedy in Tuscon, it was a rather unsubtle evidence of admission.

She will always have her most ardent and unwavering supporters, even if somehow, she is proven later during perhaps Loughners's trial, to have some (very unlikely) sort of indirect involvement in Loughner's murderous shooting spree.

Only her RW pundit peers and/or maybe some Republican politicians,that can really mete out any kind of punishment to Palin, which might be to publicly admonish her, but that very likely won't happen, that is, unless there are to be more politically-motivated, "dog-whistle"or "blood-libel" avenged shootings to come...

[LiberalEsto]

29. Ducking.

She's an ignorant scold.

[teenagebambam]

30. She has to look at herself in the mirror

every day for the rest of her life.

[upi402]

33. she has no conscience

she'll see the same reflection as any other vampire

[hack89]

32. None. nt

[wickerwoman]

34. Long life in Wasilla, Alaska. No cameras allowed within 500 metres.

[Motown_Johnny]

35. Damned forever to obscurity

We can let her maker deal with the rest

[librechik]

36. I hope theres' a lawsuit and her name is dragged through the mud for years

She should be challenged to explain herself at every opportunity. This will be difficult, since she doesn't ever do real interviews. Or speak to ordinary folks.

[bluestate10]

37. Palin is serving her penalty.

A decent into irrelevance. Every time Palin opens her mouth, voters that voted for Obama and many that did not thank God that Palin will get nowhere near the Presidency.