Here's the quote going around from Palin spokeswoman Rebecca Mansour.
"We never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights. It was simply cross-hairs like you'd see on maps," said Rebecca Mansour on the Tammy Bruce radio show. Moreover, there was "nothing irresponsible" about the image, and to draw a line connecting Palin and Saturday's shooting is "obscene" and "appalling."
Follow me over the jump to see why this is incredibly disingenous, and why the PAC knew exactly what imagery they were using as a dog whistle to the right wing.
NRA - "NRA honors these members of the hunting and shooting industries for their leadership of our campaign to recruit new members. Please thank them and remember to support their businesses during the holiday shopping season and year 'round."
There are 11 sponsors listed on the NRA page with crosshairs in their logos. In fact, crosshairs are one of the very most common logo elements in the entire industry, along with stars, mountains, lions and wings.
Following are some more examples of crosshairs being used in the firearms industry - some of them are the oldest and most reputable companies in the business.
If you were to go to a gun show, or if you were to enjoy firearms, read publications, watch videos, etc., you would see these crosshairs logos, and use of crosshairs constantly.
Barrett Optics
Remington - yes, that Remington: "Founded in 1816 in upstate New York, the Company is one of the nation’s oldest continuously operating manufacturers. Remington is the only U.S. manufacturer of both firearms and ammunition products and one of the largest domestic producers of shotguns and rifles."
The Remington R700 includes crosshairs in the logo itself:
Armalite, Inc.
Accuracy International - their search engine optimized page is titled "Sniper Rifle Systems" - note the crosshairs in the top navigation.
Desert Toys
On an Amazon aStore - Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 4.5-14x50mm (30mm) M1 Duplex
Crosshairs, Incorporated - "Crosshairs expressed goal is to conduct the highest quality training available for police and parallel mission military students attending classes."
Tactical Operations, Inc.
Walther - on the Smith & Wesson online store
The American Sniper Association - check out that tiled background image.
I could list another twenty companies using crosshairs on their websites, in their logos and on their products. I didn't even touch gun ranges, which I'm sure has a veritable cornucopia of crosshair logos.
The fact is that Palin's map with the crosshairs was deliberate, intentional and a clear dog whistle to gun owners and the right wing across America. You combine that with heated rhetoric about losing America and the Grand Fascist Socialist Takeover and its no surprise that we saw the tragedy we did yesterday.