Arizona Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, who like Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was targeted by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, said in an interview Tuesday that “the blame game is not helpful right now.”
Still, former Rep. Kirkpatrick said that being featured on Palin’s list of 20 districts — complete with a map of what a Palin aide called “surveyor marks” — “was especially disconcerting for our families.”
“Well, you know, it was angry and mean-spirited campaign in many ways and I think it’s really shaken us to the core here in Arizona, as well as a nation,” Kirkpatrick told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell. “I think we’ve got to look at our behavior. This is a time to assess what we do and take responsibility for our actions. And, Andrea, as simple as this: words do matter. Words and actions do have consequences.”
Kirkpatrick, as the Daily Beast wrote, also received e-mails calling her a “whore” and had a sewer cap thrown through her office window. She was first elected in 2008 but was defeated by Republican Paul Gosar in the 2010 election.
“I really think that we need to come together as Arizonans and as Americans and work together to heal our country and rebuild,” Kirkpatrick said. “And I just don’t think blame is productive at all in this instance.”
