“I’ve been worried for some time, even before the events surrounding these health care town halls,” Rich told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday. “It began during the campaign, where people were shouting ‘treason’ and worse about Obama at Palin rallies — and, essentially, no one in the Republican Party would condemn it. … It’s just been stepping up ever since then.”
Calls for violent revolution at some town halls have recently been made even more threatening by the open display of guns outside these events. A gun-toting online radio host who interviewed a friend carrying an assault rifle at an Obama event in Arizona a few days ago has been revealed as a vocal supporter of members of a militia group who were convicted in 1996 of plotting to blow up federal buildings.
“I think we have a problem,” Rich stated. “This has been going on for too many months. It always seems to happen when there’s a new liberal group taking over. It’s not coincidence that the militias started up again in the 1990s when Clinton came in — or, when Kennedy came in, the right-wing stuff in the early 60s.”
Rich suggested that although President Obama is hopefully well-protected, he sees a potential for something like the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995. “I think we have to worry about right-wing political violence … that doesn’t necessarily manifest itself in a presidential assassination,” he told Maddow.
“It’s shocking to me that very few Republican leaders have really condemned this kind of activity,” Rich stated sharply. “In fact, they’ve sort of encouraged it.”
This video is from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Aug. 19, 2009.
2 comments:
Where was the outrage when the left was comparing Bush to Hitler, creating Movies and video games about his assassination, and holding signs at protest rallies calling for Bush's assassination? Frank Rich is dishonestly insinuating that Kennedy was killed by a right wing militia group when, in fact, JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald was a leftist. We should fear for the safety of all presidents. Even when they're conservative.
It seems the right defense of this mob like behavior is well you did it too. Granted the tone on the left for Bush was loud, but it doesn't compare to the venomous hate on the right for President Barack Obama. Even at McCain/Palin rallies during the campaign you heard conservatives scream kill him and the best example is the HBO/Alexandra Pelosi's documentary "Right America feeling wrong" at least for Bush the "hate" as you call it were based on his policies but you hear these people tell you why they don't like Obama it's just pure hate.
Going back to the conservative defense of these mobs, Democrats and the progressive media have denounced those on our side that take it beyond political discourse when it came to Bush. But your side hasn't the Republicans and their allies in the right wing media have encourage the mob.
As dangerous your side is becoming I have to think back when you guys were in charge. Dissent wasn't allow the same people carrying signs with Obama as Hitler were probably the same people that were taking part in smashing Dixie Chicks CD or sending them death threats, or sending death threats to people like Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehan. And it's funny to see how Fox News shifting view on protesters, then half a million people of all races, ages, genders, religions protesting a war those people were anti American, to now where the protest are made up of mostly old white men who are protesting health care reform because the health care industry told them to it's down right American.
When Bush was president you couldn't get near a rally he attended if you had the wrong shirt or bumper sticker now these conservatives yahoos can carry guns outside events where the President of the United States is attending.
I agree with Frank Rich on this one.
Post a Comment