The Roots Of Bin Laden Denialism

 by Simon Maloy/Media Matters

Sean Hannity is terribly vexed. In his mind, Democrats are weak on national security, for no other reason than they're Democrats. It's a foundational belief -- not just for him, but for a good portion of his and the rest of Fox News' conservative audience.

So how does he deal with the fact that Osama bin Laden met his end under a Democratic president? Denial.

The president's role in the hunt for Bin Laden has been well documented. The New Yorker published an exhaustive account of the raid on the Al Qaeda chief's compound in Abbottabad and the president's decision-making in the months leading up to the moment when he personally authorized it. More recently, Vice President Biden divulged that he had advised the president not to approve the mission, but was overruled. And yet, Hannity is insisting not just that Obama did not want Bin Laden killed, but that there exists taped evidence to prove it. The psychology at work here is fascinating.

The death of Bin Laden has proven to be an intractable problem for a conservative commentariat that relies upon facile and outdated stereotypes of the opposition. Say what you will about the Obama administration's expanded use of drone warfare and targeted assassinations, but it certainly does not comport with the flower-child caricature that has served as a foil for talk radio tough guys. And the death of the world's most prominent anti-American terrorist is not easily explained away.

So when Bin Laden met his end under a Democratic commander in chief, the right birthed an exotic array of explanations that attempted to square the circle. The most ambitious effort, of which there are undeniable echoes in Hannity's comments last night, was launched by an obscure right-wing blogger who (citing an unnamed and almost certainly imaginary White House "insider") claimed that the military had actually overruledObama's attempts to abort the Bin Laden raid.

Despite the obvious holes in the argument (i.e. treason), the "overruled" theory was picked up by more prominent right-wingers, including Atlas Shrugged blogger Pam Geller, who is a frequent guest on Hannity's television and radio programs. Geller promoted the story and stood by it even after it was pointed out that she was essentially accusing top military commanders of crimes punishable by death.

But that's the pathology. The assumed cowardliness and weakness of liberals and Democrats is integral to the worldview of Hannity other right-wing bombasts. So when a Democrat shows strength on national security, any alternate theory that keeps the delusion alive -- no matter how illogical or counterfactual -- is treated as more plausible than the truth.

Right-Wing Media Embrace Latest Anti-Obama Conspiracy Theory: Bin Laden Might Not Be Dead

From Media Matters

Led by Fox's Andrew Napolitano, right-wing media figures have embraced yet another conspiracy theory aimed at attacking President Obama: that Osama bin Laden might not be dead. Right-wing media have previously promoted the false conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in United States and the myth that Obama is a Muslim.

Right-Wing Media Figures Ask For "Proof," "More Evidence" Of Bin Laden's Death

Napolitano Wonders If Government Is "Telling Us The Truth" About Bin Laden Or "Pulling A Fast One To Save Obama's Lousy Presidency." On the May 2 edition of Fox Business' Freedom Watch, host Andrew Napolitano said: "Osama bin Laden assassinated. Killed on the illegal whim of the president," but later questioned whether the government was "telling ... the truth" about bin Laden. FromFreedom Watch:

NAPOLITANO: But last night a little before midnight here on the East Coast, President Obama, with an eye on his lagging poll numbers and the sickening economy over which he presides, announced in a quick 40 minutes of time, 40 of America's best Navy SEALs found bin Laden, asked him to surrender and when he declined, blew his brains out. And then he told us after bin Laden's remains were identified they were dumped at sea, in accordance with Muslim tradition. No photos, no testimony from eyewitnesses, just the president's word that he's dead and, to repeat a famous phrase, now sleeps with the fishes.

Of course, the burial at sea is new to most Americans. It is new to many Muslims as well. Bin Laden belonged to a Muslim sect that believes in anonymous burial in the earth. Beyond the issue of whether the government is telling us the truth or pulling a fast one to save Obama's lousy presidency, is the issue of the lawful power of the president to order someone killed, no matter how monstrous, how dangerous, or how unpopular. [Fox Business, Freedom Watch, 5/2/11, 5/2/11]

Napolitano Asks Guest, "Do You Believe He's Dead, Or Do You Want Some More Evidence?"Later on the May 2 Freedom Watch, Napolitano asked guest Michael Scheuer: "Do you believe he's dead, or do you want some more evidence? A photograph, a testimony of an eyewitness? Something other than the words of a president whose words we have doubted before?" He later asked Scheuer, "So with the body gone, or sleeping with the fishes, won't there always be that lingering doubt amongst Americans?" From Freedom Watch:

NAPOLITANO: Do you believe he's dead, or do you want some more evidence? A photograph, a testimony of an eyewitness? Something other than the words of a president whose words we have doubted before?

SCHEUER: Well, Judge, I think what I go with is the men and women on the ground. If they didn't get him, they would admit it. The really, the success story here is not the president who did the right thing at last, but the true story is the young men and women who serve the United States in the military and the intelligence services. They risked their lives, they did their job. And if he's not dead, they'll never be able to keep that a secret.

NAPOLITANO: All right, but the intelligence services of which you were once a part want as much closure to this as the American public does. So with the body gone, or sleeping with the fishes, won't there always be that lingering doubt amongst Americans: "Well, where is the body? How do we know he's dead? Why isn't there a picture of it? Why didn't we see it before they shipped it off to sea?"

SCHEUER: I think much more than just a likelihood, Judge, I think we're already in it. The conspiracy people are going to spin this up to a very high degree, and even if they release the pictures they claim they have, with Photoshop and other programs, you can doctor any, any photograph to make it look however you want. So I think it perhaps might have been wiser to keep the body or at least show the body before they buried it. [Fox Business,Freedom Watch, 5/2/11]

Doocy: Bin Laden Death Deniers Won't "Believe DNA" Evidence Because "That's Just Numbers On A Piece Of Paper." On the May 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, during a "Radio Rumble" segment debating whether the Obama administration should release photos of bin Laden's body, co-host Steve Doocy stated that people who deny that bin Laden was killed won't "believe DNA - that's just numbers on a piece of paper." From Fox & Friends:

ELLEN RATNER (radio host): I think the liberals have transparency. I think the DNA evidence is pretty clear. I think, you know, you don't even hear -

CHUCK BOOMS (radio host): What DNA evidence?

RATNER: You do not even hear -

DOOCY: Yeah, but they're not going to believe DNA -- that's just numbers on a piece of paper, Ellen. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/3/11]

On Fox, Right-Wing Radio Host Expresses Doubt About Bin Laden's Death. During the "Radio Rumble" segment on Fox & Friends, right-wing radio host Chuck Booms stated: "We need the picture, Steve. Without the picture, it's going to make people like me think maybe they actually did throw a bag over his head and get him down to Club Gitmo and let Jack Bauer have at him with some jumper cables." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/3/11]

Big Peace Contributor On Bin Laden's Death: "I'll Believe It When I See It." In a May 2 post on Andrew Breitbart's Big Peace site, J. Michael Waller wrote that the U.S. must "[d]isplay the body" because "[e]very American has a right to walk right up to bin Laden's corpse and view it. We are entitled to know for a fact that the witch is dead." Waller later wrote: "Bin Laden may be dead (I'll believe it when I see it), but al Qaeda is still alive." [Big Peace, 5/2/11]

Wash. Times' Miller: Photo Of Bin Laden Is "What We Need For Proof." As Think Progress noted on May 2, Washington Times senior opinion page editor Emily Miller wrote in a Twitter post, "no photo of the body. that's what we need for proof."

[Twitter, 5/2/11]

Officials Confirmed Bin Laden's Death Through DNA Evidence, Photo Comparisons

AP: "Officials Produced A Quick DNA Match From His Remains That They Said Established Bin Laden's Identity." In a May 2 article, The Associated Press reported:

Knowing there would be disbelievers, the U.S. says it used convincing means to confirm Osama bin Laden's identity during and after the firefight that killed him.

[...]

Officials produced a quick DNA match from his remains that they said established bin Laden's identity, even absent the other techniques, with 99.9 percent certainty. U.S. officials also said bin Laden was identified through photo comparisons and other methods. [AP,5/2/11]

Right-Wing Media Have Previously Promoted Other Anti-Obama Conspiracy Theories

Fox Obsessively Promoted Birther Myths. As Media Matters reported, following potential Donald Trump's embrace of theories regarding Obama's birthplace, Fox News ramped up its coverage of birther conspiracies, devoted nearly two hours and 20 minutes to the issue from February 21 to April 21. In the vast majority of the cases, Fox hosts either espoused birther conspiracies or did not challenge or correct false claims about Obama's birth that aired on their shows. [Media Matters, 4/27/11]

Right-Wing Media Incessantly Promoted Falsehood That Obama Is A Muslim. As Media Mattershas noted, right-wing media have relentlessly pushed the myth that Obama is a Muslim. Those falsehoods have run the gamut -- from outright claiming that Obama is a Muslim to alleging that he "is a Christian that Christians don't recognize"; from using his family and upbringing in Indonesia to portray him as an "Islamist" to claiming he has an agenda that shows he has a "preference of Islam over Christianity"; and from distorting comments Obama or his administration has made to picking out symbols associated with his administration to perpetuate the lie about his faith. [Media Matters, 8/19/10]

M.C.L comment: Boy these freaks on the right are getting desperate first it was Bush that should get credit for killing Bin Laden and now they want to see a dead body. Funny these were the same people they told us that we should believe everything that comes from the Bush White House. As for the other anti Obama theory let me translate those theories for you ahem: "THERE'S A NIGGER IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND HE'S GOING TO GET YOU WHITE PEOPLE AHHH"

Former Bush Official: Beck Criticism "Absurd"

by Joe Strupp

A former Bush administration official featured in Glenn Beck's elaborate Egypt conspiracy theory has called the Fox host's comments "absurd."

In 2008, while serving as an Under Secretary of State, James K. Glassman helped create the Alliance for Youth Movements, a non-profit organization "that aims to support and sustain campaigns for nonviolent social change that harness 21st century tools to safeguard human rights, promote good governance and foster civic engagement."

On his Monday show, Beck suggested that AYM was tied to violent Islamic extremism and that the State Department was aiding groups that want to use the Egyptian protests to create an Islamic "caliphate."

Reached for comment Tuesday, Glassman told Media Matters that he had reviewed video of portions of Beck's show as well as related material on Beck's website.

Glassman called Beck's theory "literally absurd," adding that "it was like the world turned upside down."

"The work we were doing was to advance the cause of anti-violence and freedom, and if we played any small role in events in Egypt, that advances those causes," said Glassman. "I would think that Glenn Beck would stand for those goals."

Glassman is currently executive director of the George W. Bush Institute at the Bush Presidential Library in Dallas. Before joining the State Department, he served as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Watch video of Beck's Monday show:

GOP congressional candidate: The federal government and BP colluded to spill oil in the Gulf.

By Amanda Terkel Shortly after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, disgraced FEMA director Michael Brown went on Fox News and

claimed that the Obama administration wanted the devastating oil spill as an excuse to backtrack on its offshore drilling plan. Around the same time, Rush Limbaugh unleashed a conspiracy theory suggesting that someone intentionally blew up the rig in order to “head off more oil drilling.” After widespread mockery and criticism, these types of oil spill truthers have largely gone quiet. Now, however, Bill Randall, who’s competing to be the GOP nominee in a congressional race in North Carolina and identifies with the Tea Party movement, is going even further by saying that the federal government and BP worked together to spill oil:

“Now, I’m not necessarily a conspiracy person, but I don’t think enough investigation has been done on this,” Randall said at a media conference on Tuesday. “Someone needs to be digging into that situation. Personally, and this is purely speculative on my part and not based on any fact, but personally I feel there is a possibility that there was some sort of collusion. I don’t know how or why, but in that situation, if you have someone from a company violating a safety process and the government signing off on it, excuse me, maybe they wanted it to leak.

“But then it got beyond what was anticipated, and we had an explosion and loss of life. And, oh man, then we have panic. Is there a cover up going on? I’m not saying there necessarily is. But I think there’s enough facts on the table for people that (they) really need to do some investigative research and find out what went on with that and get a subpoena of records and everything else.”

The spokesman for Randall’s GOP primary opponent mocked his trutherism, saying, “Does Bill Randall also think we didn’t land on the moon?”

GOP won’t allow ideas to raise taxes on new site, but Hitler references and anti-Hispanic rhetoric are ok.

By Ben Armbruster House Republicans launched a new website (America Speaking Out) yesterday to “listen” to Americans’ policy ideas in order to craft a new Party agenda. However, the site is not an open forum for just any idea. Project leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said the GOP will stick to its “principles” — meaning they won’t incorporate any idea they don’t already agree with. Moreover, the new site comes with some caveats. “Someone who wants to come on and make the suggestion on how to raise taxes, for example,” said Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL). “They are welcome to do that, [but] that’s not something that we are going to take up.” Also discouraged? “Suggestions on amnesty or a path to legalization for illegal immigrants and anything pro-choice.” However, it appears that references to Hitler are just fine. In addition to mentions of Hitler, the Washington Post’s Dana Millbank reports some other rather odd and offensive suggestions the GOP has allowed on America Speaking Out:

“End Child Labor Laws,” suggests one helpful participant. “We coddle children too much. They need to spend their youth in the factories.”

“How about if Congress actually do thier job and VET or Usurper in Chief, Obama is NOT a Natural Born Citizen in any way,” recommends another. “That fake so called birth certificate is useless.” [...]

“Don’t let the illegals run out of Arizona and hide. … I think that we should do something to identify them in case they try to come back over. Like maybe tattoo a big scarlet ‘I’ on their chests — for ‘illegal’!!!” (Filed under “job creation.”) [...]

“I oppose the Hispanicization of America,” said one. “These are not patriotic people.” Another contributor had parody in mind (we hope): “English is are official langauge. Anybody who ain’t speak it the RIGHT way should kicked out.”

The Wonk Room’s Andrea Nill observes some other friendly suggestions on the website, such as: “Why support illegal immigration to bring this country down to the level of Mexcico [sic]? Whe [sic] to the Hispanics just go home?”

Beck: The Census Is The Government’s Attempt To ‘Increase Slavery’

By Alex Seitz-Wald The Census is a popular topic of right-wing conspiracy theories and Fox News host Glenn Beck spent a good portion of radio show today fear-mongering about it. Going through the form, he determined that the government doesn’t have the right to ask any of the questions — except for the first one asking how many people live in your home.

He took particular issue with a question asking for the respondent’s race. But after Beck’s co-host pointed out that the question has been part of the Census since the Founding Fathers’ time, Beck twisted the three-fifths law to claim that the Census is now breeding slavery:

BECK: Why were they asking the race question, you said when, in 1790? … Right, they want to know, do you count as three-fifths? Do you count at all? So, you have to know how many slaves did you have? People find that offensive today because the idea was, if we’re going to count, we want to know how many are here for services etc. etc. and slaves would get less. Well that’s not right. One. One. ‘I’m not three-fifths, I’m one. Whites are not worth than me.’ Now reverse it, why are they asking this question today?

CO-HOST: Because minorities are worth more than whites.

BECK: Exactly right. So you will get more dollars if you are a minority. So you are worth more as a monitory. Well there is no difference. The reason you don’t answer the race question is because one, everyone counts as one. All men are created equal. If you were offended back in 1790 about slavery and that everyone should count the same, do not answer the race question. How dare you. How dare you. At least in 1790, they were doing it to slow the South down on slavery. To try to stop it as much as they can. Today they are asking the race question to try to increase slavery. Your dependence on the master in Washington. No way, don’t answer that question.

Listen here:

Beck seems to be arguing that because a handful of federal programs provide funding to help minority communities, minorities are “worth more” than white people. Of course, the Census actually counts everyone equally, as the Constitution requires, so Beck’s complaints seem aimed more at civil rights programs than at the Census.

Moreover, there is a big “difference” between a law that counted people as less than human and a question that helps minority communities get needed aid. The Census’ race question is “critical” to enforcing civil rights policies and is used to “promote equal employment opportunities and to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks.” So by urging his listeners to not complete this question, he’s potentially damaging these important efforts.

As ThinkProgress has previously noted, the three-fifths law was not an abolitionist provision designed to “slow the South down on slavery,” as Beck claims. Many of the Founders were from the South and owned slaves, and there were other pro-slavery clasuses in the Constitution that Beck’s revisionist history can’t explain.

So does Beck think the Census has a “deep seated hatred of white people or white culture”?

Update A new Facebook campaign is calling for the Census to include "American" as a race option, saying "when America QUITS asking people what their COLOR, RACE, Ethnicity is, then we will all become a stronger Group: Americans."