By MARC McDONALD
A man who is accused of shooting and killing two at a Tennessee church apparently targeted the congregation "out of hatred for its support of liberal social policies," police said Monday.
One might ask: where would such extreme hatred of Liberals come from?
To get the answer, turn on Right-Wing talk radio any day.
There, on a daily basis, you'll hear the most amazingly vicious bashing of Liberals imaginable.
From Savage to Limbaugh to Hannity to the rest of HateWing radio, every day, one hears the most extraordinary demonization of Liberals and Democrats. If you get all your news and views from HateWing radio (as many Dittoheads do), you'll be convinced that Liberals are traitors who are working hand-in-hand with Al Qaeda to undermine the American nation.
Along with the hate, there's a hefty of dose of violent threats against Liberals on the AM radio dial these days.
Take right-wing nutcase Michael Graham, for example. In June 2007, he said he wanted to see someone "whack" the Clintons in a Sopranos spoof. And in 2003, Graham said of Hillary Clinton: "I wanted to bludgeon her with a tire iron."
Such inflammatory language is nothing new for the right-wing. Recall how Ann Coulter once wrote that the debate over Bill Clinton should be about "whether to impeach or assassinate."
Such seething hatred and threats of violence have ricocheted around the GOP echo chamber for at least the past couple of decades. And it hasn't been limited to right-wing talk radio.
Recall the comment by Jesse Helms in 1994: "Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here. He'd better have a bodyguard."
Or G. Gordon Liddy's comment in 1995, when discussing how he'd used stick figures of the Clintons for target practice. "Thought it might improve my aim," he said.
Given this toxic stew of hatred and violent threats that poisons our nation's political discourse, we really shouldn't be surprised that there are many people out there who harbor extreme hatred toward Liberals.
Update:
Books seized from suspect Jim David Adkisson's home, included The O'Reilly Factor, by television commentator Bill O'Reilly; Liberalism is a Mental Disorder, by radio personality Michael Savage; and Let Freedom Ring, by political pundit Sean Hannity.
Knoxville Police Department Investigator Steve Still wrote in the search warrant that Adkisson went on a rampage at the church, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country."
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#Caturday Palate Cleanser
5 hours ago
12 comments:
what is surprising is that it hasnt happened more often
it will sadly happen again --- hannity limbaugh coulter malkin and savage should all be thrown in jail forever
Since the definition of a Liberal is one that favors proposals for reform, is open to new ideas for progress, and is tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others, it's possible that the right-wing lunatic fringe is having trouble understanding it due to the number of so many big words.
This deficit is more readily recognized when the best that they can do is to resort to name calling.
It's called 'Free-Speech'. Even a liberal can understand that. And if they weren't so busy defending foreign people instead of violating their oaths to defend the American people, they might have time to figure it out. Besides, I think about the violent deaths of American traitors everyday, but I don't go out and do it. This article is off the wall and is nothing more than a rant against those that disagree with your subversive politics. If you stop stabbing Americans in the back, we wouldn't have HALF the problems we have today. For every act, there is a reaction. Don't you get it yet????
Hi Distributorcap, thanks for the note.
re:
>>>should all be thrown in jail
>>>forever
Actually, I'd just be happy with the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine.
Hi Reenee, thanks for stopping by. Yes: I agree: these are some seriously confused people.
JohnHatch: thanks for your comment.
Zena: I'm not sure I understand your point. But making terroristic threats is not protected free speech.
Hi, Zena:
"For every act, there is a reaction."
Does the word "reactionary" relate to this?
BTW, "stabbing Americans in the back" makes me think of Enron, subprime mortgages, Big Oil profiteering, telecoms taking part in illegal eavesdropping with legislated impunity, judicial theft of elections, and a host of other things.
To a militaristic bag of feces, I suppose that would make them think of anyone who dares question a policy, one based on lies, that has gotten a million people killed and threatens more endless bloodshed. (But, I keep forgetting about the American world caste system. Furreners don't really count.)
I suppose it's a matter of perspective. Some people have it; others don't.
I'm thinking that the likes of this person who calls herself/himself "Zena" are living on some planet that is not familiar to most Americans. Consider what has happened to this country in the past eight years. It hasn't been the Democrats/Liberals who have been leading the charge. Evidently the people who think about the "violent deaths" of Liberals every day, are so busy fomenting their hatred, they don't have time to look at what has happened to our country, and who has done it.
And, by the way, not all Conservatives take their cues from people like Hannity, Coulter, Limbaugh and O'Reilly. Some of them are actually very decent, law-abiding, God-fearing people. Just not any of them who look to liars for their leaders, and embrace corruption as their ideology.
re:
>>And, by the way, not all
>>Conservatives take their cues
>>from people like Hannity,
>>Coulter, Limbaugh and O'Reilly.
>>Some of them are actually very
>>decent, law-abiding, God-fearing
>>people.
This may be true. But I just gave this some thought and it occurred to me that I don't personally know a single Conservative here where I live who doesn't still strongly support Bush and the Iraq War and who doesn't admire and support the work of people like Coulter and Limbaugh.
True conservatives must fear for their nation. I would consider my father a Goldwater Conservative - and he fears for the future of the US. As said, I have known some conservatives to be hard working and honest people - but I must say that the conservative movement of today is much more radical, much less reasonable than that of previous generations.
This type of ideology is exactly what endangers the future of America - even though the Conservatives themselves insist that it is their more sensible Liberal adversaries who are the problem.
To me, it seems that we need some sort of Liberal movement to counter the increasingly crazy right and their insane ideas.
This is hardly surprising, given the HateWing's (excellent term, btw) historical preference for violence.
Notable instances are their repeated bomb attacks on women's health clinics, the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and, of course, Germany's National Socialist Party, who George W Bush's grandfather Prescott helped finance (and profitted greatly from, before, during, and after WW2).
And yet ironicly they claim that Liberals hate America. Odd claim, considering the wallets of Right Wing leaders are fat with the money of America's enemies.
I find it quite funny that you people are obviously talking about politics in the U.S. however you keep referring to "America", which as you should all know, since you think you're so very intelligent, is made up of two continents containing quite a few countries.
Paix,
Barnacle
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