Frank Rich:The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers

[cal04]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14rich.html?_r=1

WHEN a Fox News anchor, reacting to his own network’s surging e-mail traffic, warns urgently on-camera of a rise in hate-filled, “amped up” Americans who are “taking the extra step and getting the gun out,” maybe we should listen. He has better sources in that underground than most.

The anchor was Shepard Smith, speaking after Wednesday’s mayhem at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Unlike the bloviators at his network and elsewhere on cable, Smith is famous for his highly caffeinated news-reading, not any political agenda. But very occasionally — notably during Hurricane Katrina — he hits the Howard Beale mad-as-hell wall. Joining those at Fox who routinely disregard the network’s “We report, you decide” mantra, he both reported and decided, loudly.

What he reported was this: his e-mail from viewers had “become more and more frightening” in recent months, dating back to the election season. From Wednesday alone, he “could read a hundred” messages spewing “hate that’s not based in fact,” much of it about Barack Obama and some of it sharing the museum gunman’s canard that the president was not a naturally born citizen. These are Americans “out there in a scary place,” Smith said.

Then he brought up another recent gunman: “If you’re one who believes that abortion is murder, at what point do you go out and kill someone who’s performing abortions?” An answer, he said, was provided by Dr. George Tiller’s killer. He went on: “If you are one who believes these sorts of things about the president of the United States ...” He left the rest of that chilling sentence unsaid.

(snip)
The question, Shepard Smith said on Fox last week, is “if there is really a way to put a hold on” those who might run amok. We’re not about to repeal the First or Second Amendments. Hard-core haters resolutely dismiss any “mainstream media” debunking of their conspiracy theories. The only voices that might penetrate their alternative reality — I emphasize might — belong to conservative leaders with the guts and clout to step up as McCain did last fall. Where are they? The genteel public debate in right-leaning intellectual circles about the conservative movement’s future will be buried by history if these insistent alarms are met with silence.

[LaurenG]

1. They are all complicit

this has had me pissed off all day. If the party leaders aren't happy with the way their republican constituent fiends are behaving, f***ing say something!

[DCKit]

6. Yes, they are. If they wanted to stop this, they'd work actively to educate the public. n/t

[madaboutharry]

2. I truly believe that there are people in this country who

are so filled with hatred and racism that it is literally driving them insane that Barack Obama is the President of the United States. It makes me so sad. I sometimes wonder what has happened to a person to make them became such a hater.

[Chemisse]

4. I remember an 8 years of helplessness

Ending quite recently. Having Bush in the White House was a constant source of stress for me, rather like an irritating background noise you cannot get rid of. I'm sure nearly all of you felt similarly.

Now the shoe is on the other foot, but the Republicans are by and large a different kind of people. Already plagued with hate and distrust and harsh bias, this extra stress is causing some of them to boil over into violence.

It is scary.

[Maccagirl]

3. A home run except for 2 points:

1) Does he consider McCain's correction of the lady at the rally bleating "Obama is a Muslim!" by saying quietly "No, No " as "stepping up?". Yes! A real courageous moment there, John. Did he once stop Palin's lies???

2. Shepard Smith should resign from Fox News Corp. Period.

[MNBrewer]

7. That woman was at a rally in a southern suburb of the Twin Cities

Now, I know there are some ignorant people in Minnesota, but THAT was embarassing!!!! And, I think it finally brought McCain back to reality for a few seconds.

[ErinBerin84]

8. yup, what was so brave about that?

It's not like Mccain had a choice at THAT point, plus his comment "No...he's a good..family...man" (um, not an Arab, but instead a "good family man"? Whatevs) was just so strange.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. Things are as scary as they can be ........

I'm old enough to remember when JFK was running for President, and the uproar back then was that he'd be owned by his father and the Vatican. As soon as the election was over, that crap was no longer heard.

Of course, there was no Internet then.

But the venom and vitriol that Obama inspires in these people is downright scary. That quote from Jon Voight (Jon Voight?) made my blood run cold, and I have to wonder who wrote that speech for him. No wonder his daughter has nothing to do with him and won't let him near her kids, his grandchildren. She knows him.

All this hate, all this rage, all this dangerous, ugly speech which seems never to rest. We have dead cops, a dead physician, a dead security guard, all them just doing their jobs, legally and without fanfare. Well, Dr. Tiller was in his church, but he was murdered for doing his legal job.

Who is next? Who will be the one gunned down because some rightwingnut headcase decides you're not doing things the way HE thinks they should be done?

Will I get hammered because I'm a nice white lady with black and gay friends? Am I violating their Code, whatever the fuck that is?

I cannot believe this is my America, and the idea that the voices of the rightwing refuse to own any of this or tone it down or tell their followers to cool it is beyond me.

Something horrible will have to happen, I guess, something even more horrible than what's already happened. Someone who thinks Timothy McVeigh was on the right track. Someone who believes that the Holocaust shooter didn't finish the job.

They're out there.

They're out there..................

[Maccagirl]

10. T.L., have you ever read the comments at Amazon.com

about the book "American Terrorist.." about McVeigh by two Buffalo-area reporters? It will send chills down your spine. They call him "Tim" (as if he was a neighbor) and while they claim to condemn his crime, they really show sympathy and understanding as to what "drove" him to commit the bombing (the commie Clinton and Reno). I guess those babies in the day care center sure got what-for huh?

[opihimoimoi]

12. The research books tell us Bullies are very diff to rehab....most of these nutcases are defacto

Bullies, and NPD's....about 3 percent of the pop...

[Tangerine LaBamba]

14. But they're energized and emboldened

when they believe they have people backing them up and encouraging them.

And they do - O'Reilly, Limbaugh (aka "Fat Greasy Fucklord"), Beck, Coulter, all those scumbags who are busy appealing to the lowest among us, the most damaged.

Then they scurry, throw their hands up, and claim they had nothing to do with it.

Those 3% are so dangerous, and now that they have a clear target - Obama - they believe they are right to proceed on their missions of destruction.

It's a bad, bad time for us..........................

[opihimoimoi]

15. WE SHALL OVERCOME.....that is their worst FEAR....

Should President Obama survive 8 years....the world will change for the better

[Cha]

9. Shepard Smith has really made

a name for himself with Katrina and the following, imo.


"What he reported was this: his e-mail from viewers had “become more and more frightening” in recent months, dating back to the election season. From Wednesday alone, he “could read a hundred” messages spewing “hate that’s not based in fact,” much of it about Barack Obama and some of it sharing the museum gunman’s canard that the president was not a naturally born citizen. These are Americans “out there in a scary place,” Smith said.

Then he brought up another recent gunman: “If you’re one who believes that abortion is murder, at what point do you go out and kill someone who’s performing abortions?” An answer, he said, was provided by Dr. George Tiller’s killer. He went on: “If you are one who believes these sorts of things about the president of the United States ...” He left the rest of that chilling sentence unsaid."


And, this is why palin owes President Obama and his supporters an Apology..

<snip from your article>>>>>

"This was evident during the campaign, when hotheads greeted Obama’s name with “Treason!” and “Terrorist!” at G.O.P. rallies. At first the McCain-Palin campaign fed the anger with accusations that Obama was “palling around with terrorists.” But later John McCain thought better of it and defended his opponent’s honor to a town-hall participant who vented her fears of the Democrats’ “Arab” candidate. Although two neo-Nazi skinheads were arrested in an assassination plot against Obama two weeks before Election Day, the fever broke after McCain exercised leadership."

[Tangerine LaBamba]

16. Wouldn't it be lovely

if MSNBC brought Smith over to the Dark Side?

I've seen very little of the guy, but he strikes me as smart, informed, self-possessed, and not at all buying into the lunacy.

He'd make a nice addition to the MSNBC lineup, I think, along with Ed and KO and Rachel.

Tweety, hell, I don't know where he belongs this week..................

[Wednesdays]

11. K&R

:kick:

[malaise]

13. Let's see if Frank Rich gets any airplay next week

I expect none on MTP tomorrow.

[underpants]

19. Ignored or quickly dismissed

Rich nails it again

[Shallah Kali]

17. Many GOP called for moderate Muslims to condemn terrorism - where are they now

Many GOP called for Obama to condemn rev. wright - where are they condeming comments like rev. Engel of 'The Call' who has repeatedly called for Christians to martyr themselves to end legal abortion? Oh wait Newt and Huckabee are sucking up to him http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/6/7/144847/9340

[Red Dog]

18. Crazy comparisons by right wingnuts

The right is trying to dig up salty language that progressives have used in the past, so they can cover their talking head's asses:

The America Haters’ Silent Enablers

http://www.andimright.com/?p=243

The ol' 'Left Hates America' canard.