 The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine |
GLENN: This is absolutely amazing. I have to just go all over this Paul Krugman editorial because I read the whole thing now. It is absolutely amazing. In the New York Times today the big hate, backs in April there was a huge fuss by the Department of Homeland Security warning of conditions resembling those in the 1990s, a time marked by an upsurge of rightwing extremism that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.
STU: May I just mention one thing real quick before you go on?
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: The idea that this report is just, somehow this murder justifies that report, does anyone in the their right mind believe that what the Department of Homeland Security had in mind were World War II veterans who fought to free and end the Holocaust going to murder people at the Holocaust museum. I would like to know if there's any evidence that has anything even
GLENN: Veterans, they said veterans. They said veterans!
STU: It's so bad. Like they were talking about 90 year olds. I was listening to a show the other day, there was that thing, the footage of the cop who tasered the 72 year old woman they were running on the other day and it was like everyone was making fun of them. Like, oh, a 72 year old woman who's getting tased, all right, cop, calm down. Here's a 90 year old guy. There's no way the Department of Homeland Security was taking into account.
GLENN: They said veterans.
STU: That anyone with World War I might be involved.
GLENN: Conservatives were outraged. The chairman of the RNC denounced the report as an attempt to segment out conservatives in the country who have a different philosophy, different view, blah, blah blah. But with the murder of George Tiller, an antiabortion fanatic closely followed by a shooting of a white supremacist, you know, it begins to make the Homeland Security look great. There is however one important thing that the DHS report didn't say. Today as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent rightwing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment. Wow. Now, I mean, they don't even see the beam in their own eye. Now for the most part the likes of Fox News and the RNC haven't directly incited violence. For the most part. For the most part we haven't directly incited violence. Got that? In any part. Has anyone at any time in the RNC or on Fox News incited violence? I'd like to see one.
STU: Directly.
GLENN: Direct, is there anyone, for the most part.
STU: Meaning
GLENN: We haven't directly incited violence.
STU: Meaning there was a part where you did which is again a blatant lie.
GLENN: Yes. Despite Bill O'Reilly's declarations that some call Dr. Tiller, Tiller the baby killer and that he had blood on his hands and that he was a guy operating a death mill all of those are true. All of those are true. But they have gone out of their way to provide a platform for conspiracy theories and apocalyptic rhetoric just as they did the last time the Democrat held a White House.
I want you to know the last time a Democrat held the White House was under Bill Clinton. I wasn't a fan of Bill Clinton, but I wasn't apocalyptic ranting on Bill Clinton. I've never said the thing, I've never said the things I believe that are happening right now that I'm saying right now. I've never believed these things, never before have I believed them. And I don't believe them because it's a Democrat in the White House. I was starting to say these things under George W. Bush four years ago. At this point whatever dividing line there is between mainstream conservativism and black helicopter crowd seems to have been virtually erased. Exhibit A for the mainstreaming of rightwing extremism is Fox News' new star Glenn Beck. Here we have a network where, like it or not, millions of Americans get their news. Like it or not. It gives daily airtime to a commentator who among other things warned viewers that the FEMA agency might be building concentration camps of the Obama administers's totalitarian agenda. Never, ever have I said that, never. I go ahead, Stu.
STU: You did just say it when you were reading Paul Krugman saying it.
GLENN: I with an exception of that time and the last time I read this review, I have never, ever said that. The reason why we did this, if you listen to this program, I had a caller call me on the air and I said can we I snapped one day and said, can we stop with the FEMA camp! Stu, I want somebody correct me if I'm wrong, Stu. Stu, I want somebody to prove it or disprove it. That's all I want. I want it over. It's either true or it's not. I've never believed in the FEMA camp.
STU: No.
GLENN: Never. Never.
STU: Yeah. And, you know, luckily it happened in a national radio show, so anyone could find out about it. But the other thing is, you know, when you did the debunking of this with Popular Mechanics is when I learned it started back in the Clinton administration. To me it was always a Bush administration conspiracy theory.
GLENN: Yep.
STU: Had nothing to do with Obama. Had been in office for like a month. He's not that fast. I mean, he's pretty fast as we've seen.
GLENN: And then he says, although I eventually conceded that nothing of the kind happened.
STU: You can't eventually no.
GLENN: It's no more of a lie than "For the most part I haven't directly incited violence."
STU: Right, it's no more of a lie than that. The same amount of lie.
GLENN: But let's not neglect the print news media. In the Bush years the Washington Times became an important media player because it was widely regarded as a Bush administration's house organ. Oh, kind of like the New York Times and MSNBC. Earlier this week the newspaper sought fit to run an opinion piece declaring that Obama not only identifies with Muslims but may actually still be one himself and that any case he has aligned himself with the radical Muslim brotherhood.
Find out who said that in the opinion because now we're going after opinions. There's a chill wind blowing in this country. I believe it was Tim Robbins that said that. Now we're going after opinions. And then there is Rush Limbaugh. His rants today aren't very different from his rants in 1993. Yes, they are. But he occupies a different position on the scheme of things. Remember during the Bush years Mr. Limbaugh became a very much political insider. According to the recent Gallup survey, 10% of Republicans now consider him the main person who speaks for the Republican Party. 10%. Just to put this in perspective, 10% believe that we haven't walked on the moon. 12% believe we blew up the World Trade Center. What is the percentage who believe that bush and Cheney blew up the levees in New Orleans? 10%? And that makes him, yeah, that's worth printing. So when Mr. Limbaugh peddles conspiracy theories suggesting, for example, that the fears over swine flu are being hyped to get people to respond to government orders, that's a case of conservative media establishment joining hands with the lunatic fringe. Is it? See, this is the kind of stuff that they said when I said they're going to nationalize our banks. I said that under George W. Bush. This isn't Republican solemn Democrat. Do not fall for this bogus game. They need us to be fighting Republican and Democrat. It's both of them. I said to you two years ago they are going to nationalize our banks. They have. Why was I such a fear monger two years ago? Or am I responsible for the nationalizing of the banks? Oh, my gosh, it's my fault! It's not surprising politicians are doing the same thing. The RNC says the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring American society along socialist ideals.
That is true. Maybe the first sentence that you printed, Paul Krugman, that is true.
When Jon Voight the actor told an audience at a Republican fundraiser this week the president is a false prophet, true. And that we alone are in the right frame of mind to free this nation from this Obama oppression. Untrue. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, thanked him for saying that he really enjoyed his remarks. Credit where credit is due. Some figures in the conservative media have refused to go along with the big hate. Oh, jeez.
STU: Don't tell me David Frum and David Brooks.
GLENN: No, shepherd Smith.
STU: Oh, Shep. Shep is a news man. He is not part of the conservative media. He is a news person.
GLENN: Yep.
They debunked the attacks on Homeland Security report two months ago but this doesn't change the broad picture which is that supposedly respectable news organizations and political figures are giving aid and comfort to dangerous extremism. This from the paper that this from the paper that has been giving aid and comfort to our foreign enemies. What will the consequences be? No one knows, of course. Though the analysts at Homeland Security fretted that things may turn out even worse than in the 1990s. Thanks in part to the election of an African American president. Remember you are an extremist, you are a hate monger. You want to destroy the country. You want to kill all abortion doctors and you hate black people. The threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years. That is a threat to take seriously.
Really? Paul Krugman, we should take a terror threat seriously? Why the fear mongering from the New York Times?
Yes, the worst attack in our history was perpetrated by a foreign conspiracy. Are you a conspiracy theorist? Why all of these conspiracies in the New York Times? Trying to wrap yourself around more fear? But the second worst, Oklahoma City bombing was perpetrated by an all American lunatic. Politicians and media organizations wind up such people at their and our peril. You are exactly right. Just like you've wound up ELF. You wound up the guy who thinks that American soldiers are baby killers and that's why he went down to Alabama and shot our troops. You know that guy who rolled the grenade underneath the tent? Remember at the beginning of the why? Paul Krugman, New York Times.
STU: Personally responsible, Glenn. I don't see how you can see it any other way, if you're Paul Krugman.
GLENN: I just want to say I would just, I would just like to point out the fact that remember, the guy who I'm now responsible for, for the shooting at the Holocaust museum, these are his views that we know. He wants to dissolve Israel. I don't. He hates Jews. I don't. He believes George W. Bush is behind 9/11. I don't. He hates Bill O'Reilly. I don't. He has threatened to bomb the weekly standard. Well, I read the weekly standard. He hates neocons. We may join here slightly. He hates the Fed. Me, too. Targeted Fox News. Well, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. My plan was to go over to Fox News as a CNN plant and destroy their ratings. Oops, it didn't work out that well, but my intention was to target Fox News. And he hates blacks. I don't.
Now, let's just look. Is he a rightwing extremist or a leftwing extremist? Let's just go through them. Dissolve Israel and hates Jews. No, that's pretty much leftwing, not right. George W. Bush behind 9/11, pretty sure that's leftwing. Hates Bill O'Reilly, that's all wings.
STU: That's leftwing, though.
GLENN: Yeah, it is, clear.
STU: That's the Keith Olbermann program. The entire thing is designed for it.
GLENN: Exactly right. Bombs the Weekly Standard, that would be leftwing. Hates neocons, that would be leftwing. In fact, if I hear Paul Krugman mention neocons one more time! Hates the Fed, that's everybody outside of politics. Targeted Fox News, that would be the leftwing. And hates blacks. Well, let me just give the rightwing one point here. I have to give it to the left as well, but let me give it to the right here just because I feel bad because they have been shut out! This is a rightwing extremist, this guy, this is a rightwing extremist to Paul Krugman. Now, do you think with these views with an exception of Hates the Fed," this guy could stomach two minutes of my show? Do you think he could stomach two minutes? I can guarantee you if this guy would have ever saw my show, he was calling me a Jew lover the whole time.
STU: Would that be in our hour long interview with Benjamin Netanyahu?
GLENN: Might be where I said you are being set up, you are going to be left alone?
STU: You didn't believe in the last one I thought. I thought you were denying the last one. Why would you say another Holocaust might be coming from Iran?
GLENN: Well, because that's what rightwing people do. Now
STU: Listen to this. Glenn, real quick. Look at all, look at how far we've come. In real life you start here and you say, did we'll call you Person B. Did Person B kill anybody? No. Did Person B go with Person A to kill somebody?
GLENN: No.
STU: Did person A tell Person B to do it?
GLENN: No.
STU: Did Person A listen to Person B?
GLENN: Don't think so.
STU: As far as we don't know. We're already past all of this. Did Person A share the same views as Person B?
GLENN: No.
STU: And this is what we get to with Paul Krugman. Will people check on it.
GLENN: No.
STU: If it will clear that level, they will print it. If people just will not check on questions 1 through 5 and just skip to question 6 and say, "All right, well, you know what, they probably won't you know what, they think this guy had a gun. He's probably rightwing." This is how low the standard is to blame conservatives for these things. There's not even evidence that any of these people even listen to you in any other way of saying, "I hate that guy because he doesn't like hate Jews as much as I do."
GLENN: Wasn't that the guy, the guy who shot the cops in Pittsburgh, where they also blamed that one on me. You notice that one went away. Do you know why? Because we exposed that they were saying, he listened to Glenn Beck, he posted something about Glenn Beck on this rightwing extremist, you know, website. Remember, they were saying that? Oh, some white power website. He was posting about Glenn Beck. That was their evidence that he was a fan and that I got him to go shoot cops. Do you know what he posted? AntiGlenn Beck stuff!
STU: Because you wouldn't go with him to his crazy conspiracy theories.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: Specifically the FEMA camp thing, which is specifically what Paul Krugman cites as your evidence. That's how weak this is. It is so insulting to your intelligence if you actually think about it.
GLENN: If you think about it.
STU: If you think about it, which they don't, do they? Do they? Do you, Paul? You don't. You've never thought in your life.
GLENN: He's more angry than I am.
STU: No, I just hate this, it is so weak.