Fox's Gibson, Barnes equated Iranian president's letter with positions of Democrats, progressives
Fox News' John Gibson claimed that the "biggest difference" between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent letter to President Bush and "Democrat talking point[s]" is that the Iranian president "was actually nice about Jesus and Christians." The previous day, on Fox News' Special Report, Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes had similarly asserted that Ahmadinejad's letter "reads ... [like] some left-wing document."
On the May 10 edition of Fox News' The Big Story, host John Gibson claimed that the "biggest difference" between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent letter to President Bush and "Democrat talking point[s]" is that the Iranian president "was actually nice about Jesus and Christians." The previous day, on Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes had similarly asserted that Ahmadinejad's letter "reads ... [like] some left-wing document," adding that "maybe MoveOn.org will want to run text or something."
Referring to Ahmadinejad's letter, Gibson asserted: "Christians are not acting like Christians, says the Iranian president. Democrat talking point. WMD lies, says the Iranian president. Democrat talking point. Human-rights abuses in Gitmo [Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, site of the U.S. detention facility for terrorist suspects]. Another Democrat talking point. The gap between haves and have-nots. The Iranian president and the Dems in lockstep on that one, too."
Gibson and Barnes are just the latest conservative commentators to compare Ahmadinejad's letter to Democratic talking points. As Media Matters for America recently noted, radio host Rush Limbaugh said the letter contained "Democratic talking point[s]" and "even some liberal Hollywood Jewish people talking point." Further, CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck said the Iranian president "sounded ... a lot like [filmmaker] Michael Moore" in the letter to Bush.
Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter, which touched on the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the unlawful detainment of prisoners, also expressed skepticism about whether the Holocaust occurred:
One of my students told me that during WWII, which more than tens of millions of people perished in, news about the war, was quickly disseminated by the warring parties. Each touted their victories and the most recent battlefront defeat of the other party. After the war they claimed that six million Jews had been killed. Six million people that were surely related to at least two million families. Again let us assume that these events are true. Does that logically translate into the establishment of the state of Israel in the Middle East or support for such a state? How can this phenomenon be rationalized or explained?
In the letter, Ahmadinejad also wonders whether September 11 could have been "planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services -- or their extensive infiltration." Ahmadinejad has previously referred to the holocaust as a "myth" and suggested that Israel be moved to Europe, the United States, Canada, or Alaska.
From the May 10 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:
GIBSON: Now it's time for "My Word." Terry McAuliffe and the other Democrats should pay close attention to their talking points these days. That nut job running Iran, President -- let's see if I can pronounce it -- Ahmadinejad, sent President Bush a letter, and if it weren't postmarked Tehran, it might have been mistaken for a crank letter from an angry leftist in L.A. or Boulder or Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Christians are not acting like Christians, says the Iranian president. Democrat talking point. WMD lies, says the Iranian president. Democrat talking point. Human-rights abuses in Gitmo. Another Democrat talking point. The gap between haves and have-nots. The Iranian president and the Dems in lockstep on that one, too.
The biggest difference? Ahmadinejad was actually nice about Jesus and Christians. Nobody should believe him, but he said nice things about Jesus Christ, and he kept muttering after each mention, "Peace be upon him."
I'm not saying the Iranian nut-job president who wants to wipe Israel off the map is a Democrat. He's anything but. However, the loyal opposition in this country probably doesn't want to be sounding like him. And if he's borrowing their talking points, maybe they should adjust a bit.
From the May 9 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:
BRIT HUME (host and Washington bureau managing editor): What to make of this letter. What does it tell us? Is it -- I mean, the -- Condoleezza Rice was peppered with questions from the AP yesterday about why this wasn't seen as an important diplomatic opening.
(LAUGHTER)
BARNES: Because it wasn't. I mean, look, this was a bunch of accusations about Bush. It had nothing to -- this was not an overture in any way whatsoever. I'll have to say, this is the most amazing document I have ever seen that might be considered diplomatic. Just -- I mean, I -- I think I took diplomatic history in college and there was never anything like this, where he says -- you left out the -- the line that I thought was interesting. He said, "And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serves him." You know, it ...
(LAUGHTER)
BARNES: I mean -- I mean, he's even -- he's even dumping on Bush's faith. Now, do you expect the president to say, this letter -- it also insinuates that he knew about 9-11 ahead of time or somehow American intelligence was involved in it and so on. And it reads, I mean, just some left-wing document. Maybe MoveOn.org will want to run text or something.
[...]
HUME: Does it tell you anything you didn't feel like you knew about the man and -- and -- and sort of what he thinks and -- and how he figures into the power structure over there?
BARNES: Well, he certainly -- I wasn't sure -- I didn't think he would be able to echo, pretty accurately, the far-left-wing complaint about President Bush and his administration. But he's got it all in there.
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Don't forget that Osama, Jong Ill, Pol Pot, and Satan are all liberals, too.
I don't know very many liberals who think Israel should be wiped off the face of the planet and think that the Holocaust was a hoax. The people who believe that garbage are from the far right of the spectrum, not left.
This letter from the Iranian leader DID include "Liberal Talking Points". For example, that Bush promised and then failed to deliver WMDs in Iraq is a FACT. Liberals have noted that fact, and so did the Iranian leader.
So, it's not that what the Iranian leader has used as a "talking point" is not TRUE, it's that Rightwing demagogues are hoping to demonize Liberals by suggesting that this makes Liberals "JUST LIKE" this Iranian leader -- on the basis of some random claims, which are TRUE.
OK. Let's play that game.
A leader named Adolph Hitler conducted his business in Germany, but his actions and policies sound JUST LIKE Bush Administration "Talking Points".
Shared between Nazi Germany and present day Bush America:
* The propaganda. The lies. The rhetoric. The nationalism. The flag waving.
* The secrecy.
* The pretext of 'preventive war'. The invasion of a non-threatening sovereign nation. The occupation of a hostile country.
* The tactic of "shock and awe" (Blitzkrieg)
* The flaunting of international law and international standards of justice.
* The control of and threats against protesters.
* The promises of prosperity and security. The scapegoating of various "groups" as being to blame for all national problems.
* The spying on ordinary citizens. The incitement to spy on one's neighbors and even family - and report them to the government.
* The triumphant pride in military conquest. The false reporting about the progress and success of military engagements.
* The hiding of the results (coffins) of battle.
* The establishment of 'Homeland Security'.
* The dehumanization of 'foreigners'.
* The total lack of interest in the victims of government policy.
* The growing prosperity for the military/industrial complex from military ventures.
* The assurance of "goodness," superiority and primacy. The insistence that GOD approves the government's actions.
* The secret extralegal internment camps.
* The media blackouts of non-approved issues.
* The establishment of divisive "US against THEM" framing of issues.
-------
If this is the GAME our Rightwing Media wants to play, COMPARE and EQUATE ... BRING IT ON. Their heros won't fare well.
But know this: It is an asinine and morally bankrupt tactic, and it shows both mean spirit and desperation. But, shall we Liberals and Democrats unilaterally DISARM as the Rightwing propagandists unsheath this weapon? I say if they insist on taking this tact, we should unload on them with both barrels.
If this crap is not answered in kind, they get away with it. Never again.
I agree with you. I read much of the letter and -- whatever, the guy is a nut, in my mind -- BUT... he makes MANY claims that are dead-on!
I have a problem with these jerks calling FACTS 'talking points'... uh, WMDs?? That's not some made up BS -- there were no WMDs... Christians not acting like Christians??? Yeah... you better believe it!
More confusion thrown out there to minimize the wrongs of the GOP and make the Dems seem like they're the ones who are playing the same sick games. I may catch hell from the righties lurking out there, but I think it's a weak tactic that can be disregarded ... BASED UPON LOOKING AT THE FACTS!!! Oh well. Good post, Tex.
The letter calls for a universal theocracy. That's a Republican talking point.
It's one of their favorite tactics; Liberals don't like George Bush...Terrorists don't like George Bush...ergo, all Liberals are Terrorists. It's nonsense, of course, but the Troglodytes eat it up.
Here's a question to which I'd like them to apply the same logic....Who gained the most from the 9-11 attacks?
Jesus H. Christ, I hate these bastards.
Right on!
One thing that is lost in the Fox's guys allusion to so-called Democrats talking points is this is the first time since the Iranian Revolution that a leader from either Iran or the U.S. has contacted the other. This is promising if you forget the fact Ahmadinejad is a fruit loop.
I haven't read the letter myself. Chances are neither did Bush.
..the Iranian president should have titled the e-mail, "OPEN! I KNOW WHERE THE IRAQI WMDs ARE! (WITH CONNECTIONS TO AL-QAEDA, TOO!)"
Er, wait.. Bush isnt very tech savvy, is he?
BARNES: Well, he certainly -- I wasn't sure -- I didn't think he would be able to echo, pretty accurately, the far-left-wing complaint about President Bush and his administration. But he's got it all in there.
Well not all. He dosent say where the left thinks that Faux News? is just a propaganda arm of the neocon movement & that they consistently Lie & distort the truth as if this was 1939 Germany That the pundits on Fux are not in any way journalists seeking to inform & enlighteten the public. Just the opposite is true, they deal with the lowest common denominator & appeal to the publics most base instints. Thats some of what was left out of the letter.
As Bush & the Republican congress sink ever lower in the polls, a sense of desperation is setting in. They have to do something to change the terms and perceptions of the public psyche, & they have to do it fast. We can expect to see an explosion of these sorts of tactics in the coming days.
When all else fails, the Right can be counted upon to resort to the long successful tactic of comparing their opponents to whoever is the enemy du jour. Liberals & democrats will increasingly be lumped in with terrorists, communists, socialists, anarchists, illeagal immigrants, drug dealers, & even pedaphiles (at least on the O'lielley Factor). There will be an orgy of neoMcarthyism. Any criticism of the administration will be turned into support for America's enemies.
The storm is indeed gathering & gaining in ferocity as the neocons find themselves dribbling bile down their chins & overflowing with hatred & bitterness. They thought that their will had at last become triumphant, & that a new Reich had been established. The rise of Bush had placed the entire national security apparatus in their hands, and Fox was there to give the masses bread & circuses.
Believe me, they ain't gonna' give that up before using their hobnailed media boots to crack a few libral skulls.
Barnes and Gibson need to get with it... America doesn't buy this crap any more. And this sort of dissembling doesn't stand up to the most basic scrutiny.
Ahmendinejad is a nasty piece of work, but those WMD points were nonetheless accurate. Jeez, even Rummy all but admitted as much when McGovern took him to school last week.
And if these bozos will insist that Ahmedinejad is repeating liberal/progressive ideas, they obviously did not read the part of the letter which goes as follows:
"Liberalism and Western-style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed."
Shouldn't we perhaps consider that Ahmedinejad has much in common with Straussian neoconservatives?
....is correct.
Christians are not acting like Christians, says the Iranian president. Democrat talking point. WMD lies, says the Iranian president. Democrat talking point. Human-rights abuses in Gitmo. Another Democrat talking point. The gap between haves and have-nots. The Iranian president and the Dems in lockstep on that one, too.
Substitute the words Iranian President for Kennedy and it does sound about right.