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MMFA's Boehlert, AIM's Aronoff debate conservative media's "militia rhetoric of hate" on CNN

June 11, 2009 5:25 pm ET

From the June 11th edition of CNN's Newsroom:

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    • Author by terrapin53 (June 11, 2009 5:38 pm ET)
      6  
      Boehlert is right on. The left works within the political system while the radical right uses violence. It has happened over and over through the years.
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    • Author by shaggles (June 11, 2009 6:20 pm ET)
      5  
      OK. I spoke too soon on the other thread. You do have both sides here. As I suspected Aronoff didn't make a very compelling argument. Even if you accept the idea that the guy who killed the military recruiters was on the left (there is no evidence of that as far as I know) saying Bush and Cheney are war criminals and should be prosecuted is a far cry from saying "Obama is coming to get your guns!" I'm not sure there's any connection in the Holocast Museum incident since he had a decades long record of this sort of stuff but it's easy to see in the PA incident and the one not long ago where the guys was just out to kill liberals (I forget where that took place.)
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      • Author by magnolialover (June 12, 2009 3:25 pm ET)
        1  
        I'd say that the guy who shot and killed the recruiters was a right winger, another far right winger. Why?

        Well, where do we place religious extremists on our political scale? Right, or left? I'd say, far right. Correct?

        Aren't terrorists religious extremists? Yes, yes they are. Therefore, terrorists, are placed on the far right side of the political spectrum. Just because they worship Allah instead of Jesus/God doesn't make them any less right in their political affiliations.
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    • Author by deeznuts (June 11, 2009 7:03 pm ET)
      6  
      I would LOVE to see a compilation of what Aronoff thinks are incendiary remarks by Olbermann that incite people to violence. I'll gladly go one-for-one with a collection of remarks from Limbaugh, O'Reilly or Beck. We'll see how long Aronoff's list is.

      The wingnuts are terrified right now. They KNOW that Scott Roeder and James vonn Brunn are two of their own. They KNOW we can all see that. And they KNOW that they have to divert attention, to spin it any way they can, no matter how ridiculous, in order to keep the heat off of themselves.

      And don't get me started on this absurd notion that Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad has any support on the left, or that there is any left-wing rhetoric whatsoever that advocates violence against military recruiters.

      Here's a thought-provoking way to look at this:

      How much fan mail do you think Roeder and vonn Brunn are receiving in jail right now? How many people out there are actually glad for what they did?

      Now, how many "'atta boy!" letters do you think Mohammad is getting? How many people have gone on record saying, "I'm not sayin' I condone it, but I'm glad that military recruiter is dead"? (Which is almost verbatim what the anti-abortion and white-supremacist right have said about Roeder's and vonn Brunn's actions.)
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      • Author by fuznuts (June 11, 2009 7:33 pm ET)
        1  
        Lets just say this...
        Both sides do their fair share of hate-mongering, though it is obvious that the right wing tend to incite violence more often than the leftists.

        But I would also like to point to the link between the extreme right and their religious ties. One more reason why religion is as dangerous as opiates (yes...Mr. Limbaugh)...they have a capacity to do some good if those using them choose to temper the temptation to go overboard, but have the possibility of being very dangerous if not kept in check and used for a constructive purpose. Rightists just have a higher tendency to become addicted...and people will kill to get a fix when addicted.

        Therein, I believe, is the true difference between the far left and far right media figure heads and their followings' tendency to commit crimes of hate. Leftists are notorious for their tendency toward acceptance of many different beliefs, so long as the motive seems tolerable. Rightists do not.

        So even when people like Keith Olbermann goes a little overboard, they is not going to urge a crowd of already crazed addicts to kill, and would likely LOSE ratings if he did. The only time this would be untrue is when those normally respectful people with a tendency toward passive resistance are forced to take it a step further to fight for their own freedoms. The only problem with the left is that we are more complacent. The right...well they are the squeaky wheel. Just kind of sucks the squeaky wheel can KILL...especially when it seems they do so to take away from human rights.
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      • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (June 11, 2009 7:45 pm ET)
        4  
        I would LOVE to see a compilation of what Aronoff thinks are incendiary remarks by Olbermann that incite people to violence. I'll gladly go one-for-one with a collection of remarks from Limbaugh, O'Reilly or Beck. We'll see how long Aronoff's list is.

        Olbermann seems to be the right's Official Moral Equivalence Voodoo Doll; a liberal who gets a little snarky about conservative BS must be the equivalent of Bill "If I ever got my hands on him" O'Reilly and Glenn "Why not just set the American taxpayer on fire?" Beck. "See? Olbermann says mean things about conservatives so he's just as bad as all those God-fearing conservatives who didn't really suggest that George Tiller be assassinated!"...
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    • Author by libmidwestern (June 11, 2009 7:35 pm ET)
         
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Marine_Corps_Recruiting_Center_controversy
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    • Author by seeryer (June 11, 2009 7:43 pm ET)
      2  
      Arnott says the talk about Bush and Cheney over the last six years makes the recruiter killing understandable which is a total distortion but it his logic. But he would never concede that the over the top unhinged rhetoric from the right for a year now about Obama has not raised the temps on the lunatic fringes. Wow.
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      • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (June 11, 2009 7:47 pm ET)
        4  
        Of course, SR; good God-Fearing Conservatives (tm) would never commit acts of violence against dirty baby-killing abortionists or Christ-murdering Jews...
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    • Author by d4bard (June 11, 2009 8:25 pm ET)
      2  
      Keith Olberman supports killing recruiters? Isn't this the same Olberman that donated to an injured veterans' fund? Pony up, dirt-ball, and stop wrapping yourself in the flag. You're getting crap stains all over it.
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    • Author by jmh (June 11, 2009 8:32 pm ET)
      3  
      I would be curious to see what is considered
      hate speech by Olbermann. While one could certainly argue for or against Olbermann's rhetorical style, it is a _Vast_ stretch of the imagination to consider anything he has uttered as hate speech.
      The problem here is that intelligent thought is in abeyance on the Right these days. In regard to political discourse, the Right-wing is just at a complete loss.
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    • Author by TheThief672 (June 11, 2009 8:37 pm ET)
      3  
      WOW! Boehlert kicked butt in that segment. Aronoff was doing what the right is really good at...no concrete facts and innuendos.
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      • Author by jmh (June 11, 2009 8:44 pm ET)
        3  
        I think Aronoff and Sean Hannity were room-mates a college.
        Experts at inane innuendo
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        • Author by Conchobhar (June 11, 2009 9:23 pm ET)
          2  
          Inane Innuendo; wasn't she married to Snarky Statement?
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      • Author by Bronwyn (June 13, 2009 3:41 am ET)
           
        Was it my imagination that Aronoff's face & neck turned red right down into his shirt? He had no argument.
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    • Author by NdlovukaziThor (June 11, 2009 9:32 pm ET)
      2  
      AIM's take on this whole thing is pretty laughable:
      http://www.aim.org/on-target-blog/cnn-media-matters-tag-team-accuracy-in-media/
      Especially since they throw in that Boehlert and Sanchez "tag team" Aronoff. I really enjoyed their examples of left-wing-incited violence... because picketing and (stupid, immature) vandalization are, like, totally on the same level as murder.
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    • Author by pete592 (June 11, 2009 9:42 pm ET)
      2  
      Anyone remember the film The Fisher King? Remember how Jeff Bridge's Character, Jack Lucas, brought about his own downfall?

      Sadly, I don't even think this kind of incident will wake the right-wing professional liars up and make them realize what they're doing.
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    • Author by captfoster2 (June 11, 2009 9:45 pm ET)
      3  
      Not that I would have expected Mr. Aronoff to have said much of substance... but I noticed he hardly said much at all.

      My guess is that even if he had spoken for the entire time and Eric for only 30 seconds... Eric still would have made more sense.

      I find it amazing that many of these right-wing defenders can claim that the hate from the left is somehow equal...

      In terms of hate, vile, and nastiness... the right-wing wins by a universe!
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