The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers - By Frank Rich

[kpete]

Op-Ed Columnist
The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers
By FRANK RICH
Published: June 13, 2009

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.

more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14rich.html?ref=opinion

[MADem]

1. Jesus. Somebody had to spell it out, but still....

It's unfortunate that there are people in this country who are so hateful.

....No matter. Last week it was business as usual, as Republican leaders nattered ad infinitum over the juvenile rivalry of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich at the party’s big Washington fund-raiser. Few if any mentioned, let alone questioned, the ominous script delivered by the actor Jon Voight with the G.O.P. imprimatur at that same event. Voight’s devout wish was to “bring an end to this false prophet Obama.”

This kind of rhetoric, with its pseudo-Scriptural call to action, is toxic. It is getting louder each day of the Obama presidency. No one, not even Fox News viewers, can say they weren’t warned.

[Cant trust em]

3. There are some truly crazy bastards out there. nt

[troubledamerican]

10. Imagine if Jon Voight had said that exact quote about Palin or Bush: "Hollywood Treasonist"

I'm sure the Party Of Harry Reid will speak up and condemn Voight.

[lib2DaBone]

2. I don't understand... could you please elaborate?

Faux news will broadcast whatever gets them the best ratings.

[Voice for Peace]

7. this is the video of Smith he's referring to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxvunbIWNyI

[xfundy]

4. Shepard Smith always sets off my gaydar

I mean, it blares louder than those old air-raid sirens on noon Tuesdays.

But, I won't fault him when he actually goes off-script and says something factual. He'll probably be out soon if he keeps it up.

[arcadian]

6. I doubt it.

If Shepard Smith is doing something which seems outside the normal FOX playbook, it means they are trying get a liberal viewership. Don't fall fo it, it's a ploy.

[Kaleva]

5. The Palin-Letterman feud is more important

[Uzybone]

8. Funny how this op-ed by Rich sank

guess he wasn't attacking Obama enough.

Rich points out what we are up against. I hope law enforcement is paying attention.

[Scurrilous]

9. K & R

:thumbsup: