It's been 15 years, things are worse, not better. Who gets the blame?
Tomorrow is the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing by an American terrorist, things have not gotten better, they are much worse. Chris Matthews, on his show today, showed a CNN poll that said 70% of republicans polled in February of this year fear their rights and freedoms are under imminent threat, in February of 1996 after the Oklahoma City bombing, 52% of republicans said the same thing. President Clinton was much too gentle in his assessment of the GOP and the role they play in ramping up the hateful rhetoric towards our government.
In an interview with the New York Times on Friday, Clinton warned of the effect that angry political rhetoric might have on antigovernment radicals like Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh; he pointed to Rep. Michele Bachmann calling the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress "the gangster government" at a tax day Tea Party rally on Thursday.
"They are not gangsters," Clinton told the newspaper. "They were elected. They are not doing anything they were not elected to do."
Clinton said that demonizing the government with incendiary language can have effects beyond just rallying a crowd.
The pouring of fuel on the fire by right wing leaders, "news" shows, radio hosts and tea party extremists is why the poll number has grown significantly.
The righties will say the left is fueling the fire by calling all teabaggers racists and extremists(not true, BTW), But as long as the GOP and prominent rightwing commentators continue to embrace these teabaggers and not condemn the hateful rhetoric coming from the rallies, then what choice do we have? The teabaggers are an extension of the republican party. They claim to be a movement against the government and not against a particular party. How then do they explain the targeted seats in the House and Senate are All democrat seats? These people are desperate to gain back republican power, why? After 8 years of runaway spending, lies and cover-ups from a republican administration they want to put them back in power is not only insane but just proves the agenda of the teabaggers. OUST all democrats possible and especially President Obama. Their hate for President Obama is not based on rational thinking, how could it be? He has not done a single thing to take away any citizens freedoms.
The militias, religious fanatics, extremists teabaggers, rightwing nuts, they are all in this together and the leaders on the right who stand in silence, OR stand right along side of these groups are going to pay the price. We can not afford to go backwards in this country and we can not tolerate hate and violence when it is not based on reality.
