April 17, 2013

"The Left Politicizes the Boston Bombing."

Rush Limbaugh illustrates his theory that "the left politicizes everything" with many quotes from the aftermath of the Boston bombing. Excerpt:
Peter Bergen, CNN, in a tweet said, "Right-Wing Groups Might Have Something to do with This." A blogger at the Huffing and Puffington Post, "We don't know anything yet, of course, but it is Tax Day, and my first thought was all these anti-government groups. But who knows." Well, yeah, it's Monday, too, when this happened....

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "Explosion in Boston is a reminder that the ATF needs a director. Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking the appointment." Well, how many of George W. Bush's cabinet appointees were held up because of the Florida aftermath? How many of Bush's cabinet appointees were held up? How many vacancies were there unfilled at the time 9/11 happened, at which point we could today blame the Democrats for 9/11, simply learning from the way Kristof is looking at what happened in Boston.

It's gotta be Republicans' fault because the ATF is vacant, doesn't have a leader, doesn't have a director. I tell you, it's sickly, sickly absurd....

83 comments:

Roger J. said...

While not a defender of Kristof, I thought he had retracted his rather dumb statement.

The sad fact is that extremists on both sides of the spectrum will always view events through their ideological lenses. And, of course, amplified by the 24 hour news cycles that feeds the insanity.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Rush is right.

TMink said...

April 19th is a more important anniversary day to right wing terrorists, that is the anniversary of the Waco ATF raid. And I would think that their psychology is more oriented toward hating and wishing to harm government workers and/or buildings. They also seem to make bigger bombs.

This seems more like the attempted bombing in NYC. Same bomb, same type of targets.

The psychology just does not fit for this being a home grown right wing terrorist.

Not that facts will intrude on attempts to blame the peaceful, God loving tea party or Christians in general. 8)

Trey

Oso Negro said...

Then there is the sicko at Salon, hoping that it is a white guy who did it.

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/16/lets_hope_the_boston_marathon_bomber_is_a_white_american/

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

While not a defender of Kristof, I thought he had retracted his rather dumb statement.

The left's other handy dishonest tactic:
Falsely accuse through association/ false impression.
Just get itout there...
Then apologize later on the bottom of page 34 in fine print.

A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth has an chance to put its shoes on.

Larry J said...

There are some people whose every thought is about politics. They're the ones who try and push their views on everyone about everything. I call them political whores. While there are political whores on both sides, it does seem at times like the Left has a lot more of them.

These so-called journalists who speculate based on their political opinions should be fired for journalistic malpractice. They represent the worst aspects of the 24 hour news cycle. With a lot of air time to fill and not much new information, they pump out disinformation and ignorant speculation. I've gotten to the point where I refuse to watch any of them.

Roger J. said...

April: I do agree with your tactical assessment--no one (except for perhaps me) remembers the retractions--alas. Its the first story out of the blocks that shapes the news cycle.

AllenS said...

Echoes of JournOlism.

Synova said...

The article in Salon saying that it would be good if it was a white guy was precious, too.

Roger J. said...

As someone said, I forget who because I forget a lot stuff these days, a Journalism Major is and education major who has an editor to correct their misspellings.

pm317 said...

Falsely accuse through association/ false impression.

Yeah, Axelrod said Obama thought it had something to do with tax day. Maybe Rush didn't hear that.

KCFleming said...

It's State propaganda.

The other side pushes back, but seems largely overwhelmed in shaping the narrative.

Current narrative: white non-Democrat males are evil vermin. If they were eradicated, the world's problems would go away.

So even if the Boston bomber turns out to be a lesbian eco-terrorist just converted to Islam and has a manifesto about waging jihad, it will still be the white guy's fault.

Call me Emmanuel.
Emmanuel Goldstein.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Ho-hum...

What difference, at this point, does it make?

The GOP should just self deport... before Obama signs an executive order "making it a little harder" for republicans to blow up marathons.

pm317 said...

Why are the investigators pleading for help? That is disconcerting. Or is it another tactic the left is adopting -- nothing to see here..playing blind, deaf, and dumb?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Axelrod's exact quote.

"You use those words and it means something very specific in people's mind. And I'm sure what was going through the president's mind is -- we really don't know who did this -- it was tax day. Was it someone who was pro--you know, you just don't know. And so I think his attitude is, let's not put any inference into this, let's just make clear that we're going to get the people responsible."

So yes, PHX, even Axelrod is playing the false impression/ false accusation game. You must be proud. Go team go.

Anonymous said...

It could very well be someone with a grudge against the IRS.

April 15th a coincidence?

Scott M said...

It's worse than just that tweet. For example, this article from Salon, which is just dripping with "white privilege" arguments one why the authors hopes the bomber is a white male.

Let's Hope The Boston Marathon Bomber Is A White American

I used to just be annoyed at constant denigration of the white guy/husband/father in pop culture, but with shit like this, it's hard not to start growing concerned about what the next ten to twenty years hold for those that are welding themselves to the privilege mantra.

Henry said...

Tweeting encourages spite. The short, directed format could encourage wit, but most people aren't capable of wit. People are very capable of petty malice. Is "fuck you" terse enough? That's what Twitter is.

pm317 said...

@Lem, from the cafe thread.. see this. Pakistani groups have used that in India. What happened in Boston happens in India more often than we can cite, people being blown off in open markets on festival or before festival days. Yet the news people never refer to India suffering from these kinds of atrocities. They mention other places.

madAsHell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roger J. said...

pm317--re your question: the investigators are in the early stages of their work--and it seems to me to be a reasonable request to ask the public for information. That said, I think it worthwhile to think that investigators do not want to disclose information that might help the perps--I think that is the way investigations work. No need to tell the bad guys what you know and how you came about knowing it. There is simply a lot of evidence to be sifted thru--vido cams, private photos, and the like--and it takes time. More time than the 24 hour news cycle can handle.

madAsHell said...

Was Bill Ayers in Boston on Sunday??

There....look how easy it is to play the blame game!!

KCFleming said...

Robert Redford's movie "The Company You Keep" is paean to the Weather Underground, a terrorist group responsible for multiple deadly bombings, including the 1981 Brinks robbery that resulted in the murder of two police officers and a security guard.

""When I was younger, I was very much aware of the movement," he said. "I was more than sympathetic. I was probably empathetic because I believed it was time for a change. Whether that change was a revolution or not, I don't know. But I was very much for what was going on."

“Even when you read about the bombings?” Mr. Stephanopoulis asked.

"All of it," Redford replied. "I knew that it was extreme and I guess movements have to be extreme to some degree."

Blaming the evil vermin conservatives for the Boston bombing is part of the plan.


pm317 said...

Roger J. said...
--------

I prefer a bit of chest thumping and bravado from these folks. In the age of Obama, I distrust the lapdog media and their PC having really bad influence on the investigation. I don't want this to turn out to be another benghazi where everything is swept under the carpet hoping people will forget about it.

Roger J. said...

Pogo: eggs and omelettes doncha know.

Roger J. said...

PM317--admittedly a potential problem if the investigation comes up in facts not in accord with the superiors political agenda--And that is entirely possible.

Rusty said...

madAsHell said...
Was Bill Ayers in Boston on Sunday??

There....look how easy it is to play the blame game!!

Yeah. Except he really was a domestic terrorist.
In all probability he agrees with the goals and the outcomes of the bombing.

"Free as a bird, Guilty as hell."

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

It's fine for people to speculate, but Speculation-as-News is not OK.
But that's what we get from our unprofessional media.
Over at the joke network the agenda-as-news-MSNBCis hard at work. MSNBC: Perfect for those seeking misinformation.

I could speculate that the bombing was done by a radical leftwing abortionist as a false flag operation to help get Gosnell off the page. I don't want to hear that on the news unless they have some real information.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If I sound a little demoralized...

The GOP cannot even summon the courage to say NO to a proposal to reward law breaking.

This amnesty scheme cooked up by Rubio and others.

I shouldn't comment on anything GOP these days.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

@pm317 Thanks for the link.

Unknown said...

It sounds like every side has examples of bombers. Makes it easy to cite precedent. Be there first and loudest and you've got a shot at bending the narrative your way.
It's too easy.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Robert Redford is an asshole.

KCFleming said...

Via INSTY:

Boston Marathon bombs similar to Bill Ayers' Weather Underground nail bomb"

machine said...

Really? Rush Limbaugh?

BrianE said...

This is unlikely the work of a domestic anti-government group. They would more likely target a government facility.

To say this has some implication to tax day is a stretch. But then the left is so twisted in a knot continually.

The closest this comes is the Atlanta Centennial park bombing which was domestic and political-- though Rudolph was also convicted of abortion clinic bombings and a homosexual bar bombing.

Then there was the Beltway sniper, which concluded was only tangentially political.

Mark said...

Machine, you should realize this is Althouse leaving out some troll bait. Nothing like a bunch of 'dittoheads' spewing forth their brilliance.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Was Bill Ayers in Boston on Sunday??


No doubt. The authorities should take him in for questioning.

KCFleming said...

@Mark and machine,

5th grade Pro-tip: When you can't debate the topic, just insult them!

Anonymous said...

Blogger Mark said...

Machine, you should realize this is Althouse leaving out some troll bait. Nothing like a bunch of 'dittoheads' spewing forth their brilliance.

4/17/13, 8:10 AM
______________________________
Yep!
Why can't they be more like the Peter Bergen.

Gahrie said...

The sad fact is that extremists on both sides of the spectrum will always view events through their ideological lenses.

Cite me an example of a prominent right wing American blaming this on American lefties.

The closest thing I've seen is someone comparing the bombs used here to the bombs that friend-of-the-president Ayers used in the 60's.

Brian Brown said...

While not a defender of Kristof, I thought he had retracted his rather dumb statement.

I wouldn't really say "retract" as much as I would say he revealed he is an intellectual coward.

X said...

how awkward for Obama that his best friend is a domestic terror bomber. why do the University of Chicago and Columbia University encourage terror bombing by rewarding terror bombers with tenure?

Brian Brown said...

Pogo said...
Robert Redford's movie "The Company You Keep" is paean to the Weather Underground


Sure it is.

And, why isn't the FBI simply assuming this bombing is part of the promotional campaign for Redford's new movie?

tim maguire said...

LarsPorsena said...It could very well be someone with a grudge against the IRS.

April 15th a coincidence?


You're right, Lars. If there weren't a tax angle, they probably would have bombed the Boston Marathon on some other day.

I can't think of any other reason they picked April 15 to bomb the Boston Marathon, can you?

MayBee said...

Viral marketing gone wrong,

Like Boston's 2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force debacle.

Brian Brown said...

LarsPorsena said...
It could very well be someone with a grudge against the IRS.


yeah, because planting bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon is a reasonable way to demonstrate this.

KCFleming said...

Well, whoever did it, the the Boston Marathon bomber is a shoe-in for tenure at Columbia.

X said...

apparently Obama is a fan of terror bombing. or neutral on it. he's certainly not against it.

jd said...

The real victims of the bombing are the nations' conservatives, apparently.

I live in Boston and can happily tell you all to take a hike. The spirit of the marathon and the city is the antithesis of everything you all spew out on this blog and blogs like this everyday. There's no way you're going to make yourselves the real victims in this, much as you'd like to be.

KCFleming said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
machine said...

Ya burnt!

KCFleming said...

Long distance running is anti-conservative?

Or are all races anti-conservative?

I mean, sure, Boston is a typical liberal SWPL stinkhole, but everyone already knew that.

But i was unaware that bipedal contests of speed, distance and endurance were inherently lefty-liberal.

KCFleming said...

Machine is 2 fer 2 so far in the "Juvenile tweets" category.

jd said...

@pogo, you've got no idea what you're talking about. Your inability to know what this race is about for the city and the racers and spectators is exactly why you should probably take a hike. The race has nothing to do with being anti-conservative, and nobody thinks that. Only the two-sides prism of your mind perceives the world in that way, and tries to make yourself an eternal victim.

jd said...

Also, Boston is a fantastic stinkhole to call home, aside from the winter. Take a hike.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The Banality of Bias Journalists are awfully liberal, Arendt they?

Excellent.

Anonymous said...

Jay said...

LarsPorsena said...
It could very well be someone with a grudge against the IRS.


yeah, because planting bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon is a reasonable way to demonstrate this.

4/17/13, 8:31 AM

----------------------------

Reason has NOTHING to do with mass murder.

Known Unknown said...

I'll concede Lars has a point. It is not outside the realm of possibility an Anti-Tax crusader could have been the culprit.

However, I would think bombing the local IRS branch would make that point much more clearly.

Brian Brown said...

machine said...
Ya burnt!


You're retarded.

SteveR said...

Machine takes the bait.. again. And it wasn't really even bait.

roesch/voltaire said...

Really did anyone "politicize" this more than Fox News? Even over at Luczanne.com the posted response to Erik Rush's tweet was,"#1 You´re still watching Fox news?"

Anonymous said...

EMD said...

I'll concede Lars has a point. It is not outside the realm of possibility an Anti-Tax crusader could have been the culprit.

However, I would think bombing the local IRS branch would make that point much more clearly.

4/17/13, 8:54 AM
_______________________________

IRS branches are much more harder targets.

KCFleming said...

(1) jd said:
"The race has nothing to do with being anti-conservative, and nobody thinks that."

(2) jd said that after previously saying:
"The spirit of the marathon and the city is the antithesis of everything you all spew out on this blog and blogs like this everyday. "

CONCLUSION:
(1) jd does not know what "antithesis" means.
or
(2) jd is the antithesis of jd

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dc said...

If I were a right wing bomber I'd be more likely to target places like Northwestern U,Columbia U,Sundance Film Festival. Places that seem to like bombers and killers.
Just to laugh at there outraged response to pay back.

Mitch H. said...

I dunno. What *has* the Boston branches of Occupy [whatever] been up to recently? Didn't some Occupy Wall Street kids get caught with bombmaking materials in Manhattan in December?

Doesn't sound like their bomb recipes bore any resemblance to the devices used in Boston, though.

Brian Brown said...

Roesch/voltaire said...
Really did anyone "politicize" this more than Fox News?



Considering Fox didn't politicize this at all, yes.

Duh

Anonymous said...

The left's other handy dishonest tactic:
Falsely accuse through association/ false impression.
Just get itout there...
Then apologize later on the bottom of page 34 in fine print.


God knows how many Americans still believe Jared Loughner, the Tucson shooter, was a Tea Party fanatic.

That was the early spin. It eventually became clear Loughner was far more mental than political, but that was a more complicated story and by the time it came out, most of the country had moved on.

jd said...

I do know what antithesis means, actually. The pointedly apolitical nature of the thing (the only ideology of the race is that people are awesome), the resounding support offered and accepted by spectators and racers, the happily international vibe as visitors from all around the world come to see the city and race and cheer, the not. seeing. every. little. challenge. as. an. excuse. to. be. a. victim. These things are the antithesis of the mindset of the commenters here (everything is political, everyone else is a moron, foreigners are best viewed with suspicion, everyday brings a new excuse to feel oppressed). Come to Boston next April and you'll know what I mean--might be good for you.

Anyways, conservatives are not the victims here, much as Limbaugh & co. would like that to be so--the victims are the people whose lives were destroyed in the carnage on Boylston. If you can't feel that, get lost.

Defenseman Emeritus said...

jd: pointing out that Peter Bergen and Nick Kristoff are assholes for straining to blame the bombing on imaginary right-wingers does not equal claiming victimhood status. Good try though!

edutcher said...

Bergen is the kind of "expert" who kept telling us the Beltway snipers were white religious gun nut militia types.

Oso Negro said...

Then there is the sicko at Salon, hoping that it is a white guy who did it.

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/16/lets_hope_the_boston_marathon_bomber_is_a_white_american/


Does the Saudi they have in custody count?

machine said...

Really? Rush Limbaugh?

No, Slobbering Barney, Steny Hoyer, the usual suspects.

Ya burnt!

No, asshole, those were the people in the middle of those bombings.

KCFleming said...

Gosh, jd, thanks for telling us what the Boston Marathon is all about.

Interestingly, here we were discussing how the left was politicizing the bombing in Boston, not the marathon itself.

But thanks for the Boston boosterism.

Next time I visit, I'll try to avoid remembering the city is chockablock full of leftists everywhere else and always, except at the Marathon.

tacotaco said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Larry J said...

Gahrie said...
The sad fact is that extremists on both sides of the spectrum will always view events through their ideological lenses.

Cite me an example of a prominent right wing American blaming this on American lefties.


I've heard and read Leftists trying to blame it on the Tea Party. I've seen where some on the right are immediately saying it was Islamists. At this point, I don't think anyone knows who did it.

It is illuminating to see how the Right is quick to blame outsiders like Islamists while the Left tries to blame the Right.

edutcher said...

Gahrie said...

Cite me an example of a prominent right wing American blaming this on American lefties.

Well, there was Chris Muir, but I do believe he was making an analogy.

Aaron said...

Every newspaper article suggest the far right or tea party as a possible culprit.

No one suggested OWS even though they recently had 5 people convicted of attempted bombing.

Dear Lefties and MSM, its very, very unhealthy to keep doing this. Demonizing your domestic political opponents while hiding your own trash is quite vile.

geokstr said...

Meanwhile, CNN has just quoted a law enforcement official that they have identified from videotape a "dark-skinned" individual placing the bomb. He sounded very apologetic about having to say it too.

Sam L. said...

The left and their fellow travelers are ne kultyurni.

Calypso Facto said...

The term "wishcasting" comes to mind

Bilwick said...

Let's assume the bomber turns out to be a "right wing" (in the current bozo-Left use of the term) militia type. If that's the case, of course the Red Diaper Baby in the White House, with an assist from his butt-boys (and butt-girls) in the MSM, will use the bombing as Clinton used Oklahoma City: i.e., to suppress pro-freedom, anti-statist dissent.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if "Il Dufe," with upturned chin, doesn't go Clinton one better and go "full Mussolini" to unleash the ATF and the IRS against those of us who believe our lives belong to ourselves and not the State.

But if the bomber turns out to be in some way "right wing," and the Hive expects those of us in the pro-freedom camp who DON'T bomb innocent people to just shut up and submit silently to being good little serfs, they are sadly mistaken.

Bilwick said...

Let's assume the bomber turns out to be a "right wing" (in the current bozo-Left use of the term) militia type. If that's the case, of course the Red Diaper Baby in the White House, with an assist from his butt-boys (and butt-girls) in the MSM, will use the bombing as Clinton used Oklahoma City: i.e., to suppress pro-freedom, anti-statist dissent.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if "Il Dufe," with upturned chin, doesn't go Clinton one better and go "full Mussolini" to unleash the ATF and the IRS against those of us who believe our lives belong to ourselves and not the State.

But if the bomber turns out to be in some way "right wing," and the Hive expects those of us in the pro-freedom camp who DON'T bomb innocent people to just shut up and submit silently to being good little serfs, they are sadly mistaken.

Alex said...

The left politicizes everything. It comes from Karl Marx - the personal IS political to them.

heyboom said...

@Larry J

I think there is precedent for the right's view. I can't think of a single act of terror perpetrated by the modern Tea Party.