Angered By His Holocaust Museum Shooting Coverage, The Far Right Goes After Shepard Smith
Angered By His Holocaust Museum Shooting Coverage, The Far Right Goes After Shepard Smith
On Wednesday, Fox News’ Shepard Smith responded to the tragic shooting at the Holocaust Museum by a white supremacist by saying that it was time to re-think the Homeland Security report on right-wing extremism that conservatives disparaged. “The right went absolutely bonkers!” said Smith, adding that the report was a “warning to us all” and that DHS was “warning us for a reason.”
Later in the day, Smith said that the e-mail he’s been receiving from viewers has become “more and more frightening.” “It’s been happening over the last few months,” said Smith. “There are people now who are way out there on a limb.” Watch it:
As Media Matters noted yesterday, the right-wing has now turned its fire on Smith. On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh mocked Smith’s “whining and moaning and complaining about e-mails”:
LIMBAUGH: As for Shepard Smith whining and moaning and complaining about e-mails, nobody needs to tell me about hateful e-mails, for crying out loud. I get the most vile, sick e-mails attacking me as a “Jew lover” that you can imagine. I don’t read ‘em. I hear about them. They’re in a public account, of course, as you know — and I’m a conservative. Who do you think these hate e-mails from coming from? Where are they coming from? Yeah, I get people, “You Jew lover, you Jew lover!” because I am faithful to Israel and a number of other things.
So, Shep, you got nothing on anybody out there. The vile hate that was 24/7 in most of the American media for the eight years of Bush — and particularly from 2003 on after the Iraq war — nobody, nobody at this point in time has ever done, in our society, anything comparable to the kind of hate that we got from mainstream sources.
Allahpundit of Michelle Malkin’s Hot Air wrote that if Smith truly believes his viewers are “would-be presidential assassins,” then “why doesn’t he quit?” Further out on the fringe, conservative blogger Pamela Geller, who writes at Atlas Shrugs, titled a post, “Please Shepard Smith Out the Door!” She followed it up with a post saying, “Shepard Smith has got to go.” Geller’s call for Smith to be fired is beginning to get traction with some conservatives online.
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Gee…who coulda seen *this* coming??
June 12th, 2009 at 11:47 amthe last thing that the right wing needs nowadays is one of their media mouthpieces having a tenuous grip on reality
June 12th, 2009 at 11:47 amThat’s OK, Mr. Smith………I’m sure there’s a place for you at MSNBC, the network that doesn’t advocate the assassination of the President.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:48 amRuh-row. Crazies don’t like being crossed.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:49 amThe price for telling the truth will be that Shepard Smith will be able to find another job with a respectable news organization.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:49 amI don’t read ‘em. I hear about them. They’re in a public account, of course, as you know — and I’m a conservative. Who do you think these hate e-mails from coming from?
Oh, come on, Rush. You aren’t on the fringes of the conservative movement, you’re front and center. This stuff is coming from the fringe Right, who thinks even you aren’t conservative enough.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:50 amSee how Rusha the Hut turns it around to be about him. This pissant is more self absorbed than a sponge. And has the same spinal structure (or lack there of).
June 12th, 2009 at 11:51 amI have a feeling he isn’t going anywhere. Something tells me Rupert won’t mind so much if there’s a little infighting. Good for the ratings. And he’s still pretty conservative, just not around-the-bend fruit-loop crazy like the rest of ‘em.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:52 amIn menacing German accent: “Herr Smith, you vill stay on topic or you vill be dealt with. Am I understood?”
June 12th, 2009 at 11:52 am#6 barfly – I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:53 amAllYouNeedIs:
Thanks, but it should be obvious to anyone who knows the right, and their wacky political theories.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:56 amPoor Shep must have flunked out of the Rupert’s mandatory “Alternate Reality 101 for Dummies Class”. Good on him.
On the other hand, Gretchie Carlson and Steve Doocy got gold stars. They will be taking over teaching duties next semester from Little Seanie Hannity and Megyn Kelly.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:58 amInstead of supporting Shep Smith and letting the extremists know that their behavior is wrong – they’re pushing for his removal?!
This just further proves what conservatives are all about – supporting hateful, violent rascists and fueling a potential assassination of the President and anyone else they’re against.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pmIt’s amazing how far the wingnuttery has gone over the edge. A true conservative like Shep Smith is now too liberal in his views simply because he sees violent extremism as, well, violent extremism?
I guess as long as the shooter isn’t Muslim, his actions can be explained away. Inevitably, the rationalization is that President Obama is driving these people to kill.
Amazing.
PEACE
June 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pmNow Rush can calls these guys lefties.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:03 pmRe:Yeah, I get people, “You Jew lover, you Jew lover!” because I am faithful to Israel and a number of other things
Yeah, Rushbo…you are sooooooo religious and dedicated to the godly….you’re just another idiot who is following that “end times” prophecy that says support the Jews, convert them all to Christianity when the Apocalypse comes, or kill the bastards.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:05 pmWOW!!! That was quick but we all saw that coming now it’s Sanford’s turn?
Only confirms the DHS’s original report.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pmShepard Smith was an Iraq War pimp; even if he leaves FOX, he’ll still just be a tool with blood on his hands.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:09 pmWhenever spoken, the truth — uncomfortable or otherwise — is ALWAYS received by the right-wing as a personal attack.
ALWAYS.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:11 pmAIO Says:
Shepard Smith was an Iraq War pimp; even if he leaves FOX, he’ll still just be a tool with blood on his hands.
He’s no friend of the Left, that’s for sure. It’s just amazing to see a right-winger with a moral limit beyond which he will not go. They’re so rare these days.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:12 pmIsn’t Allahpundit rather fond of making bizarre straw man assumptions and using them as the basis for stupid rhetorical questions? This one seems eerily familiar. Anyone help a locust out?
June 12th, 2009 at 12:12 pmRun, Shepherd.
Run to moderate grounds.
Do it before they fire you in order to save face. Be the first to walk away from the burning building before you’re forced to run away from the backdraft.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:15 pmPoor Shep. It’s hard being the only sane person in the asylum.
I will NEVER forget his reporting from New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. On FOX News, live and in living color, he described the Clinton FEMA recovery efforts as not only instantaneous and overwhelming, but he specifically used the word ‘legendary’.
Imagine that. A FOX News reporter, calling a Clinton act ‘legendary’, and it being a compliment.
Shepard Smith is far from a progressive voice, but he IS a moderate voice of sanity. He ought to get a job somewhere else, but I’ll bet when they bring back the Fairness Doctrine, Roger Ailes is going to have to give him his own show.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:16 pmIt was only a matter of minutes, err seconds, before this was going to happen.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:18 pmThe Right Wing has become a predictable Cartoon Charicature of itself… It would be funny if they weren’t a violent danger.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:19 pmLet them go after Shep. Pretty soon, the fanatics, the paranoid, racists will be preaching to an empty choir. Independants won’t like this crap. Faux News is getting more delusional by the day. And Limpballs is leading the way.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:19 pmI disagree, ElBruce and AIO. I mean, the only time I’ve ever watched FOX News is when I’m trapped on the treadmill at the gym. But any time I’ve ever seen Shepard Smith report, he’s not spouting rightwing talking points, but a middle ground.
I’ll bet that neither you nor I have watched enough of his reporting to really be able to tell for a fact. Media Matters would know. It’s possible that his shining moments of reality are just standing out to my eyes as good points, in a sea of Rethuglican idiocy, but I just doubt that very much.
Why are you dumping on the one actual voice of middle ground on FOX? We should be giving him credit, instead, unless you’ve got some actual data to back up your assertions. If you do, show it, and I’ll back off. Until then–Shep Smith is at least ALL RIGHT with me.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:20 pmWow — they really don’t tolerate any whiff of dissent in the ranks, do they? Like true fascists.
With this many people calling for Smith’s head on a platter, you’d think Smith endorsed child pornography and showed pictures of naked children on the teevee. What? He didn’t do that? Then he must have called for overthrowing the government. What? He didn’t do that, either? So what did he do that was so bad?
Ah — he pointed out that von Brunn was exactly the kind of “right wing extremist” the DHS report was talking about. Which was true, and obvious. However, the lynch mob — always eager to turn on one of their own — apparently still identifies with the “right wing extremists” in the report, and takes the report as personal defamation.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:20 pmShep Smith merely pointed out that the Rightwing Extremist report was accurate. The fearmongers can’t acknowledge this but happily go after Smith.
MSNBC could use another show than the double doses of Countdown and Madow. Any MSNBC execs out there?
June 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pmOh, and that Clinton act that Shepard Smith praised in 2005, from outside the Superdome in New Orleans? It was Clinton’s response to Hurricane Andrew in 1993, a Category 5 whopper that nearly totaled the state.
As a resident of Missouri, I just didn’t follow that response/cleanup/rescue much at all. It was just a headline that didn’t apply to my life, like most of the rest of the world. And competency is never given a spotlight, ever.
But the DIFFERENCE in the two responses is what finally toppled supply side conservatism, and the Bush name.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:23 pmRight-wing, fascist wack jobs packing guns. Who are the terrorists?
June 12th, 2009 at 12:23 pmThe right wing whackos are like rabid termites. They have consumed the house and now they screech from the rubble in the basement.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:23 pm…
none of the trolls here
seem to be really bothered
by shep smith.
:)
June 12th, 2009 at 12:24 pmTo AIO: ALL REPORTERS WERE Pimps about the Iraq War – until things started going wrong – with the exception of McClatchy, Bill Moyers and Phil Donahue.
Then some of the reporters woke-up and started to do the job they were suppose to do BEFORE the war started, while the other kept drinking the Bush Koolaid.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pmA couple years ago when the Chimp was in office I copied Smith on one of my multiple emails per day to Chimpy. Smith called me at home about my comments (they related to the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraqnam). I told Smith how I felt and why I felt that way but never heard if he used the comments on Fixed Noise. I wonder if he’s calling any of these right wing nutjobs at home and what sort of response he’s getting from them? That assumes they have the intelligence to pick up a ringing phone and to speak in complete sentences, of course.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pmDaddy-O Says:
I will NEVER forget his reporting from New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.
I remember him asking at the camera if any government employees were watching his show so they could reach them as he described the lack of water at the Superdome. That was pretty shocking on a number of levels. I was thinking – was it possible that FEMA would find out first from watching Shep’s news show?
.
Daddy-O Says:
Why are you dumping on the one actual voice of middle ground on FOX?
I’m not dumping on him, but calling him a lefty isn’t necessarily a compliment. I think he’s conservative, but one of the rare ones worthy of some respect.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:26 pmmisscoleopteramolly sed:
“…he pointed out that von Brunn was exactly the kind of “right wing extremist” the DHS report was talking about. Which was true, and obvious.”
And we have our own lynch mob in here, too, ready to string up Shepard Smith just by his association with FOX News. I understand that line of thought. Very well. FOX News is Nazi propaganda, and Smith is a collaborator.
But he’s not a true believer, and as FOX snagged Crazy Glenn Beck, I’ll bet Smith will soon jump ship for MSNBC. If he doesn’t, it’ll be because Roger Ailes will see the writing on the wall and make him an offer he can’t refuse, because FOX is going to need all the moderate voices it can pay to broadcast.
Ugly times we live in, ain’t they?
June 12th, 2009 at 12:26 pmI can’t imagine how Smith stays with Fixed. He appears to have a conscience and anyone with a conscience would be hard put to be around the kind of hate and vitriol that comes from Fixed. I suggest that MSNBC fire Joe Scarborough and put Shep Smith in his place.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:29 pm…
at what point exactly
did johnm stop caring?
:(
June 12th, 2009 at 12:30 pmSo Smith tried to be “Fair and Balanced” and he will be fired for it….
June 12th, 2009 at 12:30 pmElBruce, thanks for the response. We are in agreement. I probably misunderstood your earlier comment.
I’m not really a fan of Shepard Smith. My (admittedly very limited) viewing experience just ran counter to outright bashing of the guy. And I was so shocked at what he said in New Orleans, I could hardly believe my ears. I could not believe they let him on the air.
He ALSO gave Sean Hannity what for when Hannity inferred that those Negroes had only themselves to blame. He BLASTED him, live and in living color, on Hannity’s program. As I said: I’ll never forget that moment, and I’ll probably have to defend Shep from now on, for that moment, at least.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:31 pmNeocons–go further marginalize yourselfs.
P.S. You Betcha. And Also.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:33 pmMakes you long for the day when ‘conservative’ meant someone buttoned-down, poised, careful of their words, and well mannered, even if in the service of the wealthy over the rest. But once the rich got super-rich, supersized like McDonald’s hamburgers, their true vulgarity emerged. Now we have nothing but loudmouth louts, who’ve simply taken off the mask of civility and openly call for violence, who will tell any untruth and repeat it loudly over and over again, to get their way. Bullies and louts, to a man and woman. Who needs them??? No society that I know of.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:34 pmhellinabucket Says:
MSNBC could use another show than the double doses of Countdown and Madow. Any MSNBC execs out there?
June 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Seriously, I’d rather see David Shuster have his own show again.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:34 pmAh, so very predicable from the ReichWing Loonies…
….boy can we call it or what? We were sooooo right in our posts yesterday on this.
Fcuk the Republic Fascist Party
June 12th, 2009 at 12:37 pmjjm sed:
“Makes you long for the day when ‘conservative’ meant someone buttoned-down, poised, careful of their words, and well mannered, even if in the service of the wealthy over the rest.”
Listening to this song several years ago, I was struck by these lyrics from this Pete Townshend/Who song:
Watch the taxman and the police miss me! I’m Mobile!
Those words reminded me that, at the time of Nixon and Vietnam and protest marches and in the heady days of rock ‘n’ roll outrage, conservatives were PROUD to say THEY paid taxes. Respectable. Dignified.
How times have changed. Grover Norquist and Lee Atwater have done their best to destroy my country.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:39 pmOl’ Shep better not let dick use him as a bird dog.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:40 pmThese folks make me miss Nixon and Agnew.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:41 pmFirst off, Smith spent too much time on the white supremecist shooter, which FOX did not deem newsworthy (i.e. “not to the republican political advantage, since the shooter was a right-wing conservative).
And, second, Smith commented on the e-mails from viewers in a negative manner. Those “viewers” who are “oout on a limb” are FOX viewers. Thus, Smith pointed out (whether he meant to or not) that there are an increasing number of FOX viewers who are vocally (in e-mail, at least) similar to this racist chicken-s#it nut-case.
therefore:
Smith says more and more FOX viewers sound like a racist domestic terrorist.
He’s gonna blow the lid on the whole “our turn to riot” spiel, you know……
June 12th, 2009 at 12:41 pmDissent spreads from within.
Good on ‘ya, Shep. I know, I know, he’s pimped for the Bushco agenda, but at least he’s letting the Wingnuts hear that America doesn’t torture.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:42 pmShepard Smith like all the others on the staff of News Corp are taking money from Murdoch who is the Dear Leader of crazy hateful media despot enablers. Seconded only by Clear Channel. He and only has to decide if he is comfortable with that. But given that he is speaking out of late against the crazy sociopaths that watch his network, I am hopeful that he will turn his back on them and expose them for the anti-American SOB’s that they are.
Oh. And Rush isn’t fooling anyone. He reads his mail. He has to much of a bloated ego not to wade through it seeking out praise, validation & passion invites (eewwuu. I think I’m about to be sick) for his very special brand of crazy not to.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:42 pmIf Smith had ths apparent growth of stones that you-all attribute to him, he’d resign Fox, today. Just walk away.
To the extent that he doesn’t you know he’s just a hollywooding mutherfocker…
June 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pmGood on ‘ya, Shep. I know, I know, he’s pimped for the Bushco agenda, but at least he’s letting the Wingnuts hear that America doesn’t torture.
Bullshit.
Smith’s just shooting clouds of ink out his ass to provide cover for the ‘Murdoch empire.’
If he really disagreed, if he really dissented, he’d fuuquing quit!
June 12th, 2009 at 12:46 pmScarborough compares Krugman to the Extremist
Still looking for away to include democrats into the discussion of the Domestic Terrorists are we?
The day after the terrorist attack on the Holocaust Museum and also the Assassination of the Ob/gyn, Doctor Tiller happened, the entire Morning Joe Crew barely mention these stories; why, either because this wasn’t important enough or because they were one of many conservative media outlets making fun of DHS Report and ridiculing Janet Napolitano and now they are too embarrassed to admit they had the Ed Henry Syndrome.
And now yesterday Scarborough tried to bring Wright into the conversation and just couldn’t figure out a way to make it a high priority conversation without talking about what the Domestic Terrorist did the day before; he couldn’t talk about the Assassination of Dr. Tiller without bring out his own past association with these types of Assassins.
And so today he thinks he finally has a leeway and he still fall flat.
And as was posted yesterday:
I guess when Joe Scarborough said he was worried we would get attack under President Obama he didn’t expect it would be from his neck of the woods.
http://gawker.com/5279175/joe-scarborough-once-defended-the-murderer-of-an-abortion-doctor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/12/joe-scarborough-likens-pa_n_214798.html
June 12th, 2009 at 12:47 pm.
Did ol’ Shep happen to mention that Nazi’s are his core audience? Or that Fuxsnooze exists to incite them? Or that their goal is a redneck uprising leading to a (more) Fascist State?
Hunh. Musta forgot.
Then there’s that traitorous dog Limbaugh. Click here to boycott his sponsors & complain to the FCC. Or, wait till they kill you.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:48 pm.
It would be refreshing for the rational conservatives to once again find their voice. Powell, Smith and a handful of others who are capable of being conservative in their beliefs without embracing the insanity need to step things up and reclaim their identity.
Debate can be healthy and constructive when both sides participate and respect the opposing views. The latest version of the Party of No does not qualify.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:48 pmglogrrl sed:
“…you’re just another idiot who is following that “end times” prophecy that says support the Jews, convert them all to Christianity when the Apocalypse comes, or kill the bastards.”
I think it has more to do with killing brown people at any cost.
Trouble is, Jews are brown people, too. Put a Palestinian side by side with a Sephardic Jew, and Rush would never be able to tell the difference. So, in the very end, if the world were run EXACTLY as he would wish, Rush’s left with only one option. In the words of the Evil Nazi from “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”:
Shoot zem. Shoot zem both.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:48 pmSaid with a big f**king smile on his evil face.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:49 pmI’ll have to hand the bullshit back to you, Tokin librul.
What I said is fact. What you’re saying is conjecture.
Shepard Smith said exactly that.
His choice to resign or not is up to him, not us.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:52 pmtokinliberal and wolfsinger, I disagree. So would you, if you’d seen Shepard hand Sean Hannity his ass on Hannity’s program, live from the Superdome after Katrina, when Hannity inferred that those lazy Negroes had only themselves to blame, if only they’d gotten on a bus and left New Orleans.
You should have seen it. I will defend Smith from now on, for that reason alone. He may be getting his paycheck from dogs, but he’s doing the best he can.
I think he’ll leave FOX after this.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pmI’ll also never understand how so many liberals hate Jake Tapper so much. Sure, he’s made mistakes as a reporter, but the guy is a moderate liberal. He’s no Camille Paglia or other ‘acceptable’ conservative. David Brooks is an idiot who is making nice with reality, too. His defense of Bush is just a bit too much to forgive.
The caffeine is giving me a fun ride today! I’m done now…
June 12th, 2009 at 12:55 pmI make it a practice never to follow TP’s links to wingnut blogs, having assumed that the posts and the comments would be like wading through non-stop commentary from our trolls. Guess what? I followed the link to Atlas Shrugs and . . . I was absolutely right.
Heightens the irony of those trolls who come to TP and call liberals “haters.”
June 12th, 2009 at 12:56 pmCan’t say we didn’t tell you yesterday Shep that this was gonna happen.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:02 pmDefinitely on topic to this, did anyone read Glenn Greenwald’s blog today? Tribalistic self-absorption of the right wing. The attacks on Shepard Smith only serve to support this characterization. He chose to stray from the message that right wing ideology (and in their eyes, REAL America) might have some terrifying and deadly implications.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/12/self_absorption/index.html
June 12th, 2009 at 1:04 pmAny flirtation with reasonableness is being purged from the Repub party. I suspect experience this could turn Shep Smith into a halfway decent journalist. He will be able to tell the tale, the inside of Fox News. The wingnuts are forcing rigid adherance to their warped ideology. This is forcing the Republicans into a smaller and smaller box. If the Republicans fail to post gains in 2010, they will be over as force in the US.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:05 pmA lot of these people who are dumping on Smith for telling the truth, don’t realize that they are being used by the corporate media to keep the country divided. They don’t seem to understand that the corporations are screwing all of us.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:06 pmTrust the far right to attack one of their own for being honest.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:07 pmDaddy-O Says:
He ALSO gave Sean Hannity what for when Hannity inferred that those Negroes had only themselves to blame.
Daddy-O Says:
tokinliberal and wolfsinger, I disagree. So would you, if you’d seen Shepard hand Sean Hannity his ass on Hannity’s program, live from the Superdome after Katrina, when Hannity inferred that those lazy Negroes had only themselves to blame, if only they’d gotten on a bus and left New Orleans.
Just out of curiosity, was the use of the word “Negroes” your choice or Hannity’s? Because I don’t think either one of you should be using it. There is no reason to.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:08 pmThe missed point here is that Smith is getting the harrassing e-mails from the far right lunatics. Judging by their rabid rants here and on the righty sites I would be troubled as well to be the target of their vitriol. Rushjob’s e-mails, if they are coming from the left as he implies, are probably filled with fact-corrections and the rightful questioning of his “patriotism”. This, although he claims he doesn’t look at them but can sum-up their arguements anyway, is a far cry from the bile and hate coming from the right-wingers who have obviously shaken Smith up a bit. Miss Malkin on the other hand, who gives a rat’s @ss what that lunatic has to say? After the lies and hate spread by Limpbag and Malkin I think they expect the type of e-mails that they get. It’s a bdge for them. They don’t read them anyway, nothing must be allowed to pop that bubble of alternate reality that these fools live in. Smith on the other hand has every right to be concerned as it’s a fact that lefties do not terrorize while the righties can’t seem to restrain themselves from turning rabid. Have you ever tried to have a civil discussion about policies and facts with one of these r-wingers? My two year old whose favorite words right now are “NO” and “MINE” has a longer fuse and more self-control than these mouthbreathers. I’m confident that my child will grow out of this phase, but come to think about it he does sound a lot like a Republican Senator, especially when he tries to obstruct me from putting him to bed. Unlike the Dem leaders these days though I ALLOW him to filibuster himself silly. He wears himself out and goes right to bed. Maybe Harry Reid should try this approach sometime. Works like a charm for me and MY children.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:10 pmGood Weekend All, I’m off!
You know what really grinds my gears- the whole BS about “outpouring of hate against Bush” when he was in office. Criticism of a president’s (failed) policies by a democracy is the moral equivalent argument being used? Really? And what is the right doing everyday regarding the current administration? This is when you know any rational thought is just out the door, when conservatives bring that up.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:13 pmShorter extremists: We want our alternative reality, or else.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:15 pmfox can swap him for scarborough, you know? msnbc can throw in mika look-at-me-insky as a bonus.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:16 pmThat’s a GREAT idea conservatives – go after the reasonable one who’s saying that violent extremism is bad. That’s how you prove you’re not batshit crazy and dying a slow death.
….*eye roll
June 12th, 2009 at 1:17 pmThe bizarre part of this is that these whack jobs truly believe that America will rise up with them and embrace their insane extremism. The same goes for the 20%ers. This is truly dementia at its finest.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:22 pmI don’t recall any instance during the Bush years of the left fostering violence against him.
We all grew increasingly critical of his administration and we protested his policies, made fun of his foibles, and we spoke out loudly, but the left did not advocate violence, nor does the left foster violence. The left is highly critical of its own (often to our own detriment — just look at Blue Dogs for one example, and the public criticism of Obama for DADT and FISA) but the vitriol and intolerance coming from the rightwing is unmatched.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:29 pmThey tolerate no one from either outside nor inside their ranks to deviate from what is authorized. Yet they don’t see their tendency toward dictatorship (a la the Taliban and any of your choice of despots, current and past).
I cant imagine how sending spiteful and threatening emails, from FOX viewers, to Shep can help the republicans coalesce
June 12th, 2009 at 1:39 pmI think it’s fair to say that insanity is not partisan – but I’m still stumped, trying to think of equivalent actual violence from the left. The closest I can think of are the ELF folk and Oregon’s trust fund anarchists (think “Battle in Seattle”), and apart from the Unibomber, they haven’t actually killed anyone.
Perhaps it’s like the racism/Republicanism nexus – not all conservatives are crazy, xenophobic psychopaths, but (almost) all crazy, xenophobic psychopaths are conservatives.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:41 pmDaddy O sez: I think it has more to do with killing brown people at any cost.
I stand corrected…..since Rushbo is unlikely to be in it for the religion, you are exactly right. Rush’s philosophy (along with Newt & The Dickster) is “Get rid of all those brown, black, yellow people….only the Rich Old White Guys matter! And besides, isn’t it us who have all the money??”
‘Nuff said.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pmWait…
So the Right is still trying to disavow Bush, to distance themselves from his unprecedented lack of popularity and the disaster he left the country and the world, and yet they still feel comfortable demonizing the media for criticizing his mistakes?
June 12th, 2009 at 2:10 pmWhat Shepard Smith needs to be worried about is the Far-Right finding out he’s Gay.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:36 pmIf Smith were anything but a flannel-mouthed apologist for Murdoch, or some kind of talking smokescreen, he’d resign, today. He’s vetted Village. He’d get another job tonight.
The fact that he doesn’t speaks VOLUMES for Smith’s ‘integrity.’
Like, he’s got NONE!
June 12th, 2009 at 2:39 pmIf the “left”, which to FAUX is everyone outside the stupidest 20% of the electorate, was as evil as the Reichwhiners say? There would have been daily attempts on Chimpy’s life. But, that’s not what sane people do.
Sane people hold their elected officials to a higher standard. They criticize and even complain but, when it comes down to it, they work within the system and enact change with their votes. And then? Sane people watch what our leaders do and judge them by their merits.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pmSo NOW, does anyone really believe there is a difference between RW conservatives and Nazis?
Nobody crosses the line . .
June 12th, 2009 at 2:43 pmRight wing extremism seems to be extending itself out into infinity. Just when you think you’ve heard Rush make a totally outrageous remark that has you shaking your head, crazies far to his right bad mouth him for being soft. What kind of families produced these people?
June 12th, 2009 at 2:45 pm4httr Says:
Right wing extremism seems to be extending itself out into infinity.
I have compared them to a spaceship trying to reach the speed of light. No matter how far right they go, they can always go further. And that’s really scary.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:53 pmNo, tokinliberal, you’re wrong. Shepard Smith has SOME credibility.
Wayne Ant Schnieder sed:
“Just out of curiosity, was the use of the word “Negroes” your choice or Hannity’s? Because I don’t think either one of you should be using it. There is no reason to.”
You don’t think I should be using a word that we both know conservatives use/mean/utilize to communicate with each other? Oh, really? You’re offended?
If I offend 95% of the people everywhere–libs, cons, whatever–but still tell the truth, that this word is EXACTLY what Hannity MEANS, even if he uses other words to do so…then I’ll keep on keepin’ on. With or without your kind permission.
I don’t know the exact language term for it, but there’s a concept that my writing imitates what conservatives, bigots and all-around a**holes are thinking or saying to each other in the safety of confidentiality, and by doing so, expose their evil–but not BE OF IT. And, yes, there is great value in exposing these evil idiots in all their ugly glory.
If you don’t agree, too bad. You ain’t the first person to scold me for this. Won’t be the last, either.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:53 pmpete Says:
I have compared them to a spaceship trying to reach the speed of light. No matter how far right they go, they can always go further. And that’s really scary.
“To infinity… and beyond!” [thanks, Buzz]
June 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pmThe far right is behaving more and more like a cult. When elements of reality (e.g., Smith’s comments) intrude, the strategy is always to attack the reality and its purveyor rather than thoughtfully consider the need to change course or alter core beliefs. Scary stuff, and one wonders where it will end.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:09 pmplus, they project their hate unto us…as evidenced by the trolls that call us out on “hate” as if Free Republic, Atlas Shrugs, and whatever are pristine and full of love and tolerance…
June 12th, 2009 at 4:24 pmAs long as they keep pushing out the moderates they will self-marginalize and then hopefully ensure their permanent minority status from there on out.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:54 pmUCSBKitty Says:
plus, they project their hate unto us…as evidenced by the trolls that call us out on “hate” as if Free Republic, Atlas Shrugs, and whatever are pristine and full of love and tolerance…
I hate them. There is nothing wrong with opposing with your every fiber those who have been systematically trying to dismantle the principles that make America great, as well as truth itself. To hate monsters is no crime.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:19 pmWe should put up a poll all over the next and ask the following question. Who will be the next target for murder by Fox News? Fill in the names.
June 12th, 2009 at 6:04 pmWhat does this anti-semitic white supremacist have to do with conservatives?
June 12th, 2009 at 7:09 pmRegardless of how mild he may be by comparison, he’s surely seen enough of Fox news not to be surprised.
We’re all familiar with the part where the monster turns on the mad scientist. Fox news is extraordinary social engineering. It has crafted a mob of morons that are mindless beyond the simple mindlessness of a stupid street urchin. Only television and radio can make this kind of stupid.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:19 pmI will give Shep credit, he has put himself out far on a shakey limb.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:51 pmSmith reminds me of John Dean in the Nixon White House. His conscience is screaming at him to stop shilling for Fox, while his “peers” are screaming at him to stop having a conscience.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:30 pmShep apparently didn’t get the memo reminding everyone working at FOX News that their main objectives shall be to undermine the Obama Administration, help the Congressional GOP to play the role of obstructionist, demonize all liberals, and to sing the praises of conservatism in all its forms.
How dare he imply that some right-wing extremists are out of line! Run him out of town.
The Republican Party’s shift toward ever heightened intolerance has gotten so bad that they no longer tolerate members of their own party.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:16 pmYou gotta give Shep credit. He’s not making any friends in the Fox base (and probably with his coworkers) and he doesn’t seem to let it get in the way of doing some actual reporting.
My hats off to him.
June 13th, 2009 at 12:18 amGet out of there with your life, Shep. I like your news style even though we disagree on most issues. I’m a Republican whose about to flee soon as well.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:17 amI’m sure Chris Matthews would not mind giving up one of his Hardball shows for Shep Smith.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:21 amWho does Rush Limbaugh think he’s kidding? The vast majority of his listeners are right wing nut-jobs and everyone knows it. He is one of a whole army of right-wing nut-jobs whose hate messages send whackos like the museum shooter over the edge. These crazies might not be dangerous if they weren’t exposed to the rantings of right-wing hate preachers on the MAINSTREAM radio and TV.
It’s ridiculous to blame internet blogs as the cause or trigger for this incident.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:23 amFox and the Right have been playing with fire, fanning the flames of hate in hope of dividing and conquering, and, consequently things are going to get burned. Be careful which way the wind is blowing!
June 13th, 2009 at 9:30 amBizzaro World, for sure. I flipped to Faux News to see how the reisch-wingers we’re going to ‘play’ it: ignore, redirect, blame the left ? and, to my utter amazement, there was Shep sounding/acting like an actual NEW guy, wow…
I predict a Murdock instigated contract buyout (unless they’ve actually got ‘loyalty’ clauses) and Shep will be out on the street…EXACTLY where he needs to be, working with an actual news group: CNN, HLN, or one of the networks (sorry, just don’t see him making a complete ‘180′ to MSNBC). I’ve caught him from time to time and he isn’t one of ‘them’.
of course he’s getting hate mail, as the ManCow guy about his for proving/saying/swearing waterboarding IS torture. the reisch-wing isn’t Joe Friday and they’re REALLY not interested in a fact-based reality, it doesn’t ‘fit’ the ideology, at all.
June 13th, 2009 at 3:50 pmDid Limbaugh have any response to Smith’s comments about the DHS memo? Or did he choose to ignore that part (since he couldn’t refute it) and just decide to play ‘can you top this’ regarding nasty emails? What a freakin’ whiny blowhard!
June 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pmbogey251 Says:
What does this anti-semitic white supremacist have to do with conservatives?
That question answers itself, doesn’t it? Everything, that’s what.
Antisemitism has always been a right-wing phenomenon. White supremacy has always been a right wing phenomenon. Political conservatism has intentionally tied itself to the most extremely virulent hate groups by volunteering to claim that the DHS report was about them. Even now that we have a clear reminder of who it was really about, they’re still standing up to identify themselves as “right wing extremists” rather than disassociate themselves from it.
.
whoaamerica Says:
I’m sure Chris Matthews would not mind giving up one of his Hardball shows for Shep Smith.
“Shepard Smith’s Hardball” has a nice ring to it, actually. But I don’t really see that happening. If nothing else, running to MSNBC would just reinforce the wingnut’s “with us or against us” meme.
June 14th, 2009 at 2:32 amen son videolar
June 14th, 2009 at 12:38 pmen son videolar
the media is controlling us.we don’t have the sense to know it. right,left or moderate were not getting the truth. except for the comic newscast the daily show. how many right wings watch that.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:24 pm