Webb Attacks Conservative Media After Being Exposed for 'Death Penalty' Remarks Against Bush
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
May 28, 2004
SEATTLE, WA (Talon News) -- <font size=4>After a liberal radio
talk show host was confirmed calling for the death of
President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld for "war crimes," he is now resorting to personal
attacks against "reactionary right wing" web sites as well
as the Talon News correspondent who exposed him.
Talon News reported last Thursday (see original story) that a listener to The Mike Webb Show, which airs from 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. on 710 AM KIRO in Seattle, Washington, said that Webb had "called for the death of President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld for 'war crimes'" during his program on Tuesday, May 18.
Webb has vehemently denied ever calling for the death of the president or anyone, because he is opposed to the death penalty.
However, as reported on Wednesday, (see follow-up story)
an audiotape of Webb's show obtained by Talon News finds
that he directly called for Bush to be put to death for
his part in the Iraqi prison abuse controversy.
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"[The prison abuse in Iraq] is a war crime, committed by the president of the United States," Webb declared on his show. "And do you know what the punishment for that is? Death!"
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In addition to Bush, Webb named Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney as other top government leaders who "should get the death penalty" because they are all "war criminals."
In the most inflammatory statement made by Webb about Bush, he bluntly shared his opinion about whether the president should get the death penalty.
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"[S]hould George Bush get the death penalty? I say yes," Webb exclaimed.<font size=4>
In response to the Talon News story that ran on Wednesday, Webb accused this news organization in a weblog entry on his web site of "slander" by a "home brew web site."
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"I'm getting a flurry of e-mail from misinformed readers to some of the smaller, irresponsible web sites pretending to hear a show I did calling for the death of the president," Webb stated in a May 26, 2004 weblog entry. "It is so outrageous, it's beyond explanation."
Webb began his attacks against "Talen [sic] News or whatever it's called" by stating "just because we have web sites, doesn't make us 'publishers.' But some people take their little 'online account' a bit too seriously."
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Then, in a completely fabricated charge, Webb accuses a Talon News correspondent of being "under indictment for wiretapping and various other antics to screw with the Democratic Party."
No evidence was presented by Webb to support his statement.
Nevertheless, Webb continued to berate Talon News and its correspondents.
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"I guess anything goes for these people who couldn't publish a Jr. High newspaper, let alone be handed the keys to a little hometown 'news' site on the Internet," Webb scowled.<font size=4>
With even more inflammatory statements about a Talon News correspondent and the people who read news produced by this news organization, Webb claims conservatives are gullible and will believe anything written by a "Neo Con."
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"It's the mindless, mob mentality that follows what one Neo Con might say, and without checking their facts, [they] make it their own mission to assassinate the character of someone about whom they know next to nothing," Webb charged.
Dismissing "reactionary right wing garbage" as "pretty insignificant," Webb maintains that the media has become too overrun by conservatives.
"This bunch of right wing websites' ignorant criticism comes very close to the heart of what you and I have discussed for a long career of broadcasting: even in its more rudimentary, even savage-like form, the Fundamentalist, Neo-Conservative dominated media will do anything -- I mean anything to get their way," Webb expressed.
Then, in a rant about conservative web sites, Webb refers to them as "little girls" who "toss a hissyfit over someone who disagrees with anything" that is not conservative.
"[I]t's practically sexual," the homosexual Webb contended, stating that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh gets them aroused.
Lauding traditional forms of the media, including newspapers, television, and radio, Webb said conservative web sites "lie, cheat and steal to remove any semblance of contrary thought presented in our respected media powerhouses."
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Since Talon News first began exposing the incendiary remarks made by him last week, Webb claims he has been receiving "death threats, vulgar, hate mail" about his comments.
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"The real listeners to our #1 radio show understand context," Webb said. "They get nuance. My listeners are educated to the extent that they can differentiate a 'death threat' from a call for the rule of law to be applied."
He added, "That's why, quite frankly, it doesn't warrant any more of my precious radio time."
Webb said he needs to get back to work to "overturn" the Bush presidency and to continue looking into "issues of injustice, abuse, constititional [sic] exploitation and foul play committed by this administration."
However, returning to his verbal assault against Talon News, Webb said he is "not staying stuck on what some puny, hit-less website that arouses ire from granny and her son at the trailer park."
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Yet, despite compelling evidence to the contrary reported by Talon News on Wednesday, Webb still denies ever calling for the death penalty for Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney.
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"Please be clear for one last time: I never, ever called for the death of anyone," Webb revealed. "I am against the death penalty for anyone. Period."
At the end of his weblog entry, Webb again chooses to resort to personal attacks against a Talon News correspondent when he states the news stories about him are "pure invention stemming from a jealous out of work talk show host who wants my job who boils over with envy about my ratings."
Webb concluded, "That's the truth."<font size=3>
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