No Hate Speech by Prominent Leftists?
Patterico's Pontifications
A certain intellectual fraud who goes by the name of Glenn Greenwald (as well as a few other names) recently said that leftist hate speech is not uttered by prominent leftist figures, but rather only by anonymous blog comments and e-mailers:
<<< [I]t is undeniably true that there are people of every ideological stripe who express profane and reprehensible sentiments. The difference is that right-wing authors, talk radio hosts and bloggers — read and listened to by millions of people — traffic in such sentiments regularly . . . . But to find such sentiments outside of right-wing circles, one must go where right-wing bloggers went today — digging into anonymous blog comments (or e-mails allegedly received). That difference is so obvious — and so meaningful — that it all ought to go without saying. >>>
This post puts the lie to Greenwald’s ridiculous assertion.
Below I have listed more than 20 examples of hate speech by prominent leftist figures, such as politicians, journalists writing for major newspapers or radio networks, television and movie industry personalities, and the like.
I have restricted the examples to true hate speech, such as calling for (or exulting over) the beating and/or deaths of conservatives, or naked racism and anti-Semitism. I have deliberately excluded speech that simply brands conservatives as Nazis or fascists. Such speech is hateful, but I want to leave minimum room for leftists to quibble with the list.
Brace yourself for the leftist hate:
National Public Radio legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg:
<<< [I]f there is retributive justice [Sen. Jesse Helms] will get AIDS from a transfusion, or one of his grandchildren will get it. >>>
USA Today syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux, on Clarence Thomas:
<<< I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease. >>>
Washington Post syndicated columnist Richard Cohen:
<<< For hypocrisy, for sheer gall, [Newt] Gingrich should be hanged. >>>
Comedian and (former) talk show host Craig Kilborn [Caption under footage of George W. Bush]:
<<< Snipers Wanted >>>
Members of the St. Petersburg Democratic Club:
<<< And then there’s Rumsfeld who said of Iraq “We have our good days and our bad days.” We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say “This is one of our bad days” and pull the trigger. >>>
Actor Alec Baldwin on Conan O’Brien:
<<< [I]f we were in other countries, we would all right now, all of us together, all of us together would go down to Washington and we would stone Henry Hyde to death! We would stone him to death! [crowd cheers] Wait! Shut up! Shut up! No shut up! I’m not finished. We would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and we’d kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families. >>>
Comedian Chris Rock:
<<< If President Clinton would pardon me I would whip Starr’s ass right now. I will get a crew from Brooklyn and we will stomp him like, like, we’re Savion Glover. We’ll stomp him like it’s bringing da noise. >>>
Director Spike Lee on Charlton Heston:
<<< Shoot him with a .44 caliber Bulldog. >>>
James Carville on Ken Starr:
<<< He’s one more mistake away from not having any kneecaps. >>>
Syndicated columnist Alexander Cockburn:
<<< There is a sound case to be made for dropping a tactical nuclear weapon on the Cuban section of Miami. The move would be applauded heartily by most Americans. Alas, Operation Good Riddance would require the sort of mature political courage sadly lacking in Washington, D.C., these days. >>>
Columnist, author, media pundit, journalist, and newspaper editor Dan Savage:
<<< My plan? Get close enough to Bauer to give him the flu, which, if I am successful, will lay him flat just before the New Hampshire primary. I’ll go to Bauer’s campaign office and cough on everything. Phones and pens. Staplers and staffers. I even hatch a plan to infect the candidate himself; I’ll keep a pen in my mouth until Bauer drops by his offices to rally the troops. And when he does, I’ll approach him and ask for his autograph, handing him the pen from my flu-virus-incubating mouth. >>>
That column also appeared on Salon.com. It was a little more than hate “speech” — the guy actually did try to give Gary Bauer the flu.
It’s racism you want?
Democrat Senator Robert Byrd:
<<< There are white niggers. I’ve seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I’m going to use that word. >>>
Democrat presidential candidate Jesse Jackson on Jews:
<<< Hymies >>>
and on New York City:
<<< Hymietown >>>
During his presidential campaign, Jesse Jackson was linked with (and refused to denounce) Louis Farrakhan, who has at times been linked with the Congressional Black Caucus, which also supported his Million Man March. Farrakhan is a man of the left who has been a harsh critic of President Bush.
Here’s Farrakhan on Jews:
<<< Many of the Jews who owned the homes, the apartments in the black community, we considered them bloodsuckers because they took from our community and built their community but didn’t offer anything back to our community. >>>
Farrakhan on Pope John Paul II:
<<< no good cracker >>>
Farrakhan on white people:
<<< White people are potential humans - they haven’t evolved yet. >>>
And again:
<<< Murder and lying comes easy for white people. >>>
Does it count as “hate” speech if you say you “hate” Republicans?
Howard Dean:
<<< I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for . . . >>>
Back to assassination wishes:
British pundit Charlie Brooker, during the presidency of George W. Bush:
<<< John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr. — where are you now that we need you? >>>
Actual elected officials have engaged in hate speech:
Democrat Representative Pete Stark, on the floor of the House of Representatives, speaking to a Republican:
<<< You think you are big enough to make me, you little wimp? Come on. Come over here and make me, I dare you. You little fruitcake. >>>
Alabama Democratic congressional incumbent Earl Hilliard, on challenger, Artur Davis:
<<< Davis and the Jews, No Good for the Black Belt >>>
Let’s not forget the bloggers:
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga crowed over the death of American contractors in Iraq:
<<< I feel nothing over the death of merceneries [sic]. They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them. >>>
Duncan “Atrios” Black discussing ABC’s The Note:
<<< [M]y take on The Note has always been, with apologies to Douglas Adams:
A bunch of mindless jerks who will be first up against the
wall when the revolution comes. >>>
Huffington Post blogger Tony Hendra wished for Dick Cheney to die:
<<< O Lord, give Dick Cheney’s Heart, Our Sacred Secret Weapon, the strength to try one more time! For greater love hath no heart than that it lay down its life to rid the planet of its Number One Human Tumor. >>>
The point of this list is not to argue that leftists are more hateful than conservatives. There are many documented examples of hate speech on the right; Ann Coulter provides many examples, but she is not the only one. I publish this list simply to rebut the Greenwald-spawned canard that leftist hate speech is exclusively the province of anonymous trolls on the Internet. On the contrary, prominent leftists have said some pretty awful things.
This is an open-source project. If you think of other examples, leave a comment below, or e-mail me at patterico AT gmail DOT com. Bloggers, feel free to blog it and notify me of your post. Make sure to include a link that proves the quote, and make sure that the quote truly represents hate speech. I will continue to add examples as they come in, giving credit (and links, where appropriate) to those who provide new examples.
UPDATE: I have added context for the Atrios quote, and found a more accurate version of the Byrd quote. Thanks to commenters.
UPDATE x2: Some might argue that a couple of the above examples are intended as humor. Of course, that is Ann Coulter’s defense: when she talks about how someone ought to put rat poison in Justice Stevens’s creme brulee, it’s a “joke.” But the point of the “joke” is the same as that of the “jokes” above: I hate this person enough to want to see violence done to him. Ha, ha. Get it?
If leftists defend any of the above quotes on the grounds that they’re “jokes,” they cannot consistently criticize the likes of Ann Coulter for making the same kinds of “jokes.” But they’ll try. Just watch.
It should be obvious that this post is not a “they do it too” defense of Coulter or her ilk. To the contrary, my repeated condemnation of her is a matter of record. For examples, see here, here, here, here, here, and here. I continue to believe that her sort of comments are counterproductive to what conservatives are trying to do — just as the comments listed in this post are counterproductive to the goals of leftists.
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