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The delirious & unhinged (calling all wingers)
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Cliff
Apr 18, 2010, 3:49:53 AM4/18/10
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Clinton alludes to 1995 bombing, says words matter
Former President Bill Clinton warned of a slippery slope from angry
anti-government rhetoric to violence like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, saying
"the words we use really do matter."
The two-term Democratic president insisted he wasn't trying to restrict free
speech, but in remarks Friday he said incendiary language can be taken the wrong
way by some Americans. He drew parallels to words demonizing the government
before Oklahoma City.
On April 19, 1995, an anti-government conspiracy led by Army veteran Timothy
McVeigh exploded a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building,
killing 168 people.
"What we learned from Oklahoma City is not that we should gag each other or that
we should reduce our passion for the positions we hold — but that the words we
use really do matter, because there's this vast echo chamber, and they go across
space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the
connected and the unhinged alike," he said.
"One of the things that the conservatives have always brought to the table in
America is a reminder that no law can replace personal responsibility. And the
more power you have and the more influence you have, the more responsibility you
have."
Clinton made the remarks at events sponsored by the Center for American Progress
Action Fund on the upcoming anniversary of the bombing.
He mentioned the rancorous fight over President Barack Obama's health care
overhaul. Passage of the law elicited threats against some lawmakers.
"I'm glad they're fighting over health care and everything else. Let them have
at it. But I think that all you have to do is read the paper every day to see
how many people there are who are deeply, deeply troubled," he said.
He also alluded to the anti-government tea party movement, which held protests
in several states Thursday. At the Washington rally, Republican Rep. Michele
Bachmann of Minnesota railed against "gangster government."
Clinton argued that the Boston Tea Party was in response to taxation without
representation. The current protesters, he said, are challenging taxation by
elected officials, and the demonstrators have the power to vote them out of
office.
"By all means keep fighting, by all means, keep arguing," he said. "But
remember, words have consequences as much as actions do, and what we advocate,
commensurate with our position and responsibility, we have to take
responsibility for. We owe that to Oklahoma City."
Clinton alludes to 1995 bombing, says words matter
Former President Bill Clinton warned of a slippery slope from angry
anti-government rhetoric to violence like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, saying
"the words we use really do matter."
The two-term Democratic president insisted he wasn't trying to restrict free
speech, but in remarks Friday he said incendiary language can be taken the wrong
way by some Americans. He drew parallels to words demonizing the government
before Oklahoma City.
On April 19, 1995, an anti-government conspiracy led by Army veteran Timothy
McVeigh exploded a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building,
killing 168 people.
"What we learned from Oklahoma City is not that we should gag each other or that
we should reduce our passion for the positions we hold — but that the words we
use really do matter, because there's this vast echo chamber, and they go across
space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the
connected and the unhinged alike," he said.
"One of the things that the conservatives have always brought to the table in
America is a reminder that no law can replace personal responsibility. And the
more power you have and the more influence you have, the more responsibility you
have."
Clinton made the remarks at events sponsored by the Center for American Progress
Action Fund on the upcoming anniversary of the bombing.
He mentioned the rancorous fight over President Barack Obama's health care
overhaul. Passage of the law elicited threats against some lawmakers.
"I'm glad they're fighting over health care and everything else. Let them have
at it. But I think that all you have to do is read the paper every day to see
how many people there are who are deeply, deeply troubled," he said.
He also alluded to the anti-government tea party movement, which held protests
in several states Thursday. At the Washington rally, Republican Rep. Michele
Bachmann of Minnesota railed against "gangster government."
Clinton argued that the Boston Tea Party was in response to taxation without
representation. The current protesters, he said, are challenging taxation by
elected officials, and the demonstrators have the power to vote them out of
office.
"By all means keep fighting, by all means, keep arguing," he said. "But
remember, words have consequences as much as actions do, and what we advocate,
commensurate with our position and responsibility, we have to take
responsibility for. We owe that to Oklahoma City."
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