Complete transcript. Excerpt Below:
This hugely consequential legislative win, an accomplishment that will part of paragraph one definition of Barack Obama`s presidency no matter what else he does in this term or even in a potential second term. That`s what`s going on. That is the huge news going on above the surface, visibly, in American politics right now.
What`s going on below the surface in American politics is something very different. Last night on this show, we reported on three separate incidents across the country in which it seems that people opposed to health reform abandoned the debate over this issue and decided instead to express their opposition to health reform through violence and intimidation. We described last night incidents at two Democratic Party or Democratic-elected official offices in New York State and one in Arizona. All three of them were attacked over the weekend.
Today, we are updating our reporting on what`s turning out to be a much more serious story. It turns out it wasn`t just the three incidents we described last night. It was more.
Here`s what we know: Sometime on Friday, a brick was thrown through a window of Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter`s district office in Niagara Falls, New York. Also, late on Friday or possibly early on Saturday, another brick was thrown through a window at the Sedgwick County Democratic Party office in Wichita, Kansas. That brick was reported to have anti-Obama -- anti-Obama and anti-health reform messages on it.
A day later, on Saturday or early Sunday, another brick shattered glass doors at the Democratic Party headquarters in Rochester, New York.
Shortly after the health reform vote on Sunday, a fist-sized rock was reportedly thrown through the front window of the Hamilton County Democratic Party in Pleasant Ridge, Ohio.
And at 2:40 a.m. on Monday morning, a few hours after the health care vote, the front door and glass panel were smashed out at Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford`s office in Tucson, Arizona.
So, compiling all those, it`s Niagara Falls, New York, Rochester, New York, Pleasant Ridge, Ohio, Wichita, Kansas and Tucson, Arizona. Five separate attacks on Democratic Party offices in the span of four days.
Since the initial reports we have also learned that the FBI is now investigating threats reportedly left at Congresswoman Louise Slaughter`s campaign office -- a recorded message reportedly threatening to assassinate the children of lawmakers who voted yes on health reform. Again, the FBI is now reportedly investigating that reported death threat against Louise Slaughter`s children.
We can also now show you what was used to smash out the glass door at that Democratic Party headquarters in Rochester, New York. That brick had a note wrapped around it which reads, quote, "exremism in defense of liberty is no device." Presuming they meant extremism and not exremism, which is what they wrote, the brick wielder appears to have been, quoting conservative U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater when he accepted the Republican Party`s nomination for president in 1964.
In last night`s report on this show on some of those incidents, we said that nobody yet had taken responsibility for any of those incidents. That`s the one thing that I said in reporting on this last night, that I would have most guessed wouldn`t change over 24 hours. Well, that`s changed.
The Rochester Democrat and "Chronicle" newspaper reporting that after their initial story on the attack on the Monroe County Democratic office, somebody did contact the newspaper to happily claim credit for that incident. His name is Mike Vanderboegh. He`s the former leader of a group called the Alabama Constitutional Militia. Mr. Vanderboegh has been advocating specifically that people throw bricks through the windows of Democratic Party headquarters all around the country and he wants credit apparently whenever anyone follows his advice.
No comments:
Post a Comment