Posted on 11/17/2004 3:11:06 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
Shocked by Bill Moyers' 'Coup' Comment and Radical Media
Edward I. Koch
Thursday, Nov. 18, 2004
On election night, I, like millions of others, was watching television and listening to the observations of political commentators. Most pundits were saying that exit polls across the nation were predicting a John Kerry win.
On Channel 13 (PBS), I heard Bill Moyers say that there were Bush supporters on the right who would resort to a coup if Kerry won. I was shocked that Moyers would make such a statement. The next day I called Channel 13 to ask for a transcript or videotape of the program. Several hours later I was told that the language I recalled could not be found. I then sent the following letter to Moyers:
November 5, 2004
Dear Bill:
On November 2, election night, I watched you and others on Channel 13 commenting on the returns. At one point, you made a comment after hearing a report that Kerry had probably won to the effect that “the right-wing won’t accept this and may use the militia.” My recollection is a paraphrase.
I called PBS and asked if I could get the actual quote in writing or receive a videotape of the program. I was told by a young woman that she could not find the quote. I would appreciate it if you could secure the exact quote for me in writing or a copy of the video.
I write a weekly commentary and would like to discuss the comment.
All the best.
George F. Will’s November 9 New York Post column contained a reference to the incident. He wrote:
“On election night on public television - your tax dollars at work - Bill Moyers said: 'I think if Kerry were to win this in a - in a tight race, I think there’d be an effort to mount a coup, quite frankly. ... I mean that the right wing is not going to accept it.' Moyers, the emblematic face of public television, is an intellectual icon in the sort of deep blue precincts that think red America is paranoid.”
Five days later, on November 10, 2004, I received a letter from Moyers. It is too long to set out in full. I’ve extracted the salient points. Those who want the entire letter can request it from me by e-mail.
Dear Mayor Koch: That was a live broadcast from Bloomberg Studios moderated by Charlie Rose, and as I was a guest on what wasn’t my own program, I don’t have a record of it to offer you.
However, I do know that I never used the word “military” in regard to any response to the election because I don’t think like that. ... I thought if Kerry were to win in a tight race there would be an effort to mount a coup - that the right-wing is not going to accept that kind of results. I had in mind what happened after the voting in 2000 when Republicans dispatched Congressional staffers to Miami to mount public protests. ...
In fact, nobody on the show suggested that there would have been an attempt at a military coup. I don’t believe there would have been. ...
Bill
Nowhere else, so far as I know, was this incident the subject of media discussion. I believe it is a good example of the hate-mongering engaged in throughout the election, particularly on television, by the radical left. During the election, many in the media were unable to conceal their bias against Bush. On election night, the talking heads were delighted to report the exit polls showing the election to be won by John Kerry. The actions of CBS and Dan Rather are now well known.
Many of those supporting Bush were literally afraid to make their preference known to family and friends, because emotions - particularly hate - were running so high. At a public dinner I attended a week after the election, five people separately came over to me as I was eating my lamb chops and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone, but I voted for Bush.”
Moyers protests: “In fact, nobody on the show suggested that there would have been an attempt at a military coup. I don’t believe there would have been. No one else in the panel did, either.”
Really?
Edward I. Koch, author, lawyer and talk radio host, was a member of the U.S. Congress and, for 12 years, the 105th mayor of New York City.
Knowing what a leftist he is, Moyers' comment actually sounds pretty ho-hum to me. Ever watched "NOW" on PBS??? I have trouble believing Mayor Koch was shocked...
Rudy owes a lot to:
A)A booming economy
B)Brilliant police personnel
C)Programs started under Koch.
I'm from Mass too,and there are more of us than you think! Not enough to win the state for Bush but we are getting there.
Whatever you say. There was a close call on Clinton, and there are people who knew about it. It wasn't exactly widely reported, you know.
"many a native New Yorker, my mother being one, said the city was in the best shape it had been in decades after Rudy cleaned house..."
yeah, Koch wasn't a particularly good mayor. He was always entertaining though. He's a better pundit than a mayor. Rudy was the best mayor in the history of nyc.
My passions have nothing to do with it. Clinton came within a cat's whisker of being removed by the military, and he knows it.
Juliani & Koch on a 2008 ticket would frost the libs into a whole lot more then therapy. :-)
"I do know that I never used the word “military” in regard to any response to the election because I don’t think like that."
BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!! This is a gem. "I don't think like that". Humorous subtext and gives one some insight into the twisted psyche of Moyers and his ilk...
and if i spelled Rudy's name right it would be even better :-)
Mr. Giuliani!
Prior to 9/11 Rudy was sinking fast, plagued by a messy divorce, messy affair, revelations about his family and friends, etc. etc. He's not a bad guy, just wasn't a great mayor.
When you're done, wipe your Moyers, and remember to flush the Rather.
Defund the left, pull the taxpayer subsidy of "Public Broadcasting".
Well then please inform us. I haven't heard this and would like to be enlightened. Personally, I think your making up crap as you go but, hey, that's just me.
Heck, the left TRIED to mount a coup in Ohio. They got stopped in their tracks by hearing John Kerry's concession speech on Wednesday.
Look at the DU threads, they were ready to go there and kick "FReeper ass" (physically, not just figuratively).
In our dreams. It's something I've wanted to see happen for twenty years.
Bad as those were, it would not justify overtuning an election. Massive election fraud on the other hand could have been the spark for overturning an *illegitimate* election, if Congress and the courts refused to do so.
John Edwards wasn't very positive in his concession speech on Wednesday November 3rd. John Kerry was the one who quelled the potential riots (but even he never did make the Rodney King plea, "Can't we all just get along?").
"Prior to 9/11 Rudy was sinking fast, plagued by a messy divorce, messy affair, revelations about his family and friends, etc. etc. He's not a bad guy, just wasn't a great mayor."
O.K. ex-mrs. guiliani. Is rudy late with your alimony check this month? This statement makes no sense. The city was not "sinking" and your claim that rudy was riding on ed koch's coattails is hilarious, especially when it is noted that rudy was preceded by a disasterous Dinkins term, not Koch.
Who's your source?? Art Bell or Randi Rhodes??
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