Moyers should go back to doing what he does best:
moronic middlebrow exegesis journeys into silly nonsense
and deeper levels of mystification than Walter Cronkite could have ever imagined.
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.
didn't bill moyers set his kid up to run tompaine.com?
"The truth of the matter is, NYC is going to hell in a hurry. It's not like it used to be. You should have seen it 20 years ago. I knew the end was near when they got rid of the red bird subway cars."
No offense, but you're now making me laugh out loud. I've lived in nyc for a long time and the city has gotten progressively better in the past twenty years. Twenty years ago you couldn't walk two steps into a park without being confronted by some homeless guy or drug dealer or both. The red bird cars sucked too. I think we're talking about two different cities.
This is as crazy as what Moyers said.
Weasel words for sure. No one accused Moyers of using the word 'military' coup.
You could not be more wrong about Rudy. He followed Dinkins and had much much garbage to clean up!
Rudy was under massive attack by the hitlery friendly media at the end of his term because he was running for Senate.
"There was a near-coup against Clinton in the Pentagon, so why wouldn't those same angry military men go after Kerry as well?"
Main Entry: coup d'état
Variant(s): or coup d'etat /"kü-(")dA-'tä, 'kü-(")dA-", -d&-/
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural coups d'état or coups d'etat /-'tä(z), -"tä(z)/
Etymology: French, literally, stroke of state
: a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics; especially : the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group
Where in the past has the Pentagon remotely done anything of the sort, even to that bastard BJClinton? When?
And I defy you to define "near-coup."
Moyers should go back to doing what he does best:
moronic middlebrow exegesis journeys into silly nonsense
and deeper levels of mystification than Walter Cronkite could have ever imagined.
I'm still here in the Big Apple and miss the way it used to be. I suspect you've been out in the 'burbs too long to appreciate the speakers making announcements on the old red bird cars. Remember this announcement: "Attention passengers..'OKJJ;WEQQHSDSADhjkfgioutrhret! Please do notksjhhfdhgjr, if you want to lsdf jldsffdh!;fd;dshj. Thank you."
Naturally, I'm not going anywhere. Need to see what happens next.
Pardon me, but Rudy IS a bad guy. Any guy who cheats on his wife in front of his children, that is to me the textbook definition of an immoral--bad--person. He is a dirtbag on the Clinton level morally.
Now, Rudy may be a stellar politician. He may have stood tall in the face of the WTC falling and thus inspired New York City residents not to act like the liberal pantywaist cowards they generally are.
But I hope many others agree with me when I say I could never vote for someone who would cheat on such an important contract. Never. And even though Rudy and I might agree on a lot politically, he'll never get my vote because of his screwing around.
Except for the entertainment value of Rudy's cheating, nobody really cared. Then his wife would go off and star in the Vagina Monologues or the People v Larry Flynt.
Feel free to condemn Rudy, only when your town has politicians as entertaining.
I have always liked the Mayor and I used to listen to his show on WABC all the time. One thing he said that has always stuck in my mind: "If you agree with me on 7 out of 10 things, then vote for me. If you agree with me on 10 out of 10 things, see a psychiatrist."
"Now, Rudy may be a stellar politician. He may have stood tall in the face of the WTC falling and thus inspired New York City residents not to act like the liberal pantywaist cowards they generally are..."
You gotta be kidding me. Have you ever even been to NYC?
Boy does that guy bring back memories. Sherry Lewis?
If you need a fresh supply of tin-foil, let me know.
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?
So which is it? Is Koch complaining about Moyers using the work 'coup' (not uncommon and which he does not deny) or explicitly saying military coup (which no one says he did, at least not in the article)?
"I suspect you've been out in the 'burbs too long to appreciate the speakers making announcements on the old red bird cars. "
no I don't live in the burbs. I live in nyc. I admit that the subway needs to keep the live announcements with the thick brooklyn accents. The new cars have these appalling pre-recorded voices announcing the stops. they sound like something off a disneyland ride. no accent at all.
"Now, Rudy may be a stellar politician. He may have stood tall in the face of the WTC falling and thus inspired New York City residents not to act like the liberal pantywaist cowards they generally are. "
Who are you calling pantywaist cowards. Try coming here and saying that. Put your arm into the melting pot of nyc and you'll pull out a stump.
Yeah, that "paintywaist" comment rankled me, too. Whenever someone says something like that, I'm reminded of the line from Casablanca, where the SS officer says something like, "Can you imagine German troops in your beloved New York?" And Bogart replies, "There are parts of New York I'd advise them to avoid."
You have got to be kidding! If there was ever a "close call on Clinton," it would have had at least six new threads posted daily for weeks on end, and quiddam would have been doing the Coup Haiku on each and every one of them.
Nothing gets by FReepers, least of all a coup.
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