"I am NOT a weiner dog!"
Posted on 11/20/2002 4:47:02 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, fired back Wednesday afternoon at soon-to-be ex-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, after the top Democrat tried to blame conservative talk radio, and Rush Limbaugh in particular, for provoking a dramatic increase in "threats to those of us in public life."
"Isn't it amazing how radio was attacked today by our distinguished majority leader," Hatch complained to nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity just hours after Daschle's outburst.
Hatch pulled no punches in voicing his admiration for both Limbaugh and the medium in general.
"If it wasn't for radio," the Utah conservative explained, "the people of this country would never hear what the real facts are..... I thank my Father in Heaven every day for people like you, Rush Limbaugh and others," the senior senator told Hannity.
The Utah Republican credited talk radio with the big GOP wins in this year's election.
"The ones that are listened to across the country are the conservative commentators," Hatch told the NewYork-based radio host. "I think that's why we won this election. You guys have had a great deal to do with that."
Earlier in the day, a bitter-sounding Daschle had complained, "What happens when Rush Limbaugh attacks those of us in public life is that people aren't satisfied just to listen. They want to act because they get emotionally invested. And so, you know, the threats to those of us in public life go up dramatically, on our families and on us, in a way that's very disconcerting."
But when asked directly whether he blamed Limbaugh for the threat's, the senior Democrat said, "Well, I'm not going to - I don't want to single anybody out. I'm troubled by it."
He then complained:
"It's that same shrill rhetoric. It's that same shrill power. Somebody says something and then it becomes a little more shrill the next time, and more shrill the next time and pretty soon they foment this and it becomes physical in addition to just verbal.
"Certainly in terms of threats, I think that there's no question," Daschle continued, "in my time in public life it has gone up exponentially."
Reporters failed to challenge the angry Democrat about examples where Republicans have been targeted by mainstream media, such an incident two years ago when CBS's "Late Late Show" appeared to suggest it might be a good idea to assassinate President Bush.
On Aug. 9, 2000 the CBS television network acknowledged that it broadcast an "inappropriate and regrettable" joke about the assassination of George Bush
Days earlier the program, hosted by Craig Kilborn, had superimposed the phrase "Snipers Wanted" over the image of the then-presidential nominee during his acceptance speech at the GOP convention in Philadelphia.
The Secret Service launched an investigation but took no action against the network or anyone associated with the Kilborn show.
CBS's "60 Minutes" reported Sunday that President Bush gets more than 200 threats a week, about 50 of which are taken seriously by the Secret Service.
Sen. Daschle did not reveal how many threats he receives on a weekly basis - or if he has reported any of them to law enforcement.
If you can't stand the heat, gentlemen, get out of the kitchen.
Perhaps Daschle may want to consider his own shrill whining rhetoric as the source of these alleged threats... just a thought.
Actually, Pelosi started the ball rolling by claiming that the republicans were extremists and that she was merely a misunderstood moderate.
Don't think for a second that this is an accident, my friends. It isn't accidental that both Gore and Daschle, as well as Pelosi, have made these statements over the last few weeks.
What they're trying to do, of course, is to paint the Republicans and their supporters as (you guessed it) extremists. This has been orchestrated by the Clintons and the DNC, of course, with the express purpose of making middle America afraid of the big, bad Republicans.
Look for more in the weeks to follow.
Threats to the jobs of Democratic senators and representatives, maybe. I guess that must be what he means.
"OK Honey, I'll put the tea bags back. Guess I was just getting too emotionally invested."
I'm sitting here racking my brain and trying to think of the last member of Congress or the Senate (or his family) who was the victim of even a politically-inspired beating, much less murder. But, for the life of me, I can't think of any!
Heaven knows a lot of them deserve at least a healthy thrashing. So, the threat can't be too serious, can it?
Now, if Little Tommy were talking about his political life, that would be a different story.
"I am NOT a weiner dog!"
Hmmm -- wonder what the Democrats fear more: Hatch "bristling" OR Lott "fuming"...Ooooooh -- scare-eeee....
Nor did Daschle reveal that his own internal investigation into all four of the threats, revealed that they all came from long time registered democRATs that blame him for the slaughter in November.
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