FNC’s Goldberg Slams MSM for Double Standard Connecting Violent Acts to Conservatives

On Monday’s The O’Reilly Factor on FNC, host Bill O’Reilly brought aboard FNC analyst Bernard Goldberg to discuss the mainstream media double standard in linking violence by individuals who express right-wing sentiments to conservatives while ignoring the political sentiments of left-wing individuals who commit violence. After recounting that a number of big mainstream media figures tried to hold conservatives like Rush Limbaugh responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, Goldberg went on to point out a few sources that have tried to link the suicide pilot in Austin, Texas, to the Tea Party movement, even while ignoring some of his rantings that came from a left-wing point of view. Goldberg:

And the other thing that the few media that picked up on this theme left out is what about all the things that this kamikazi pilot believed that are opposite of what the Tea Party believes? He’s anti-capitalism – they’re not. He’s anti-organized religion – they’re not. And on health care, he says insurance companies are corrupt and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. That’s left-wing rhetoric. Why didn’t they connect the dots between left-wing rhetoric and the kamikazi pilot?

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the segment from the Monday, February 22, The O’Reilly Factor on FNC:

BILL O’REILLY: When the college professor in Alabama murdered three people last week, few pointed out she is a committed liberal. The press let the crime stand on its own. But when the crazy suicide pilot in Austin, Texas, killed himself and another person, some in the left-wing media tried to link that terrible event to the Tea Party. Joining us now from Miami, Fox News media analyst Bernie Goldberg, who has been investigating the situation. So, Bernie, what did you find out?

BERNARD GOLDBERG, FNC ANALYST: I found out that I’ve seen this movie before. It’s called "Smear By Innuendo." In 1995, after Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City, the so-called mainstream media immediately, immediately played connect the dots between talk radio and Timothy McVeigh. Dan Rather said talk radio was racist and hateful. Time magazine said talk radio was an unindicted co-conspirator. Even David Broder, the dean of Washington journalism, a very highly respected guy, and a very nice guy, suggested Rush Limbaugh was to blame for, or at least created the atmosphere that allowed the bombing to take place.

And now it’s happening again. We have Time magazine, New York magazine, the Washington Post, and countless left-wing Web sites linking the kamikazi pilot and what he did to the Tea Party people. I got a couple of questions. Yeah, let’s acknowledge that some of the Tea Party people said the same thing about government as the kamikazi pilot. So what? Millions of Americans think that we’re spending too much money and taxes are too high. What, are you going to blame millions of Americans for what he did? The second thing is, if the Tea Party is such a big bad influence, how come only one person attacked the government? How come we don’t see hundreds, even thousands?

And the other thing that the few media that picked up on this theme left out is what about all the things that this kamikazi pilot believed that are opposite of what the Tea Party believes? He’s anti-capitalism – they’re not. He’s anti-organized religion – they’re not. And on health care, he says insurance companies are corrupt and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. That’s left-wing rhetoric. Why didn’t they connect the dots between left-wing rhetoric and the kamikazi pilot?