After energetic talk over the weekend that no one should blame President Biden or the Democrats (or the media) for inspiring violence against President Trump and his supporters, we need to remind you of the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, where the liberal media decided to accuse conservative talk radio for domestic terrorism that destroyed a federal building.
"In a nation that has entertained and appalled itself for years with hot talk on the radio and the campaign trail, the inflamed rhetoric of the '90s is suddenly an unindicted co-conspirator in the blast." -- Time Senior Writer Richard Lacayo, May 8 issue.
"Mr. Panetta, there's been a lot of anti-government rhetoric, it comes over talk radio, it comes from various quarters. Do you think that that somehow has led these people to commit this act, do they feed on that kind of rhetoric, and what impact do you think it's had?" -- CBS's Bob Schieffer, April 23 Face the Nation.
"The bombing shows how dangerous it really is to inflame twisted minds with statements that suggest political opponents are enemies. For two years, Rush Limbaugh described this nation as `America held hostage' to the policies of the liberal Democrats, as if the duly elected President and Congress were equivalent to the regime in Tehran. I think there will be less tolerance and fewer cheers for that kind of rhetoric." -- Washington Post reporter David Broder in his April 25 column.
On the April 25, 1995 Today, then-co-host Bryant Gumbel slimed the right, attributing culpability for the deaths of 168 people on April 19,1995:
The bombing in Oklahoma City has focused renewed attention on the rhetoric that's been coming from the right and those who cater to angry white men. While no one's suggesting that right-wing radio jocks approve of violence, the extent to which their approach fosters violence is being questioned by many observers, including the President of the United States.
Gumbel teased the segment this way, being very clear about his implications: “When we come back, we’ll discuss the possible link between political violence and the angry rhetoric of talk radio.”
The NBC host continued to heap blame on Limbaugh and others:
Right-wing talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Bob Grant, Oliver North, G. Gordon Liddy, Michael Reagan, and others take to the air every day with basically the same format: detail a problem, blame the government or a group, and invite invective from like-minded people. Never do most of the radio hosts encourage outright violence, but the extent to which their attitudes may embolden and encourage some extremists has clearly become an issue.
Here’s what President Clinton said about talk radio: “They spread hate. They leave the impression that, by their very words, violence is acceptable.” Talking to guest Oliver North, Gumbel parroted the President's smears: “What did you think of the President’s remarks yesterday and his suggestion that the rhetoric on the radio may be encouraging a climate of violence?”
After playing an incendiary quote by G. Gordon Liddy, Gumbel attempted to hold North accountable. The then-talk radio host (and future NRA President) wasn’t having it:
OLIVER NORTH: Mr. Gumbel, you are not going to be asked to hold Dan Rather accountable for what he says or doesn’t say. And I’m not going to be held accountable for what other people say. I’m talking about my radio show and what I do on my show.
BRYANT GUMBEL: Understood. Understood. Considering Liddy’s comment, another radio host has told his listeners to get a gun and do something. Another urged armed revolution. I’m not holding you accountable. I am asking you if that’s justifiable on the airwaves?
NORTH: What I consider to be unjustifiable is the ad hominem attacks on radio talk shows or any other medium.
Even before the bombing, the Left's hatred of the conservative stars was intense:
"I have no doubt that if Rush Limbaugh or Pat Robertson or Ollie North ever got real power, there would be concentration camps and mass death." -- Radical poet Allen Ginsberg in The Progressive, August 1994.
Our Special Purveyors of Hate & Division issue of our Notable Quotables newsletter from 1995 is HERE.
