Such was the absurd argument suggested by the liberal FNC host during a discussion on Monday's "Hannity and Colmes." Colmes commented to conservative guest/author David Horowitz: "Ahmadinejad's not a liberal. He's a conservative. He's very right wing. He was welcome at Columbia University. You shouldn't be complaining. Phil Donohue, Hillary Clinton, they've been all booed off stages. You don't talk about that." (Transcript follows)
Before asking his first question to Horowitz, conservative co-host Sean Hannity began the segment by recounting the violent protest against Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrest when he tried to speak at Columbia University in October 2006. (Video of the incident can be seen here.) Hannity also recounted the stories of other conservatives who have met with violent experiences. (Video of a pie attack on Ann Coulter can be seen here and of a pie attack on Bill Kristol here.) He then turned to liberal guest/journalist Robert Dreyfuss and, recounting a number of the strikes against Ahmadinejad, asked why the dictator should be allowed to speak at an American university. Hannity: "He denies the Holocaust, he's providing weaponry killing American troops, here's a guy that, you know, why would you provide a prestigious forum for such a maniacal, evil dictator, and a guy that wants to wipe Israel off the map?"
The far-left Dreyfuss, a Columbia University graduate who has supported left-wing presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche and has written for liberal publications like The Nation, suggested a moral equivalency between Iran's support of violence and the wishes of some Americans to invade Iran. After Hannity demanded, "He's killing American soldiers, what part of that don't you get?" Dreyfuss responded, "Exactly, and there are people in the United States who are advocating a preemptive war against Iran just like the preemptive war that we waged in Iraq."
When Colmes got his turn to join the debate, he ridiculously suggested that since Ahmadinejad is "conservative" that American conservatives should not be offended by his treatment by Columbia University while Horowitz repeatedly exclaimed, "He's a radical!"
ALAN COLMES: David Horowitz, Ahmadinejad's not a liberal. He's a conservative. He's very right wing.
DAVID HOROWITZ: He's a radical.
COLMES: He was welcome at Columbia University. You shouldn't be complaining.
HOROWITZ: He's a radical.
COLMES: Phil Donohue, Hillary Clinton, they've been all booed off stages. You don't talk about that.
ROBERT DREYFUSS: The left doesn't support Ahmadinejad at all.
HOROWITZ: He's radical.
COLMES: You don't want to hear about that.
HOROWITZ: He's a radical, he's a radical at talking-
SEAN HANNITY: We got to break, guys.
COLMES: He's a right-wing radical.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the discussion from the Monday September 24 Hannity and Colmes on FNC:
[DAVID HOROWITZ, Conservative author]
HANNITY: Mr. Dreyfuss, look, we see how conservatives are treated on college campuses all the time. There's a double standard here. We don't see these very same liberals making the argument about free speech in those instances here. Let me ask you this. You know, here's Ahmadinejad, he denies the Holocaust, he's providing weaponry killing American troops, here's a guy that, you know, why would you provide a prestigious forum for such a maniacal, evil dictator, and a guy that wants to wipe Israel off the map. Can you explain why you would provide him that prestigious forum? [...]
ROBERT DREYFUSS, Author/Journalist: If he had been hit with a pie, would that make it equal because some conservative was hit with a pie? The fact, the issue here-
HANNITY: He's killing American soldiers. What part of that don't you get?
DREYFUSS: Exactly, and there are people in the United States who are advocating a preemptive war against Iran just like the preemptive war that we waged in Iraq.
...
ALAN COLMES: David Horowitz, Ahmadinejad's not a liberal. He's a conservative. He's very right wing.HOROWITZ: He's a radical.
COLMES: He was welcome at Columbia University. You shouldn't be complaining.
HOROWITZ: He's a radical.
COLMES: Phil Donohue, Hillary Clinton, they've been all booed off stages. You don't talk about that.
DREYFUSS: The left doesn't support Ahmadinejad at all.
HOROWITZ: He's radical.
COLMES: You don't want to hear about that.
HOROWITZ: He's a radical, he's a radical at talking-
HANNITY: We got to break, guys.
COLMES: He's a right-wing radical.
