They've Got To Be Carefully Taught

[This post will be updated periodically as I find additional quotes from Republican leaders and their apparatchiks.  I think it's important to maintain a repository of this Republican track record.]

[Updated, 12/14/05]

[Note, 10/26/05: I've noticed, when people point to the language in this post as examples of the reactionary and violent nature of the Republican Party, a lot of Republicans and so-called "centrists" chime in with "Both sides do it" and "I could find Democrats saying mean things too."  Well, no both sides don't, and no you couldn't.  The quotes from this post are not just some random Republican individuals or Republican bloggers saying mean things.  If I wanted that, I could stroll into any comment thread at LGF or Free Republic, or for that matter, at Political Animal.  The people quoted below are Republicans with substantial power to affect the public discourse, whether as media apparatchiks, political advisors or lobbyists at the highest possible levels, or elected officials.  And it's not just mean things; it's statements suggesting liberals be eliminated, exiled, killed.  You absolutely can't find Democrats or liberals of equal rank saying anything of the sort.]

Wondering where the "Liberal Hunting License" mentality could come from, and why people think that's OK?

Courtesy of William Rivers Pitt:

"I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for."

        - Rush Limbaugh, Denver Post, 12-29-95

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"Environmentalists are a socialist group of individuals that are the tool of the Democrat Party. I'm proud to say that they are my enemy. They are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans."

        - Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Alaska Public Radio, 08-19-96

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"Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him."

        - Rep. James Hansen (R-UT), talking about President Clinton, as reported by journalist Steve Miner of KSUB radio who overheard his conversation, 11-01-98

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"We're going to keep building the party until we're hunting Democrats with dogs."

        - Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), Mother Jones, 08-95

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"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building."

        - Ann Coulter, New York Observer, 08-26-02

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"Chelsea is a Clinton. She bears the taint; and though not prosecutable in law, in custom and nature the taint cannot be ignored. All the great despotisms of the past - I'm not arguing for despotism as a principle, but they sure knew how to deal with potential trouble - recognized that the families of objectionable citizens were a continuing threat. In Stalin's penal code it was a crime to be the wife or child of an 'enemy of the people.' The Nazis used the same principle, which they called Sippenhaft, 'clan liability.' In Imperial China, enemies of the state were punished 'to the ninth degree': that is, everyone in the offender's own generation would be killed and everyone related via four generations up, to the great-great-grandparents, and four generations down, to the great-great-grandchildren, would also be killed."

        - John Derbyshire, National Review, 02-15-01

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"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."     

        - Ann Coulter, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 02-26-02

And then:

"This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today."

         - Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay, Statement regarding Terry Schiavo, 3/31/2005

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"I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. . . . And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence."

        - Senator John Cornyn (R - Texas), April 4, 2005

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"Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, they will have no problem socializing with the Republicans. Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant, but when they've been fixed, then they are happy and sedate. They are contented and cheerful. They don't go around peeing on the furniture and such."

        - Grover Norquist, Republican Leader of the K-Street Project, November 4, 2004

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"Let me put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts to the region the words of Senator Durbin, certainly putting America's men and women in uniform in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals."

        - Karl Rove, Political Advisor to George W. Bush, June 22, 2005

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"Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining everything and they don't care, couldn't care less."

        - Bill O'Reilly, June 20, 2005

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"While our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line each day to defend our safety and to protect our freedoms, I am sure the least they expect is the backing and the support of their leaders at home.  To the contrary, what we've seen from Democrat leaders is a growing pattern of jumping at any chance to point the finger at our own troops, bending over backwards to promote the interests of terror-camp detainees while dragging our military's honored reputation through the mud."

        - Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), chair of the House Republican Conference, June 23, 2005

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"[It] is just inconceivable and truly incorrigible that in the midst of the war, that the Democratic leaders would be conducting guerrilla warfare on American troops. ... [The Pelosi/Waxman proposal for an independent commission to investigate conditions at Guantanamo Bay is] simply another example of some Democrat leaders trusting the words of terrorists over the proven decency of U.S. troops."

        - Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), June 23, 2005

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"The Republican leadership priority is to have our troops hunt down, kill or capture terrorists before they try to attack us again at home. The Democratic leadership priority is to actively engage in the politics of division and distraction that can undermine our national security in favor of a left-wing agenda."

        - Ron Bonjean, Spokesman, Republican House Leader Dennist Hastert, June 23, 2005

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"And I think people like Tim Russert and the others, who gave [Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV]  such a free ride and all the media, they're the ones to be shot, not Karl Rove."

        - Rep. Peter King (R-3rd Dist. NY), Scarborough Country, July 12, 2005

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"Wouldn't it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick 'em out. We'd get rid of Michael Moore, we'd get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there."

       - Rush Limbaugh, August 11, 2005

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[Ms. Coulter] also criticized the media for being liberal and Democrats for whining about their rights under the First Amendment.

"They're always accusing us of repressing their speech," she said. "I say let's do it. Let's repress them."

She later added, "Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the First Amendment."

       - Ann Coulter, October 21, 2005

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"Aljazeera has broadcasted an insurgent video today, shows four peace activists taken hostage in Iraq, with a previously unknown group claiming responsibility for the kidnappings. The unknown group is the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, and they said the four were spies working undercover as Christian peace activists, according to Aljazeera. Aljazeera said that it could not verify any of the information on the tape. The aid group Christian Peacemaker Teams has confirmed that four of its members were taken hostage on Saturday. ..."

"Yeah, all right. Now, let's take this at face value just for a moment. This could all be BS. I mean, we've never heard of the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. This could all be a stunt, but let's take it -- well, let's take it both ways. We'll take it face value at first, then we'll look at it as a stunt second. I said at the conclusion of previous hours -- part of me that likes this. And some of you might say, "Rush, that's horrible. Peace activists taken hostage." Well, here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality."

        - Rush Limbaugh, November 29, 2005

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"All right, these people were dead wrong then. They have been wrong about most everything they have said for the last 15 or 20 years, and even beyond that. They're wrong about Iraq. They are cut-and-run quitters in Iraq. They are defeatists. They are invested in it. This guy Murtha -- I've been thinking more and more about what he said about the Army being broken down and unable to deal with these car bombs and so forth. And it just infuriates me. It just -- it just infuriates me."

"What are you looking at me this way for? It just -- it just infuriates me. He's up there going on and on and on about this, and he's -- he may as well be broadcasting this on -- on Aljazeera. They're gonna pick it up, talk about it. Our troops hear it. He's the biggest morale booster that -- that -- that the enemy has in Iraq."

        - Rush Limbaugh, December 2, 2005

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Howard Dean should be arrested for treason. He should be arrested for treason. He should be put into a hole somewhere and left there until the war in Iraq is over for what he is doing. Because he doesn't see any good news at all. The good news is -- to him -- is we lose the war. Because then he says and feels that they can take back the House, the Senate and the White House. We have people in this country from the left who probably jump up and down every time an American loses his life. Or her life. Because they're thinking politics instead of what really is going on.

Howard Dean will never be on my show in his lifetime. And Howard Dean should be arrested for treason. And if not hung, put in a hole.

...

  As I said on the show, as I said on the show, Howard Dean should be arrested for treason and either hung or put in a hole until the war's over.

       - Michael Reagan, December 5, 2005

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MULLER: Guys, I do want to do one serious thing today. Howard Dean ought to be kicked out of America.

KILMEADE: Absolutely.

MULLER: He ought to be tried for treason. He is the enemy. These people, these Dummy-crats -- I'm not a Republican. I'm a Libertarian --

...

MULLER: This is the head of the Democrats!

HILL: Hey, Mancow --

MULLER: These people want every boy to die. They're bloodthirsty animals. Howard Dean is a vile human being. I can't believe it.

...

MULLER: Because you'll ask him questions. You'll ask him real questions -- and if I sound like I'm ranting and raving and furious, well, it's because I am. But this guy, this guy is bloodthirsty. He is evil. I'm telling you, I really think every time you report another dead body in Iraq, they go, "Hoo hoo, it's perfect!"

       - Erich "Mancow" Muller and Brian Kilmeade, December 6, 2005

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"We've won the war already, and for the Democrats to say we can't win it -- what kind of a statement is that? And furthermore, one of the fundamental principles we have in America is that the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and attempts to undermine the commander in chief during time of war amounts to treason. I know we have an opportunity to express our points of view, but there is a time when we're engaged in a combat situation that carping criticism against the commander in chief just doesn't cut it."

      - Reverend Pat Robertson, December 7, 2005

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O'REILLY:  The ACLU, I think, is a grossly irresponsible, irresponsible organization that is going out of its way to help Al Qaeda, that I don't think ABC News is in that category at all. I mean, I think they're doing what they think is best for the country. The ACLU is doing what they think is best for the country they envision, not the country we have now, but certainly is aiding and abetting the enemy. Do you agree?

GINGRICH: Yes. I think the ACLU has been taken over by a group of people whose vision of America is so weird and so contrary to the overwhelming values of over 95 percent of the American people. And they are so aggressive in pushing some of the most extreme cases that one has to wonder what their underlying core values are. I mean, it's almost as though they were into destruction for its own sake and weakening and undermining America for its own sake. And certainly in a free society, you have to put up with a certain amount of this kind of behavior. But I do think there's a point to which it's legitimate to say that the ACLU is a consistently destructive organization that is opposed to and undermines the values of most Americans, and takes positions that are consistently weakening the security of the United States.

      - Bill O'Reilly and Newt Gingrich, December 8, 2005

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The Democrats are giving aid and comfort to the enemy for no purpose other than giving aid and comfort to the enemy. There is no plausible explanation for the Democrats' behavior other than that they long to see U.S. troops shot, humiliated, and driven from the field of battle.

They fill the airwaves with treason, but when called to vote on withdrawing troops, disavow their own public statements. These people are not only traitors, they are gutless traitors.

- Ann Coulter, November 24, 2005

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Democrats are "basically giving aid and comfort to the enemy."

- Rep. Michael Burgess, R- 26th District, Texas, May 10, 2004 

Comparing liberals and Democrats to animals.  Calling them traitors. Calls to repress them. Metaphorical violence.  Apologia for real violence.  I can't imagine where we've seen that before. And I certainly can't imagine how that sort of thing from Republican political leaders and their apparatchiks could possibly lead to the Liberal Hunting License mentality.

[Hat Tip:  Moment of Triumph for many of the more recent quotes.  See also Crooked Timber for a similar list.]

Comments

[ryan]

I think it's due to their polemic/binary thinking - a basic/deep flaw in American culture. If I believe in an absolute good and an absolute evil, then decide I am good, then everything and everyone that doesn't agree with me is evil. We all watch sports and learn to cheer our team and hate the other... well, that's training all our brains to apply that thinking to other races, sexes, religions, and, if we're belligerent enough, other ideas.

[Azbob]

i have been a closet cynic my whole life. I am now born full of tremendous hatred and scorn. I am the looniest of the loonies now. It seems that we are in bed with those with whom we oppose. WAKE UP people, you are in the midst of the greatest scam ever perpetuated upon people. Ah, shit, go shop at Walmart and I will continue to live in my cave...

[Ian Welsh]

Very nice collection Paper. You gonna cross-post it, or do I have to? ;)

[Scaramouche]

If you want more of this trash talking check out Rush Limbugh's Top 50 Bumper Stickers

[iocaste]

Boston Globe:

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said the high court is so out of control, it needs a constitutional amendment to say that ‘‘unless a judicial vote is unanimous, you cannot overturn a law created by Congress.’’ In a story in Newsday, Donohue said, ‘‘I’m going to try to do my job to intimidate the Senate Judiciary Committee so they do their job more carefully.’’ Asked by Newsday if he really meant to use the word intimidate, he answered, ‘‘Absolutely.’’

[Ben Jones]

So John Derbyshire is openly Stalinist. Who knew?

[Ted Barlow]

Thanks, paperwight, I'll have to save this link.

[dru]

"Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, they will have no problem socializing with the Republicans. Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant, but when they've been fixed, then they are happy and sedate. They are contented and cheerful. They don't go around peeing on the furniture and such."

- Grover Norquist, Republican Leader of the K-Street Project, November 4, 2004

And here I thought Norquist was a nut. Nope, he's accurately describing most of today's Dems.

[Lex]

Why do the Republicans hate America?

[snuh]

yeah, they're all pretty bad, but hats off to derbyshire for managing nevertheless to distinguish himself:

"now, on principal, i'm not a nazi. but wow, those nazis sure were awesome!"

[The roots of racism]

[Text removed for inexcusable incoherence. --PW]

[Eric Martin]

Wow. Great list. I've got some more for the pile FWIW:

Rush Limbaugh:

"I'm going to tell you is what's good for Al Qaeda is good for the Democratic Party in this country today. That's how you boil this down. And it doesn't have to be Al Qaeda. What's good for terrorists is good for John Kerry. All you got to do is check the way they react. [3/15/04]

So the only real question is, if Al Qaeda's active and capable, what are they going to do? Because we know what they want: they want Kerry, they want the Democrats in power. They'd love that -- I mean, based simply on what they're saying and how they're reacting to what happened in Spain. I'm not guessing. [3/15/04]

They [Democrats] celebrate privately this attack in Spain. [3/16/04]

I mean, if you wonder -- if you want the terrorists running the show, then you will elect John Kerry, who is a bed brother with this guy who just won election in Spain. [3/18/04]

I'm telling you, we're in the midst of a huge liberal crackup. They are so motivated by the quest for power. They are so motivated by rage and hatred, that they are not in power. And they focus that on Bush. That they have aligned themselves unwittingly -- I'm going to grant them that -- with those who intend harm on this country. [3/24/04]

You don't hear the Democrats being critical of terrorists. In fact, you hear the Democrats saying, "We've got to find a way to get along with them." [4/5/04]

[Speaking about Democrats] I don't know who they are, I don't know what they believe, but I can't relate. I can't possibly understand somebody who hates this country, who was born and raised here. I don't understand how you hate this Constitution. I don't understand how you hate freedom. I don't understand how you hate free markets, but that's who elites are, because freedom and free markets challenge their power. It's the only thing I can come up with. I know it's much more insidious and hideous than that, but I still can't relate to it." [3/16/04]

Linda Chavez:

"The young Kerry seems to have fallen in the latter category, communist apologist. ... John Kerry deserves to make atonement to the Vietnamese people -- not for what he did as a young soldier but for what he has done ever since to justify communist tyranny in Vietnam and elsewhere."

Grover Norquist:

"If the Democrats win the Presidency, they can veto Republican advances. If they lose, they don't eat. The very sinews of their political power will decay with increasing speed. The Democratic coalition will be weaker, shorter, and poorer in 2008 than 2004. This sense of desperation explains the "hatred" and vicious attacks on Bush.

This should not surprise us. Expect the crescendo to grow through 2004. The other team isn't being unreasonable. It is reacting rationally to a real threat to its ability to function. Anything short of placing snipers on the rooftops of D.C. would be an underreaction by the Left.

Cornered rats fight. Hard."

Kathleen Parker

Miller is not alone, though some are more sanguine when it comes to evaluating the roster of contenders. Here's a note I got recently from a friend and former Delta Force member, who has been observing American politics from the trenches: "These bastards like Clark and Kerry and that incipient ass, Dean, and Gephardt and Kucinich and that absolute mental midget Sharpton, race baiter, should all be lined up and shot."

Rabbi Daniel Lapin

I am absolutely convinced that God is far from finished with the story of the United States of America. ... First of all, [there's] the matter of the little battle that must be fought, just as it was in the 19th century." There were, and are, "two incompatible moral visions for this country. We had to settle it then. We're going to have to settle it now. I hope not with blood, not with guns, but we're going to have to settle it nonetheless. The good news is that I think our side is finally ready to settle it. Roll up its sleeves, take off its jacket, and get a little bloody. Spill a little blood. We'll settle it. And we'll win. And then there's no holding us back.

From the irreplaceable David Neiwert:

http://www.dneiwert.blogspot.com/2004_06_13_dneiwert_archive.html

[eRobin]

In case Neiwert has any you missed.

[eRobin]

D'oh - sorry. I'm in a rush and didn't read the newest comments. We must really like Neiwert.

[Josh Jasper]

Rep. Sam Johnson [R-Texas] -

"Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry about Syria anymore."

Said while in church, recounting a suggestion he made to President Bush.

[Donelle Glatt]

There is too much war in the world. Reggae for everyone!