Clinton alludes to 1995 bombing, says words matter

Source: Associated Press

Former President Bill Clinton warned of a slippery slope from angry anti-government rhetoric to violence like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, saying "the words we use really do matter."

The two-term Democratic president insisted he wasn't trying to restrict free speech, but in remarks Friday he said incendiary language can be taken the wrong way by some Americans. He drew parallels to words demonizing the government before Oklahoma City.

On April 19, 1995, an anti-government conspiracy led by Army veteran Timothy McVeigh exploded a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people.

"What we learned from Oklahoma City is not that we should gag each other or that we should reduce our passion for the positions we hold — but that the words we use really do matter, because there's this vast echo chamber, and they go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the connected and the unhinged alike," he said.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_go_ot/us_clinton_heated_rhetoric

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Well-said President Clinton! Well-said.

Thanks for the thread, RainMickey.

I'm glad President Clinton is speaking out on this sort of hate-speech. These people are dangerous.

from both the left and the right!!! Just check many of comments often made here on the DU if you don't believe me.

I did check and I don't see any way the two are comparable.

People mock each side for sure but most people on here are not calling for violent removal of the republicans.

Also most cricisim on the right here is based on actual facts not racisim or being poor losers. It's about actual policy.

Shill for the RW much?

...yes, today's right-wing rhetoric is (Pick one or more) disgusting, ignorant, vicious.

What is especially frightening is that it's supported by corporations and lobbyists. Given the recent Supreme Court ruling, we have to really be on our toes with this sort of thing.

Guess civil wars are good for ratings?

They might be in danger of us storming the gated castles if we aren't killing each other

more..thank you.

I'm glad to hear him say this.

are trying to stir up enough hatred to do something stupid like blow up a building or assasinate a major politician.
They are encouraging the nutjobs, teabaggers and militias to spew hate at Obama, the main target of the really racist conservanzis.
The conservanazis are purging the republiKKKan party's candidates to go further right.
Chris Mathews and Keith Olbermann had several good comments about the idiots led by Faux News (NOT). :freak:

...and it never has been.

Geeze, open a few threads around here and see for yourself.

This political equivalency thing is getting really old. The country is awash in right-wing armed terrorist wannabes, being stoked to new levels of hysteria by prominent hate merchants every day. If you want to compare that to some heated exchanges here at DU, feel free to do so. Just don't wait around for much in the way of informed support......

I saw a lot of people mocking Bush on this forum.
A lot of people were worried about the patriot act and angry about the war.
But the level of violent rhetoric, arming up and basically distorting the facts is not even close.
I'm all for balance but only if both sides are equal.

It's called common sense and decency. And, as always, it takes a Democrat to point out the obvious common sense and decency. Never leave that job to Republicans... or you get the likes of Palin, Bachman, Hannity, Beck, Rush... ect., etc., etc.

A little Fairness Doctrine to break up the non-stop right wing indoctrination on talk radio would go a long way in diffusing the lunatic fringe before they resort to violence.

Just five minutes out of every hour for some progressive rebuttal would deflate Limbaugh's crescendo effect of whipping the knuckle draggers into a froth for three hours everyday