Murdered Doctor Target of Campaign by Bill O'Reilly; Meanwhile, Wingnuts Celebrate Success of Domestic Terrorism, While Right-Wing Hypocrites Speedily Try to Distance Themselves

by Damozel | While the trigger of the gun that murdered George Tiller in his church was pulled by one Scott Roeder, but it also seems that the so-called "abortion doctor" was the target of an ongoing campaign by Bill O'Reilly. At Salon, Gabriel Winant writes:

When his show airs tomorrow, Bill O'Reilly will most certainly decry the death of Kansas doctor George Tiller, who was killed Sunday while attending church services with his wife. Tiller, O'Reilly will say, was a man who was guilty of barbaric acts, but a civilized society does not resort to lawless murder, even against its worst members. And O'Reilly, we can assume, will genuinely mean this.  (emphasis added)

Can we assume it?  All righty then. 

But there's no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly... Tiller's name first appeared on "The Factor" on Feb. 25, 2005. Since then, O'Reilly and his guest hosts have brought up the doctor on 28 more episodes, including as recently as April 27 of this year. Almost invariably, Tiller is described as "Tiller the Baby Killer."

Tiller, O'Reilly likes to say, "destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000." He's guilty of "Nazi stuff," said O'Reilly on June 8, 2005; a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida, he suggested on March 15, 2006....

Oh and that ain't all.

O'Reilly has also frequently linked Tiller to his longtime obsession, child molestation and rape. Because a young teenager who received an abortion from Tiller could, by definition, have been a victim of statutory rape, O'Reilly frequently suggested that the clinic was covering up for child rapists (rather than teenage boyfriends) by refusing to release records on the abortions performed.  (Salon)

We all know that nobody on the right is ever held accountable, so I've no hope that O'Reilly will even receive a slap on the wrist from the Murdoch News.  I don't think anyone who pays attention can fail to concede that O'Reilly did his bit to bring about some such result.  It's he who suggested that this doctor -- who did nothing illegal -- was no better than a criminal on the loose. 

And -- lest I seem to be "targeting" O'Reilly -- let me just say that what I want from him is shame; an acknowledgment that perhaps it's possible to go too far; and more shame.  I wouldn't in my wildest dreams want anyone to touch a single hair on his thinning head.  What I want is to see him hold himself responsible; or -- if that is not possible, and it isn't -- to see his aiders and abettors do so.

McClatchy has the full report on the killer's support for killing off "abortion doctors".  Yes, this is -- in the words of Matt Yglesias -- "terrorism that works."  ""Every time you murder a doctor, you create a disincentive for other medical professionals to provide these services.""  HuffPost has more about the success of fundamentalist terrorism (which Sullivan calls "Christianist terrorism").  That's at least five murdered doctors attributable to the far right's anti-abortion efforts.   (If you want a hollow laugh, read the Malkin's attempt to distinguish "extremism" from "terrorism."  Pooooooooor Michelle Maaaaaaaaaalkin, somebody's trying to blaaaaaaaaaame her by extension/association again.)

Right blog Little Green Footballs has posted a piece under "extremism" and "hate speech" that tracks comments posted by the killer at "Operation Rescue."   The guy was batshit crazy, but I can only infer, not too crazy to stand out on those message boards.  .

Meanwhile, speaking of bats,  the Freepers -- who have sometimes dropped in here to revile us, bless their half-baked hearts -- are celebrating this murder along with quite a lot of others, as LGF also reports.  Some of the most vicious identified by LGF are posting at a Fox News affiliate website.  If you've got a very strong stomach, or are as used as we are to that sort of  fellow "American," go here and read the comments he has compiled.  LGF's Charles concludes:

Some right wing blogs are closing comments on threads about the murder, and judging from the vile, sick stuff you see above, that’s probably a good idea.

This is very, very bad craziness, at its worst. Shame on all you people who are gloating and partying over a murder that took place inside a church. And you call yourselves “Christians?” What the hell is wrong with you?

But also adds:

I’m pleased to say that LGF did not join in this orgy of murder celebration; we had a few over the top comments, but they were quickly deleted, and a couple of people lost their accounts.

I'm too dispirited to say what needs to be said about this and about other right-wing bloggers who are speedily moving to distance themselves from the murder.  Hey, at least the Freepers and others who are cheering aren't hypocrites.   Give them that.   

Think Progress has more on the far right's reaction.  But there's also this:

Attorney General Eric Holder said “the murder of Doctor George Tiller is an abhorrent act of violence. … As a precautionary measure, we will also take appropriate steps to help prevent any related acts of violence from occurring.” And President Obama released a statement expressing his shock and outrage. “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence,” Obama said.

Of course, it ain't only about abortion and abortion rights. Remember Jim Adkisson, who shot a lot of Tennessee Unitarians while they were attending religious services?  His immediate influences included Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Michael Savage.  

Memeorandum has more.

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Comments

[rbt]

Notice two people were shot, one killed at a Recruiting Station, does that mean Code Pink and all the Anti War Protestors should be assailed because the spoke out against the military and the war and said people were criminals?

My answer No. O'Reilly is no more guilty then Code Pink for these deaths.

There are sick people out there and bad things happen.

Just some non-kool aid thoughts

[James]

Apples and oranges, dude. The assailant at the recruiting station was, if I recall correctly a converted Muslim - if I were to guess his motives, they are unlikely to have anything to do with the rhetoric from pacifist (which is basically what Code Pink is) or otherwise antiwar pundits and activists. What strikes me in the writings and actions of these folks is the lack of violence - either advocated or practiced.

It would be a mistake to assume a "leftist" ideology to that particular dude.

On the other hand, we do know a good deal about the rhetoric and tactics used by Operation Rescue and O'Reilly, which typically been eliminationist in tone and prone to intimidation tactics in practice, and the assailant who assassinated Tiller had a long association with those particular entities.

Now there are some Muslim religious extremists who consider themselves at war with what they perceive of as a decadent "West" and who have their own set of gripes regarding US military actions in Muslim countries around the world (some of those gripes admittedly are legit). A Muslim extremist attacking a US military recruiting station would actually seem quite analogous to a Christian extremist killing a physician who performs abortions.

I'd offer that if you spent some time reading what Muslim extremists advocate and Christian extremists advocate, they end up amounting to the same thing: convert or kill; death to infidels, ad nauseum.

[Alexandra Cannon]

That is preposterous. How does someone express an "eliminationist tone"? "No, he never said to kill people, but his tone made it clear." That is ridiculous. And intimidation tactics? I would like to hear what those consist of, please. (And especially what O'Reilly's tactics of intimidation are). People are allowed to express a viewpoint in this country, even if it is in opposition to a dearly-beloved liberal tradition of protecting the right of women and underage girls to abort unborn babies at any stage, for any reason, with as little information as possible and without notification to parents (let alone permission!). Tiller was dispicable. I can think that and even say it out loud without advocating violence.

I think that if someone is going to be so irresponsible as to say that Christians advocate murdering the unconverted, they need to provide some corroborating evidence.