Apparently Chris Matthews doesn't follow any of Media Matters reporting or what David Neiwert and others have been documenting here at Crooks and Liars for some time now since he appeared to be completely unaware that there have been numerous assassination attempts where the perpetrators were fans of Glenn Beck.
Heaven forbid that might entail some time... you know... reading and researching a bit instead of talking over his guests or repeating the latest Villager common wisdom talking points of the day.
During a discussion about Sarah Palin's latest attempt to feign victim-hood to deflect criticism of her crosshairs map, Media Matters' David Brock pointed out to Matthews that yes, words do sometimes have real world consequences when it comes to riling up mentally unstable people who take to heart the type of eliminationist rhetoric we've seen from the likes of Palin and others, and in these cases, Glenn Beck.
BROCK: But this is not street theater, as you know.
Glenn Beck himself has been responsible for three thwarted assassination attempts this year. And Sarah Palin --
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: How is he responsible for them?
BROCK: Well, you want to know what they are?
MATTHEWS: You said it.
BROCK: Sure.
So, he burned Nancy Pelosi in effigy on his set. He tried to poison her with a chalice. OK. Some three weeks later, somebody tried to firebomb Nancy Pelosi`s house. That guy`s mother went on television and said he gets all his ideas from FOX News.
Do you know about Senator Patty Murray and the death threat that she got?
MATTHEWS: No. Go ahead.
BROCK: OK. It`s recorded. The guy says after the health care vote, he says, you have a target on your back and I can accomplish what I want to accomplish with one bullet.
He`s tried, convicted, and in the sentencing phase, his cousin writes in for leniency and she describes in a very chilling memo -- it`s on our Web site -- that he was slowly drawn into Glenn Beck`s world. And she portrays the guy, the attempted assassin, Charlie Wilson, as a victim of Beck.
And, number three, which you probably do know about, this liberal foundation in San Francisco was targeted by a gunman, Byron Williams, in June. The shooter gave jailhouse interviews -- and we published them -- and he says Glenn Beck is a schoolteacher on television and points to specific episodes of the Glenn Becks show that inspired him to do it.
MATTHEWS: Oh, God.
Maybe someone can ask Chris Matthews or his staff to spend a little time taking a look at Media Matters site before he has another one of their contributors on as a guest again.
Full transcript here.
