Right Wing Feigns Outrage Over Delahunt’s Quip, Claims Addington Will Now ‘Be Targeted’ By Al Qaeda
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 28th, 2008 4:36 am by HL
Right Wing Feigns Outrage Over Delahunt’s Quip, Claims Addington Will Now ‘Be Targeted’ By Al Qaeda
Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted an exchange between Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) and Cheney chief of staff David Addington, in which Addington claimed he could not talk about torture techniques because “al Qaeda may watch C-Span.” Delahunt quipped in response, “Right. Well, I’m sure they are watching, and I’m glad they finally have a chance to see […]
Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted an exchange between Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) and Cheney chief of staff David Addington, in which Addington claimed he could not talk about torture techniques because “al Qaeda may watch C-Span.” Delahunt quipped in response, “Right. Well, I’m sure they are watching, and I’m glad they finally have a chance to see you, Mr. Addington.”
The right-wing is feigning outrage over the comments, incorrectly interpreting Delahunt as having called for al Qaeda to attack Addington. “Inappropriate,” said Megan Mitchell, spokeswoman for Vice President Cheney. “Inciting Al Qaeda to violence,” chimed in Rep. Steve King (R-IA). “That’s absurd. That was not my intent,” Delahunt said in reaction to the exaggerated criticism.
Delahunt’s sarcastic remark about Addington’s penchant for secrecy was the subject of a segment on this morning’s Fox & Friends. Co-host Brian Kilmeade attempted to argue that Delahunt put Addington at risk because “now al Qaeda can see you and understand who’s putting this policy together.” Geraldo Rivera responded:
Fox News airs in 144 countries. They [al Qaeda] knows what’s going on. We tell them what’s going on. That’s the risk of having an open society.
Kilmeade then argued Addington will now “be targeted” by al Qaeda. Rivera and co-host Gretchen Carlson both disagreed, responding, “That is a stretch.” Carlson said if al Qaeda “wanted to knock someone off, they’re going to choose someone at a higher level.” Rivera added that Addington would not “be in the bullseye.” Watch it:
