Rick Sanchez Blames FOX for Cop Killings

Rick Sanchez holds FOX News and Right-wing talk radio responsible for the killings of three Pittsburgh police officers, shot to death by Richard Poplawski.



Matthew Balan, NewsBusters, writes:

After denying that the Obama administration had actually expressed its desire for a ban on “assault weapons,” he then provided his own biased take on the matter:

SANCHEZ: Here’s the real issue here: Poplawski [the murderer of the Pittsburgh police officers] may not be alone in this crazy, “they’re coming to get us” mindset. There is evidence of a gun buying panic. According to the FBI, there have been 1.2 million more requests for background checks of potential gun buyers from November to February than there in the same four months last year....Who is stirring the pot?...Who is trying to use this to get people to not trust President Obama, and more importantly, is there any truth to the fear of more restrictive gun ban? That’s what I’m going to tackle when I come back.

When Sanchez finally began the segment, he went further in his left-wing, anti-conservative rhetoric:

SANCHEZ: The failing economy; the election of Barack Obama, the nation’s first minority -- minority president; and then there’s the garden-variety fear and hate mongering provided compliments of Fox News night in and night out. That’s where Glenn Beck is seen night after night, talking about doomsday, about the country coming apart, while his counterpart Sean Hannity calls the president a socialist, and worse, implying day in and night out that he’s trying to destroy America. Here’s an apparent result. Americans are scarfing up guns and ammunition at an alarming rate. Growing numbers of people appear to believe that the government wants their weapons.

Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America, was part of the discussion. He was yapping about the militia movement and militia rhetoric coming from FOX and talk radio.

ERIC BOEHLERT: Well, I think people on the right and the single-issue passionate people are desperate to find some sort of opening so they can -- they can push this -- this narrative. I mean, Glenn Beck yesterday on his radio show said Barack Obama will take away your gun any way -- one way or another -- he’s going to take away your gun. This message has been on Fox News for weeks and months, and it’s not just the gun control issue. They are painting, as you mentioned, sort of this doomsday scenario, almost mainstreaming this militia idea of tyranny and, you know, totalitarian state in America. It’s incredibly irresponsible to be doing.

Boehlert continued to push the notion that gunowners are part of a "militia movement."

BOEHLERT: Well, you know, saying the government is growing in size is a lot different than saying they are going to come knock on your door and take your guns, that democracy in America is on the wane, and that we’re going to turn into a socialist or Marxist or fascist, depending on what week it is with Glenn Beck. That's quite a leap, and again, that’s incredibly irresponsible. We have never seen, you know, a television news outfit, you know, sort of exploit these kind of fears before, and they’re doing it on a daily basis. And again they're basically mainstreaming this militia -- this militia movement and this militia rhetoric.

It's completely unfair for Sanchez to suggest that the murders of the three officers in Pittsburgh are related to FOX News.

To blame the deaths of police officers on FOX is crazy. It's a deranged thing for Sanchez to say.

True, it's been reported that Poplawski posted on Stormfront, a white supremacist website; but it's a big leap to equate a site like Stormfront with a news operation like FOX.

FOX News is NOT a neo-Nazi outlet. It's ridiculous for Sanchez and Boehlert to claim that FOX and talk radio are creating a dangerous environment by stirring up fears by the stirring the pot, telling people not to trust Obama.

The "militia" talk Boehlert is hearing from Glenn Beck is a figment of his imagination.

For eight years, CNN and MSNBC and NBC and CBS and ABC and the New York Times and the Washington Post and the majority of media in the country spread the message that President Bush was akin to Satan.

Elected officials were relentless in their criticism of President Bush and reckless in their remarks.

The disgraceful senator from Wisconsin and presidential wannabe, Russ Feingold, said the Bush "administration has done the greatest assault on our Constitution perhaps in American history."

Talk about stirring the pot!

Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity are NOT promoting a militia movement. Good grief.

And they are not responsible for what Poplawski chose to do.