October 30, 2002

Ted Rall accuses President Bush

Ted Rall accuses President Bush of killing Sen. Wellstone and then has the gall to claim such an accusation is Bush's fault. Rall writes:

The fact that we're having this discussion at all is a symptom of the polarizing effect that Bush and his top dogs have had on the United States since assuming office and even more so in the hard-right free-for-all that followed the Sept. 11 attacks. Presidents routinely cause their political detractors to take offense, but one would have to go back to Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to stack the U.S. Supreme Court or Richard Nixon's wiretapping and enemies list to find another American leader who crossed the line of acceptable discourse as extremely as George W. Bush has done.

Huh? Sure, Bush was polarizing at the beginning of his Presidency because of the controversial way he won the election, but since the terrorist attacks last year, the country has rallied around him. Maybe for Rall and the fringe anti-war Left he represents using clear, morally unambiguous language like "axis of evil" and defeating "evildoers" is polarizing. Maybe preventing Saddam from having nuclear weapons is polarizing.

To suggest a President had a Senator killed with no evidence whatsoever is unethical and irresponsible. I'll be waiting for an apology from Rall that will never come.

"The (Possible) Assassination of Paul Wellstone" [via Right Wing News]

UPDATE: Jim Stingl was interrupted at the health club by a Rallian conspiracy nut. Just so you're not completely lost if this talk ever gets on Art Bell here's some of the pro-assassination "evidence":

The plane was built by Raytheon, which also makes cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs. An on-scene reporter said the weather wasn't a factor, but we keep hearing it was. We haven't seen many still or video images from the crash scene. How come there's no cockpit voice recorder? Why had the plane drifted off course just before landing?

"Wellstone Death All Adds Up - 2 + 2 = 5"