Wasn't Gabriel Giffords shooting enough for the NY Times? NYT compares GOP House members to Al Qaeda, say 'biggest threat to national security'

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Wasn't the shooting of Gabriel Giffords enough for the NY Times?

7/23/11, "Republicans, Zealots and Our Security," Nicholas Kristof, NY Times Op-Ed Columnist

"So let’s remember not only the national security risks posed by Iran and Al Qaeda." "...The biggest threat to America’s national security...comes from budget machinations, and budget maniacs"...

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Atlantic Wire commends NY Times column as among Sunday's 5 best:

7/24/11, "Five Best Sunday Columns" Atlantic Wire

2. 7/23/11, "Nicholas Kristoff on the Republican Threat to National Security"

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The NY Times advances inflammatory and terrorist rhetoric against members of congress about a financial matter Obama has known about for over 2 and a half years. He has not passed a budget the entire time he's been in office, never even submitted one until earlier this year and it was defeated 97-0. The NY Times ignores this and suggests you, 'erupt in outrage' at GOP 'domestic extremists,' and when you think about national security risks don't just think about Al Qaeda, think of the House GOP.

7/23/11, "Republicans, Zealots and Our Security," Nicholas Kristof, NY Times Op-Ed Columnist

"IF China or Iran threatened our national credit rating and tried to drive up our interest rates, or if they sought to damage our education system,

• we would erupt in outrage.

We tend to think of our national security narrowly as the risk of a military or terrorist attack. But national security is about protecting our people and our national strength — and the blunt truth is that the biggest threat to America’s national security this summer doesn’t come from China, Iran or any other foreign power. It comes from budget machinations, and budget maniacs, at home.

House Republicans start from a legitimate concern about rising long-term debt. Politicians are usually focused only on short-term issues, so it would be commendable to see the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party seriously focused on containing long-term debt. But on this issue, many House Republicans aren’t serious, they’re just obsessive in a destructive way. The upshot is that in their effort to protect the American economy from debt, some of them are willing to drag it over the cliff of default....

So let’s remember not only the national security risks posed by Iran and Al Qaeda. Let’s also focus on the risks, however unintentional,

• from domestic zealots."

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What does the NY Times think will happen by comparing elected representatives to brutal killers and torturers? Are the people who voted for them therefore terrorists too?



This picture of Norway mourners over victims of the "right wing" killer appeared at the top of the Atlantic Wire page praising the NY Times story equating the GOP and Al Qaeda

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GOP House leaders



via Weasel Zippers

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2/5/10, "Obama, at National Prayer Breakfast, calls for civil political debate," Washington Post, Michael A. Fletcher

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To the NY Times: Obama trashed precious taxpayer time and expense on a 2400 page 'budget' so bad no democrats voted for it (May 2011). This has been Obama's only attempt at fiscal matters since he came to office and it was defeated 97-0.

5/30/11, "Washington is Broken, and Needs Leadership. Where is President Obama?" Senator Ron Johnson, RedState.com

"I’ve been here in Washington for 5 months now, and I am more convinced than ever that our political and budget process is horribly broken. The Democrat controlled Senate has not passed a budget in over 760 days. Last week, President Obama’s FY 2012 Budget was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 0-97. Let me repeat that, ZERO to 97. The President’s budget that was unveiled as THE solution to our long-term fiscal problems did not receive a single vote in the United States Senate.

This is a stunning indictment of the President’s lack of leadership and seriousness. I don’t know how many thousands of man-hours that over four inch thick, 2400-page budget document took to create, but it was a total waste of time and resources. That is a very sad fact. Instead of acknowledging this failure, the Administration and members of the President’s party have been viciously demagoguing the only other budget plans offered, and engaging in a concerted effort to scare the American public and financial markets over the debt ceiling limit."...

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via Weasel Zippers, via NewsBusters