The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Kook Lefty Bloggers Say Sarah Palin, The Right, Caused the Norway Massacres

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The Spectacle Blog

Kook Lefty Bloggers Say Sarah Palin, The Right, Caused the Norway Massacres

By Matthew Vadum on 7.23.11 @ 9:03PM

Often the Left is so predictable.

While Norway mourns the deaths of the 92 (so far) shooting victims, kook bloggers at FireDogLake, Democratic Underground, and elsewhere are already labelling the alleged killer "right wing." This meme appears to have started with a comment made by a Norwegian political science professor who speculated that the shooter might be "right wing."

Even Sarah Palin is now being blamed for the shooting because the suspect reportedly favored the creation of a European Tea Party.

The media keeps repeating the mantra that the shooter is "right wing." But what does it even mean to be "right wing" in Norway?

The American media doesn't have a clue. American journos would much prefer to parrot a fuzzy idea than offer genuine insight into what happened in Norway.

Very broadly speaking, to be on the right is to favor the status quo or a status quo ante. To be on the left is to favor change or something new. The terms came out of the French Revolutionary period.

Right and left are awful, imprecise descriptors but for whatever reason they have remained popular.

Use of the terms can lead to characterizations of political movements that are absurd on their face. For example, those wanting to topple the Communist system in the Soviet Union of the late 1980s could quite plausibly be referred to as "left wing" even if they wanted to replace Communism with free market capitalism. And I've read more than once in a political science article the bizarre phrase "right-wing socialism."

In much of Europe "left" and "right" mean roughly the opposite of what the terms mean in American political discourse.

Norway's nearby neighbor, Denmark, which is what Americans would consider to be a left-of-center country, is governed by a party called Venstre.

What does Venstre mean in the Danish language? "The Left."

Although Denmark has a huge welfare state and high taxes, Venstre is pro-free market. In America, because Venstre favors less government, it would be labelled "right wing."

This is perhaps too difficult for Reuters and AP and the New York Times to understand.

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View all comments (69) | Leave a comment

Clint| 7.23.11 @ 9:16PM

We'll see if Elron H. attempt to smear The Tea Party for this, now.
?

PCC| 7.23.11 @ 9:35PM

Unless the perpetrators of such atrocities are part of a discrete movement with an acknowledged political agenda (IRA, Islamists, etc.), it is pointless to try to "understand" their motivations. They're madmen.

R Hampton| 7.23.11 @ 9:36PM

The killer's own words:

"Just like Jihadi warriors are the plum tree of the Ummah, we will be the plum tree for Europe and for Christianity."

"Let us be perfectly clear; if you are unwilling to martyr yourself for the cause, then the PCCTS, Knights Templar is not for you."

(PCCTS, he explains, stands for "Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici" or, in English, "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.")

JP| 7.23.11 @ 10:09PM

Obviously this man didn't know his history. The Knights Templar fought in defensive operations across the Mideast. At the same time of the Crusades in Palestine, Muslims had conquered all of North Africa, all of Asia Minor except for areas around Constantinople, the Iberian Penninsula; as well as conducted raids in France, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus, Italy, and the Balkins. The Crusades failed, and Byzantium fell. Muslims invaded and conquered Greece, what is today Yugoslavia, Romania, and eventually reached Austria in the 17th Century. The Knights Templar, in the mean time defeated the Slavs in what is today Prussia and Silesia before falling to the Poles at Grunewald.

And I wager that this so-called "teapartier" is in favor of cradle to grave entitlements, is pro Green, and is in favor of centralized government control of education, energy, agriculture, and industry. Some "conservative".

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 4:45AM

He sounds like a big government authoritarian like Obama.

bluecollarbytes| 7.23.11 @ 9:37PM

Right wing and left wing are meaningless on their own without the political context of the society they exist in.

Joseph| 7.23.11 @ 9:50PM

I don't see any Christians whooping it up and celebrating in the streets, do you? Jesus Christ did not advocate violence.

This man is a lunatic, a lone wolf.

R Hampton| 7.23.11 @ 10:16PM

FYI JP,
Also from the killer:

"Our purpose, seize political and military control of Western European countries and implement a cultural conservative political agenda."

"[W]e should… not exceed (per 2010) aprox. 45 000 dead and 1 million wounded cultural Marxists/multiculturalists in Western Europe,"

"The time for dialogue is over. We gave peace a chance. The time for armed resistance has come."

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 4:39AM

Bill Ayers told an undercover FBI agent it was feasible that 10% of the American population at that time or 25 million Americans would have to die if they didn't accept his vision of a Communist America. Nothing Christian about him.

Kingofthenet| 7.23.11 @ 11:05PM

Well of you are for 'God & Country' like most American Conservatives are ,than you are by definition, 'Nationalist' and Christian. Now there is NOTHING wrong with that in moderation, but EXTREME levels, lead to this guy or Tim McVeigh.

Floyd| 7.24.11 @ 12:18AM

Tim McViegh was no Christian. He was a vegan I hear and pro-animal rights. I guess we should call him a lefty?

BEASTDOG| 7.24.11 @ 8:00AM

Don't forget he was also a registered democrat as well.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 1:35PM

McVeigh's father was a big union guy.

Bubba| 7.25.11 @ 12:13PM

McVeigh claimed to be a Christian. "The Turner Diaries" that he practically worshiped was a racist right wing/borderline Nazi book (I've read it) In the end the hero of the book flies into a government building with a bomb. He timed his "attack" 2 years to the day after the David Koresh compound burned in Waco. I think it is just plain silly to believe McVeigh was a "lefty".

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 2:58PM

Clinton was responsible for the incineration of nearly 100 innocent Americans at Waco. Where's your leftist outrage?

Nazi stands for National SOCIALIST party. Nazis were socialists like you.

Nick| 7.25.11 @ 8:11PM

Bubba,

"McVeigh claimed to be a Christian."

BZZZZZZZZZZZZ! WRONG!

McVeigh rejected Christ. He called himself agnostic.

R Hampton| 7.23.11 @ 11:08PM

The killer's political view:

* Nationalists/conservatives are always portrayed in a de-humanising manner. Dissident views are undermined by demonising the people or organisations that have these views.

* My view of the United Nations is quite clear: It is at best irrelevant. At best. Increasingly, it is turning into an outright enemy, an enemy funded by us but used to attack us. I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m goddam tired of sponsoring enemies, at home and abroad. I’m all for boycotting the UN and making it truly irrelevant by bleeding it dry for funds and ultimately withdrawing from it.

* Not only is multiculturalism a one-way street with the rest of the world flocking into the West and changing it dramatically whilst the nations of these immigrants retain their identities and cultures, the doctrine of Multiculturalism is only ever applied against Western - make that white - people.

* You might know them as environmentalists, enviro-communists, eco-Marxists, neo-Communists or eco-fanatics. They all claim they want to save the world from global warming but their true agenda is to contribute to create a world government lead by the UN or in other ways increase the transfer of resources (redistribute resources) from the developed Western world to the third world. They hope to accomplish this through the distribution of misinformation (propaganda) which they hope will lead to increased taxation of already excessively taxed Europeans and US citizens.

* Christians need to understand that there can be no peace or understanding with the Islamic world. They want to subdue us, pure and simple. Church leaders of all denominations, Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, must stop stabbing Israel in the back and campaigning for a de facto open borders policy while Muslims are threatening to swamp our lands. Yes, Christianity teaches compassion, but it also teaches identifying evil and standing up to it. At the end of the day, the Church must decide whether, in the defence of civilisation, it wants to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution.

Kingofthenet| 7.23.11 @ 11:32PM

Pretty much sounds like ANY regular American Conservative, doesn't it?

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 4:42AM

Maybe, but it's almost unheard of for a Conservative to use violence to further his agenda.

Violence almost always comes from the left.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:28PM

Exactly~ like the veiled and not so veiled threats by your pals, Hauschild and Clint/Tim* that you always jump on the bandwagon with!
Hypocrite going today by the name, "Joseph".
Troll.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 3:19PM

Certifiable.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 3:30PM

No, just truthful.
You're a liar.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 10:13PM

Name one lie I've told, nutball.

Margie| 7.25.11 @ 12:37AM

Every word that comes out of your pitiful mouth concerning me, you pitiful piece of trash.

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 1:31AM

Exactly. There are none. Shame on you.

Floyd| 7.24.11 @ 12:20AM

This guy was also pro-Palestine, anti-Israel and pro-gay agenda I understand. I bet he favored welfare and entitlements, if only for Norwegians.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 1:30AM

If he was pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel and pro Gay agenda, he'd be right at home with Clint/Tim*, Michael Hauschild and the other lying Libertarians.

Clint| 7.24.11 @ 9:07AM

You're A Serial Slandering Liar Apocalyptic Crank Lady Victor-Margie-Sybil-Sandy.

If You're Not Going Into One Of Your Serial Anti-Catholic Rants, You're Into Your Israel Firster Propaganda Rants.

Smoke This RINO-CINO Propaganda Broad.

"Support for Ron Paul Runs High Among Members of the Military.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), an official candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is extremely popular with members of the U.S. military. On July 19th, Paul held his “Ready for Ames” Money Bomb Radio Marathon, raising more than $550,000 from supporters to expand the Texas Congressman’s “first-class campaign in Iowa.” It’s likely that more than a few of the contributors to Paul’s “Ready for Ames” money bomb were men and women in uniform.

In fact, Paul’s popularity is so high among U.S. service members that the Texas Congressman’s presidential campaign has received more money from U.S. soldiers than any other candidate in the 2012 presidential race."

The Tea Party Rebellion Is Ramping Up For The 2012 Elections Now.

Carpe Diem.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 1:40PM

Spoken by the resident Master Propagandist himself, who is is sick and perverted as Satan himself.

Who trashes all conservatives here on a daily basis is they aren't Michael Sheuer, Ron Paul lunatic fringe scumbags.

Micheal Scheuer is where Clint gets his talking points.

His ilk hates Christians, "Israel-Firsters", "Neo-cons", et al:

" Israel-Firsters, Evangelical leaders, and Neoconservatives: Each of the above problems is worsened by these U.S.-citizen-dominated but fundamentally anti-U.S. and Islam-hating entities; indeed, they also are fundamentally anti-Israel entities. Safely ensconced in North America with family, employment, and bank accounts safe, these groups champion a maximalist position for Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinians; hunger for America to be at war with Iran — a non-threat to the United States; and work for an ever-increasing level of Western hatred for Muslims. These individuals are both war-lovers and cowards, ready to push others into fighting and dying for their selfish objectives, while they remain unctuously self-righteous and personally safe far from the front. Together these three groups are one of the main reasons America is facing an endless war with Islam, and the loyalty of each to a foreign nation — and their effective lobbying for that nation — will drive increases in defense and intelligence spending."

http://non-intervention.com/

These so-called men are worse than Communists, if that's even possible.

Clint| 7.24.11 @ 2:05PM

Spoken Like The Zany Crazed Traitor Bitch Israel Firster & Anti-Catholic Joisey White Trash Trailer Trash Bigot You Are, Apocalyptic Crank Lady Victor-Margie-Sybil-Sandy.

Scheuer's Patriotic Credentials Trump Your Screwball Traitor Bitch Israel Firster Fanatic Credentials, Apocalyptic Crank Lady Victor-Margie-Sybil-Sandy.

Michael F. Scheuer is a former CIA intelligence officer, American blogger, historian, foreign policy critic, and political analyst. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies. In his 22-year career, he served as the Chief of the Bin Laden Issue Station (aka "Alec Station"), from 1996 to 1999, the Osama bin Laden tracking unit at the Counterterrorist Center. He then worked again as Special Advisor to the Chief of the bin Laden unit from September 2001 to November 2004.

Michael Scheuer:
" The cost of the Arab Spring:
The fall of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia and our efforts to overthrow the Libyan and Yemeni regimes eliminates four major counterterrroism allies. These disasters come after we destroyed our best counterterrorism ally — Saddam Hussein — and replaced him with a government that, after U.S. forces leave, will have neither the interest nor the capability to prevent Sunni mujahedin moving through Iraq to the Levant and other destinations to the West. And the cost of removing Syria’s President al-Asad — if that occurs — will be to make even easier the westward travel of Sunni fighters from South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, the wonderful “Arab Spring” hailed by Obama, Clinton, Graham, and McCain will soon present the U.S. and British intelligence communities with an enormous amount of new, expensive, and manpower-intensive work that was once done to help protect America and its allies by those we paid — until we decided to knife in the back. Those costs will, of course, will come on top of the huge amounts both parties are bound to spend on useless efforts to build secular democracies in the former Arab tyrannies. "

The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.

Carpe Diem.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:29PM

Keep proving my point.

Oldefarte| 7.24.11 @ 11:38AM

I don't know which is worse, the lunatic fringe of the liberal left or the Rossism radicals of the right. The only common denominator is their INSANITY. This McVeh type nut job obviously was mentally deranged and a lunatic. For the liberal controlled MSM to assign blame to conservatism and their political candidates is asininely absurd and putridly stupid. Typically after 9/11/01, these idiots were beating their drums in favor of a copycat McVeh type being responsible, and were embarrassingly attempting to cover the truth up throughout the investigation and revelation of the facts, and no doubt will be doing likewise in this case. it just goes to prove that anyone of intelligence should place their local newspapers in their respective paper shreaders or use same after using their bathroom toilets!!!!!!!!

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 1:44PM

The Leftist MSM will use this tragic event to try to re-elect Obama just like Clinton used Oklahoma City for his own gain. Democrats are garbage.

Bubba| 7.25.11 @ 12:15PM

why not stick to facts instead of guessing or "betting"?

Fred| 7.24.11 @ 4:58AM

What a weak defense. The guy was a right wing, fundamentalist christian loony with guns - yep, perfect tea party material. And your defense is to say their right wing is not our right wing??

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 5:43AM

Except the Tea Party's not violent, doofus. Guess you forgot that and the fact that you goons on the left always use violent tactics to push your anti-American agenda.

Get off your soapbox, hypocrite.

BEASTDOG| 7.24.11 @ 8:55AM

Hay dumbass any violance that has been committed in regards to the tea party has been done by liberals toward peacefully tea party people so knock it off. better yet try moving out of your moms basement and get a job like to rest of us.

Fred| 7.24.11 @ 10:07AM

Or what? You will come after me with a gun? Darn peace loving, Senator shooting, tea partiests. Right wing? You betcha!

BEASTDOG| 7.24.11 @ 11:16AM

Hay dumbass Fred did you even read my post, you seem based on your reponse to be one of two things or may be both, you are ether a tipical liberal leftist who is very angry with the world or a public school educated child ( which would be my first guess) maybe 12 to 14 years old who is clueless about the real world. If you are the angry liberal leftist my only suggestions to you is to put down the crack pipe move out of mom's basement and get a job like the rest of us do. If you are the young child I believe you really are I only have this to say: some day when you grow up like the rest of us you will learn that the world does not run on rainbows and unicon farts like the fantasy land that liberals like to live in, the real world runs on hard work, caring for your family and having faith in God and in you country, sadly you will not learn that in school you will have to find that out for youself, the rest of us have.

Clint| 7.24.11 @ 11:34AM

Or we'll sprinkle holy water on you & you'll melt into a puddle.

Begone Little Devil Troll.

The Tea Party Rebellion Is Ramping Up For The 2012 Elections.

Carpe Diem.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 1:43PM

"But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Acts. 19:15.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 1:41PM

Senator shooting? Was a US Senator attacked?

Giffords was a congresswoman, moron, and Loughner is a Leftist lunatic who murdered a Conservative judge.

Oldefarte| 7.24.11 @ 3:52PM

No Fred, the term 'right wing' is a manufactured term by the historically liberal MSM to label, castigate, smear the conservatism wing of the Republican Party as radical McVey type nut-jobs. This little worthless cretin in Norway was not a active conservative VOTER of a political party, but simply a radical-extremist terrorists. Conservative Republicans relegate their political wishes legally through VOTING, not through VIOLENCE. The leftist MSM wing of the Democratic Party ASININELY misslabel all Republicans [especially conservatives] as 'right-wingers', just as they assign labels such as RACISM, DISENFRANCHILEMENT, DISCRIMINATION, GENTRIFICATION etc to conservatives slanderously!!!!!!!

GT| 7.24.11 @ 9:47AM

All of American conservatism is to blame for the hate and racism that has spread through Norway and elsewhere in Europe. Not to worry though.
Judgement day is coming for fascists like Jean Marie Le Pen, Sarah Palin, Breitbart and their apologists.

Independent voters will reject the lies and propaganda of the far right hate machine.

Your goose is cooked!

Wayne | 7.24.11 @ 1:15PM

Did you read the quote of Ayers above, or are you another instigator?

GT| 7.24.11 @ 1:26PM

I am a concerned American doing my best to prevent fascism from coming to the United States -- though it may be too late for that.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 1:37PM

Too late! You fascist liberals are already here!

beastdog| 7.24.11 @ 1:45PM

You claim to want to prevent fascism and racism in America but based on your post you sound like you are and you vote liberal democrat who are nothing but racist and fascist and based on your post you sound like you are full of hate. A little projection here?????

GT| 7.24.11 @ 2:49PM

I am an Independent.

Fascism is the corporate ownership of the means of government.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 3:22PM

Exactly. Looks like the unholy alliance of Obama's administration and Government Motors.

You are a fascist.

GT| 7.24.11 @ 4:00PM

See, Merrill Lynch. See, Donald Regan, former CEO of Merrill Lynch who then became the Treasury Secretary for President Reagan.

See, Goldman Sachs and Henry Paulson.

See the documentary film "Inside Job."

The corporate takeover of the government is not confined to one political party. We don't have a Democracy, or even a Republic. The politicians do not represent the people who voted for them. They don't even represent themselves.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 10:17PM

There are many leftist bankers who have joined Obama's administartion. You are the very fascist you claim to abhor, moron.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 10:18PM

If you believe both parties are corrupt, why didn't you attack democrats, too?

You are a typical lying leftwing hypocrite.

tonypal| 7.25.11 @ 10:49AM

You correctly state that "Fascism is the corporate ownership of the means of government." Then you go on to use examples of men who were involved in corporate governance to one extent or another prior to entering government.

So if I understand you correctly, a person who previously sat on the board of a company prior to entering government is exactly the same as the executive branch of the federal government taking ownership and control of a corporation. Do I have that straight genius?

simon templar| 7.25.11 @ 10:54AM

No, he is incorrect and has it just the opposite. It is government control, dominance, and direction over the corporate sector.

simon templar| 7.25.11 @ 10:51AM

You have it just the opposite of its meaning. It is government collusion and dominance over business. It is a hybrid political philosophy created by Mussolinni..the word comes from a latin one meaning bundle. It is a Leftist philosophy and an another form of socialism that is nationalistic rather than international that colludes with, instructs, and dominates the corporate sector unlike communism which is international and outlaws any form of corporatism and free markets. Pick up a book before you shoot your ignorant mouth off.

Bubba| 7.25.11 @ 12:21PM

Even the Republicans can't get along with these crazy Teabaggers. In 2012, they will probably have a republican candidate and a teabagger candidatate thus splitting the right wing vote at the least or a huge victory by the Democrats.

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 3:00PM

Don't think so. When it comes to saving our country, Republicans will unite to beat the Marxist in Chief.

Fred| 7.24.11 @ 12:10PM

"Mr Breivik describes himself as a Christian and a conservative"

Wayne | 7.24.11 @ 1:14PM

Who cares? He is a killer and represents neither Christians or conservatives. So you lame attempt to generalize is not only illogical, it is bigoted.

Joseph| 7.24.11 @ 1:38PM

So? Only a liberal would believe the word of a mass murderer.

Oldefarte| 7.24.11 @ 3:55PM

What if he described himself as the second coming of JC, would you then elect him as president [as you obviously did on 11/4/08]????????????????????

tonypal| 7.25.11 @ 10:54AM

Hey Fred, when leftists like yourself apologize sincerely for the 20th century and over 100 million plus dead resulting from your ideology, or when your political party apologizes for hundreds of years of slavery, Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan, then you can come back here and discuss violence and hatred.

simon templar| 7.25.11 @ 10:57AM

He is a mentally deranged person. He could claim to be a carrot or a cabbage. It does not mean that I am going to stop eating carrots or cabbage.

Skip| 7.25.11 @ 10:35AM

The upside is that it's no longer George Bush's fautlt.

simon templar| 7.25.11 @ 11:07AM

There are three truisms that you can always use to spot a liberal:
1. The person's citicisms of his opponents are actually projections of himself
2. His arguments always start with a false premise.
3. What he says he will do will be opposite of what he actually does.

GT| 7.25.11 @ 1:36PM

You just described the Karl Rove method.

Such name calling and ad hominems on this blog
rather than actual facts and history. Tsk. Tsk.

Whatever boosts your ego.

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 3:02PM

Truth hurts, doesn't it,?

Fabio| 7.25.11 @ 8:10PM

Well, all we can do is quote the guy:

"Breivik's manifesto chronicled events that deepened his contempt for Muslims and "Marxists" he blamed for making Europe multicultural."

"From September 2009 through October 2010, Breivik posted more than 70 times on Dokument.no, a Norwegian site with critical views on Islam and immigration. In one comment, he entertained the idea of a European Tea Party movement."

"In the document Breivik styles himself as a Christian conservative, patriot and nationalist. He looks down on neo-Nazis as "underprivileged racist skinheads with a short temper"."

hmmmmm doesn't sound like a "lefty" to me.