Below is the letter to the editor I submitted to Connecticut Post, a truncated sanitized version of which was printed today:
Earlier this month Hearst Newspapers' chief political correspondent for Connecticut Ken Dixon wrote on his blog: "Got A Bright Idea, like Hang the Lawmakers?" Really. He was referring to an upcoming meeting of the Commission on Enhancing Agency Outcomes (CEAO) chaired by Democratic State Senator Gayle Slossberg, which is looking for ideas to streamline government and cut spending. That was Mr. Dixon's notion of a bright idea: "Hang the Lawmakers". Later, attributing criticism to "a couple of the more sensitive, or possibly guilty, lawmakers", Dixon retracted his remarks. But referring to hanging lawmakers, then stating that those who complain are "guilty", actually makes his words more threatening.
Though Mr. Dixon might have thought he was being funny, he wasn't. And it is certainly not the sort of comment that should ever come from the chief political reporter for Hearst Newspapers, the largest newspaper company operating in Connecticut. Certainly not today, given the rise in violence and threats of violence across the country.
Right-wing provocateur Hal Turner is being prosecuted for threatening the lives of federal judges and elected Connecticut state legislators on his webcast. He stated, "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed," according to the June 24 indictment. "Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty. A small price to pay to assure freedom for millions." The FBI indicated that Turner threatened the lives of State Senator Andrew McDonald (D-Stamford) and State Representative Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven). As the late Capitol police chief Michael J. Fallon remarked,
"(Turner) is inciting others through his website to commit acts of violence and has created fear and alarm. He should be held accountable for his conduct."
In light of Chief Fallon's remarks, should Mr. Dixon be treated differently?
Let's also recall that Dr. George Tiller, a doctor in Kansas who provided abortion services, was murdered earlier this year. Far-right Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly had for years demonized Dr. Tiller, repeatedly labeling him "Tiller the baby killer" and once said,
"..if the state of Kansas doesn't stop this man, then anybody who prevents that from happening has blood on their hands."
O'Reilly didn't actually tell people to murder Dr. Tiller, but he used inflammatory language that could be interpreted to support violence against him. The weak-minded can be egged on to violence by this sort of inflammatory speech in the media.
Mr. Dixon's "hang the lawmakers" remark was made in an atmosphere of rising threats of right-wing domestic terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis issued a report in April warning that, "Right wing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for right wing radicalization and recruitment." Death threats against President Obama have surged, according to author Ronald Kessler, running 400% higher than against George Bush, and stretching the Secret Service to its limits.
Mr. Dixon's "hang the lawmakers" remark is especially troubling coming from a journalist, a profession whose practitioners are themselves particularly vulnerable to violence. The Committee to Protect Journalists lists 795 journalists as having been killed around the world since 1992, including 93 in 2009 alone, making this the deadliest year ever. And journalists are far more likely to be killed investigating political and economic corruption than to be killed in war zones. So for Mr. Dixon to display such blindness to the violence perpetrated against fellow journalists, while hinting that violence against politicians is a "bright idea," is shameful and irresponsible.
Mr. Dixon might try to suggest that he was only joking. But no one should find it funny, not his readers, and certainly not Hearst management. In these times, no one should be making jokes about killing anyone, least of all journalists suggesting violence against government officials.
Ken Dixon, the political reporter for Connecticut Post, just wrote on his blog "Got a bright idea, like Hang the Lawmakers?". Really. No joke. He was referring to an upcoming meeting of the Commission on Enhancing Agency Outcomes (CEAO), chaired by Gayle Slossberg, which is looking for ideas as to how to streamline government and cut spending. That was Dixon's notion of a bright idea: "Hang the lawmakers".
The thing is, it's not funny. And it is certainly not the sort of comment that should ever come out of the pen of the chief political reporter for Hearst Newspapers, the largest newspaper group in the state of Connecticut, indeed, the chief political reporter for one of the country's largest newspaper congomerates. Right-wing provocateur Hal Turner is being prosecuted for threatening the lives of Connecticut judges and elected legislators on his web broadcast. He said on his broadcast, "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed," according to the June 24 indictment. "Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty. A small price to pay to assure freedom for millions." The FBI also indicated that Turner had threatened the lives of state senator Andrew McDonald (D-Stamford) and state representative Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven). Should Ken Dixon get a pass when he hints that hanging elected officials in this state is a "bright idea", especially when his suggestion of violence was carried not on an obscure website, but in one of the state's most widely read newspapers? Just how much difference is there between Turner's call to kill judges and lawmakers and Dixon's "bright idea" of hanging lawmakers? Given the violent and hateful behavior of the tea party nutjobs during last summer's town hall meetings, and the dramatic rise in death threats against President Obama, is this really the sort of comment that should be coming out of anyone's mouth or pen? Is anyone in doubt that there are violent nutjobs out there who might just take Dixon up on his "bright idea"? Even for Ken Dixon, this is a truly stupid- and dangerous- thing to write.
Just how stupid do you have to be to write this sentence:
"It you like this fiscal crisis, thank a Democrat. They have dominated the Legislature since 1997, when the $10.4 billion budget had a $263 million surplus."
That pearl of wisdom came from Ken Dixon of the Connecticut Post in his February 6 column. Now let's just start with the fact that this is the same character who referred to Congressman Jim Himes just after his election as "a forty two year-old blank slate". Yep, Harvard grad, Oxford Master's, Rhodes Scholar, Goldman Sachs exec, chairman of the Democratic Party in Greenwich, top national executive for a major affordable housing non-profit- yep, Ken, that's a blank slate, alright! A man entirely void of accomplishment. You nailed it, Kenny Baby!
So that Ken Dixon now blames the Democrats in the state legislature for engineering the current fiscal crisis. Nope, he doesn't blame George Bush's policies that plunged us into the steepest job losses since the end of WW II, that have seen per capita auto sales fall to those during WW II, that have bankrupted our banking system, that have decimated Wall Street, that resulted in the worst stockmarket performance for any president since Herbert Hoover, that resulted in the worst job creation since Herbert Hoover. Nope, Kenny D blames the majority Democrats in the Constitution State, even though the state achieved fiscal surpluses for years until this current national crisis broke out. And he doesn't blame congressional Republicans for shortchanging Connecticut by returning back to the state barely 69 cents on every dollar of federal taxes we send to Washington, the third worst mark of any of the fifty states. Nope, for Kenny D, none of that reality is important. That's all for those silly denizens of the "reality-based community" to consider. In Kenny D's journalistic Lalaland, none of that matters.
(Wow. This is an awesome letter. Thanks Sue! - promoted by spazeboy)
Yes, the luau-shirt wearing reporter who spent Ned Lamont's campaign badgering him about his money finally receives a well-deserved kick in the pants by Doug Hardy, an associate editor of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester. This letter appeared in Dixon's own paper, The Connecticut Post.
(Unfortunately, the Connecticut Post doesn't put their letters to the editor online, so a link is unavailable. If you don't believe me, go buy Sunday's edition).
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