The “All-Star Panel” during FNC’s Special Report always can be counted on to contribute outstanding opinions and Wednesday was no different as they slammed a New York Times editorial blaming not radical Islam but Republicans for Orlando that National Review’s Jonah Goldberg dubbed perhaps “the single dumbest editorial in the history of The New York Times.”
Before turning to Goldberg, host Bret Baier read extensively from the far-left paper’s lead editorial, which declared that “[h]ate crimes don’t happen in a vacuum” but instead “where bigotry is allowed to fester, where minorities are vilified and where people are scapegoated for political gain” by those on the right.
“Tragically, this is the state of American politics, driven too often by Republican politicians, who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish,” it added.
Goldberg immediately chimed in and seemed at a lost for words before admitting that “this might be the single dumbest editorial in the history of The New York Times” where one could “hit it from any angle and get some reward.”
The astute columnist and purveyor of the G-File continued by further exposing this head-scratching rationale:
First of all, the guy was a registered Democrat, right? He swore allegiance to ISIS and somehow, it’s the Republican opposition to gay marriage that is somehow associated with this? You know, I know for a fact that a lot of the founders of the Nazi Party were gays. Should we revisit the issue of Nazism based on the fact they were homosexuals? It's ludicrous[.]
Making a point about how both President Obama and the liberal media don’t want to talk about Islam, Goldberg concluded that they instantly want to deflect from radical Islam and “want to move the conversation back to comfortable topics like gay rights and gun control and it is just a giant con.”
Baier seem quite astounded at The Times when he noted their omission of radical Islam from the piece plus only one nod to the term “terrorist at the very bottom.”
Daily Caller founder and Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Tucker Carlson rounded out the topic a few moments later when he linked that The Times did with how CNN’s Anderson Cooper conducted himself on Tuesday with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi:
[T]his kind of the Anderson Cooper position, which if you have a problem with gay marriage, you inspired this attack. No, this is not, again, this is not an American form of homophobia. This is a Middle Eastern form. So why is it America's fault? What you're see something very recognizable if you have talked to liberals or listened to the President, this is America's fault. No, actually it's not.
The transcript of the discussion from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on June 15 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
June 15, 2016
6:44 p.m. Eastern
BRET BAIER: Well, as you know, there are many different perceptions about Orlando and the causes and the motives. I want to read The New York Times main editorial today in which it says: “While the precise motivation for the rampage is unclear, it is evident that Mr. Mateen was driven toward hate for gays and lesbians. Hate crimes don’t happen in a vacuum. They occur where bigotry is allowed to fester, where minorities are vilified and where people are scapegoated for political gain. Tragically, this is the state of American politics, driven too often by Republican politicians, who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish.” Continuing: “As the funerals are held for those who perished on Sunday, lawmakers who have actively championed discriminatory laws and policies, and those who have quietly enabled them with votes, should force themselves to read the obituaries and look at the photos. The 49 people killed in Orlando were victims of a terrorist attack. But they need to be remembered as casualties of a society where hate has deep roots.”
JONAH GOLDBERG: I'm reluctant to say this, but this might be the single dumbest editorial in the history of The New York Times. I — it's like a pinata, can you hit it from any angle and get some reward. First of all, the guy was a registered Democrat, right? He swore allegiance to ISIS and somehow, it’s the Republican opposition to gay marriage that is somehow associated with this? You know, I know for a fact that a lot of the founders of the Nazi Party were gays. Should we revisit the issue of Nazism based on the fact they were homosexuals? It's ludicrous and one of just like with the gun stuff that Tucker was talking about, it’s one of these examples from the top down from Barack Obama to a lot of the mainstream media, they don't want to actually talk about this for what it is which is a terrorist attack. A guy motivated and inspired by radical Islamic terrorism. Instead, they want to move the conversation back to comfortable topics like gay rights and gun control and it is just a giant con.
BAIER: Mara, I mean, there is a the whole back and forth about radical Islam and what the President said yesterday, whether you say it or don't say it. There's no Islam in this editorial. There is one word, terrorist, at the very bottom. That’s it.
MARA LIASON: You know, some people have called Donald Trump a cartoon caricature of the left’s verison of what a Republican politician is. This is the cartoon caricature of what people would say about a liberal editorial page. However, there is no doubt that terrorism, anti-gay hatred, and easy access to assault weapons were all part of what happened. To say that it's only one thing is ridiculous.
TUCKER CARLSON: It's a very specific species of anti-gay hate. It's the Islamic species, that's exactly right and so really —LIASSON: Or self-hatred in the case of this guy?
CARLSON: Perhaps.
BAIER: We should point out that it's not clear that he wasn't gay.
CARLSON: Well, that's exactly right, but this kind of the Anderson Cooper position, which if you have a problem with gay marriage, you inspired this attack. No, this is not, again, this is not an American form of homophobia. This is a Middle Eastern form. So why is it America's fault? What you're see something very recognizable if you have talked to liberals or listened to the President, this is America's fault. No, actually it's not.
