Union Boss With History of Violence Decries Vitriolic Rhetoric of Right
January 12, 2011 | Filed Under AFL-CIO, Arizona, Democrats/Leftists, Liberals, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 5 Comments
-By Warner Todd Huston
Well, it’s the old “glass houses” story, isn’t it? AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka weighed in on the criminal shooting in Arizona and naturally he blamed the whole incident on “too much vitriolic, hate-filled rhetoric that we hear on radio and television.” This from a guy who has many times used worse rhetoric to incite violence in his unionizing past. Glass houses indeed.
On the AFL-CIO blog, Trumka wrote:
We must find ways to passionately debate and even disagree with each other without using words that can give unstable individuals an incitement to engage in violent acts.
…We do not know why the shooter targeted Rep. Giffords, or if he was influenced—directly or indirectly—by the outrageous rhetoric that’s become all-too-common in our politics.
But “too much vitriolic, hate-filled rhetoric that we hear on radio and television has demonized public servants and candidates as “enemies” and has made them sounds less than human. In the short run, it may inspire passions and votes. But in the long run, it’s toxic to the survival of rational discussion in our democracy. And it’s not worthy of our great nation.
As Pete List of LaborUnionReports.com reminds us, Trumka’s rhetoric helped inspire stabbings and other criminal actions in his days as a young union organizer. In fact, Trumka was involved in the murder of one Eddie York back in 1993.
Then there’s the criminal actions of union thugs in 1989 during the violence soaked Pittson mining strike where Trumka’s followers used shotguns and car bombs to attack their enemies. Trumka was president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at the time. He didn’t seem so worked up against the violence his boys employed back then.
So, yeah… Richard Trumka should know all about “vitriolic” rhetoric that leads to violence and murder. He knows it all to well. In fact, he’s pretty good at it.
____________
“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
For a full bio, please CLICK HERE.
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please register to do so. I hate to do that but there are so many spam-bots out there that deleting spam comments would be a full time job if I were to just open it up for anyone without asking them to jump through a few hoops first.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. Anyone can register. No registrant's information is kept, used, or sold. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Social Networking
Help the Soldiers!
American Genius
Our Founding Ideas- The Declaration of Independence
- The Federalist Papers
- The U.S. Constitution
- Debates of 1787
- The Anti-Federalist Papers
- The Writing of John Locke
"Governments are instituted among men,deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
Recently Written
Featured Sites
What THEY Say:
Foreign News In English
Illini Alliance
Blogroll
of Thinking
Political Parties
Contact Us
Email Publius' ForumArchives
Links
Other Blogs
MilBlogs
Religion
Gun Rights
Education
Separation of School
from State
Radio Hosts
| Blog: |
| Publius' Forum |
Topics: |
| Politics, News, Commentary |
