Pushback

I didn't realize it was hate speech when it was about Christians, conservatives, etc. I have to give Terry Moran credit for this article. If we are going to oppose hate speech, we need to oppose even that with which we agree.

This isn't hate speech. It's called free speech. We all have a right to our opinions and are free to express them. Although strong, she states her views. Nothing wrong with that or John Edwards 'associating' with a person who does.

Pretty mild comapred to the extreme hate stuff you hear on Fox News, Limbaugh etc. Kudos to the person who pointed out that in the past this was called free speech.

Has Terry Moran and his straw men gone to work for the swift-boaters?

hmmmm.... sort of reminds me of a Robert Hienlien story about a man that spent his life finding a cure for a horrible disease. Then he caught it himself and still couldn't cure it so he decided that "on me it does look good!" Most liberals remind me of myself when it comes to mirrors, now that I am old and fat I don't like mirrors any more than they do....

Yikes! I would not even talk to a nasty person like that!

A: Marcotte was speaking her opinions and the truth as she sees it.
2: There is plenty of documentation she could site to back up her opinions.
III: Free speech is free speech- opionions, profanity and all. Everyone should have it, everyone should use it.

To characterize her work as hate speech is ridiculous, especially when you read the rhetoric to which she is reacting. And what does this really have to do with John Edward's candidacy, anyway?

Yes, hate speech. What's the point? Really? I never have understood why so many attack Christians. Sure there are fringe, fundamentalist groups, just like there are left of left liberals.

But to impart that Christians are about the destruction of Islam is pure hogwash. Christians didn't fly planes into the World Trade Center. Muslims did.

Whatever your beliefs, we are Americans. We should use that right to free speech to build bridges, find common ground rather than stand toe to toe yelling obscenities at each other. I mean does anyone, any single party have all of the answers?

Hate speech is hate speech, whether from a democrat or a republican. You a learn a lot about a person by watching the people they associate with. Marcotte's comments say something about her, and a lot about Edwards.

If a Republican candidate teamed up with a right-wing blogger who spewed this kind of venom, how would people react?

IF????

Are you serious?

This is hardly hate speech. It may be raw and not my style, but it doesn't fall within the parameters of hate speech. Perhaps you're thinking of Limbaugh, Colter and Savage? They are the real experts on hate speech in commercial blog/radio show America today.

what small, mean people you are on the left!! And any grasp you ever had on reality is long, long gone....

I love that Moran even asked the question "Is it ok to trash Catholicism and not Islam?" The obvious answer to that in politically correct America is "Of Course." It's been fair gam on Catholics for a long time.

The whole concept of terming anything hate speech is horrifying to me as far as being a way to limit what can be said. Marcotte may be vicious, rude, vile and often wrong, but in the America I was taught she has an absolute right to be all of those things as publicly as she chooses.

Difference between Marcotte and Limbaugh, Coulter, et al. is that none of them work directly for a Presidential candidate as Marcotte does. And Coulter uses prett impeccable footnotes when she rips somebody.

It is ok for uneducated people to express their opinion in America.
I might not agree with people that are full themselves,however; I will defend their right to express even hateful words.
Someday they will grow up.

The Republicans are no strangers to abusive, even insulting speeches from their biggest fans as well - for examples see Rush Limbaugh's radio show, any one of Ann Coulter's books or articles, or Matt Drudge's Radio Show, just for openers. The also spout hate speech whenever it suits them, but as Plato said "Though I may not agree with anything you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Also, I would like to point out that she is now in Edward's employ, and I'm sure will be tailoring her comments to fit his much less offensive views, not her own.
And there is no such thing as guilt by association - there is guilt by actual wrongdoing. None of these comments are from Edwards himself. This article is partisan tripe akin to Karl Rove asserting during the Republican primaries last time around that McCain was too crazy to be President because he was a POW in service to his country. Pathetic.

It shocks me how uninformed people can be. Limbaugh and the others do not spout hate. They may express dislike for people and policies, but not hate. I don't think Marcotte is spouting hate either, but she is attacking beliefs which she does not understand, clearly, and throwing out ridiculous generalizations about whole groups. She ignores facts (reference the Duke case) and really reveals her extreme dislikes (men, especially white men, Christians, conservatives, basically anyone she disagrees with). That is purely juvenile. Grown-ups can disagree and still like each other. Guess politicians and "pundit-wannabes" can't.

I often wonder what has happened to all that our fore-fathers fought for, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, etc. Yet we still don't give those freedoms freely. If voices are never to be heard, how can anyone make a difference; if MLK was unable to make his speeches, march his marches, where would we be today. What has changed is not our freedom, but the lines of those freedoms. If you are from a red state, more power to Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc; and to hell with anyone with different views. If you are part of the blue states, it's the same thing!

Barrack O'Bama said it plainly and purely, there is no red state, blue state, only the United States. When people start being told what they can write, what they read, who they can listen to and to whom they must live their lives like, then we might want to call ourselves, China, North Korea, Cuba. We are beginning to be more and more intolerant of each other and our government isn't helping in that matter, if nothing more, they are pushing us further apart.

We are one nation, one people of many different variations in color, thinking, etc. If we an unable to speak or write what we feel than this nation is going to explode at the seams, maybe our own little civil war.

Terry Moran, as much as I know you don't respond to those who question you, I just ask this, what is the role of a reporter, what is your role in this blog? If the media is to maintain a "bipartisan" atmosphere, stories like this one must also be followed by stories from the other side as well.

That someone blogging for ABC would decry "hate speech" by progressive bloggers while someone like Glenn Beck appears regularly on their network is sadly not surprising.

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/glennbeck

Interesting to read the comments from liberals here. To sum up, "Yeah, we hate Christians, what's the big deal?"

Of course she has a right to say this juvenile stuff, but the question is, does it show good judgement on the part of the Edwards campaign to hire someone like this?

Believe me, I'm hoping he keeps these bloggers on the payroll. This can and be used against him now and further into the campaign.

These comments are hysterical!

"Pretty mild comapred to the extreme hate stuff you hear on Fox News, Limbaugh etc"

Said the person who's obviously never listened to either.

"If the media is to maintain a "bipartisan" atmosphere, stories like this one must also be followed by stories from the other side as well."

Yeah, because God knows the networks never run anything critical of conservatives.

You guys have given me my chuckle for today!

It's not hate speech... since it's directed at Christians. Were she to say the same about Moslems... well what's the point...she'd never say that about Moslems since they might actually kill her for her speech.

Better to trash talk the folks that'll turn the other cheek than the ones that'll cut your empty head off.

In any case she has the right to say what she wants... but Edwards may have to bear the consequences of her opinions.

Terry Moran has posted verbatim examples of what he considers to be attacks that are over the line. Many posters on this board have accused right-wing pundits of the same without providing examples. Propose posting verbatim quotes of the offenses of the right so that we may see what is actually said.

On another note, I highly encourage John Edwards to hire left-wing hatemakers to help him get his message out. (Look how well loved Karl Rove is). It'll do wonders for his campaign and besides, it's traditional to whip the public into high-dudgeon over the usual scapegoats.

Observer wrote:

"The Republicans are no strangers to abusive, even insulting speeches from their biggest fans as well - for examples see Rush Limbaugh's radio show, any one of Ann Coulter's books or articles, or Matt Drudge's Radio Show, just for openers."

For the sake of argument, we can take the assertion that Limbaugh, Coulter, and Drudge have used abusive language toward liberals as true.

The problem, Observer, is that none of those persons has been hired for a prominent position in a presidential campaign. So, to say that there are conservatives who use hateful language is to miss the point of Moran's post, which is what the Marcotte affair says about Edwards' judgment.

I would add that I cannot think of a single prominent conservative blogger who uses such venomous language. The guys at Powerline, Hugh Hewitt, and Captain Ed are always gracious advocates of their views. Malkin can be acerbic and even catty, but she's never vulgar. Glenn Reynolds (who does not accept the label "conservative", but let's just go with it for now) is about as much of a gentleman as can be.

But among the prominent left-wing bloggers, it's quite common to see venomous, hateful, and even profane diatribes. Sometimes, I have to wonder if their hate is all that they have.

Sally,

Educate yourself.

"but as Plato said "Though I may not agree with anything you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.""

Try again. This time check out Voltaire.

I am delighted to see so many liberals Dems rushing to Edwards defense over this. Delighted! If they encourage Edwards to publicly hesitate just a little on 'free speeech' grounds before firing her, he's toast. Now, if only Hillary and Obama can make similar gaffes.
Oh, and "free speech" means the government can't sanction you. It doesn't mean Edwards can't fire you. Why do liberals have such trouble with simple ideas like this?