FOX Airs Smear Ad Against Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Reported by Marie Therese - October 3, 2004 -
Continuing with its policy of giving free air time to sleazy Republican propaganda (cf. Swift Boat Vets, RNC anti-Kerry ads, Buried in the Sand), on 10/1/04 at 5:20 PM EDT during Big Story, host John Gibson broadcast a defamatory ad being run by Congressman George Nethercutt (R-WA) as part of his campaign against popular Washington State Senator, Patty Murray.
True to the patterns established by the Republicans in 2000 against John McCain, in 2002 against Max Cleland, and now in 2004 against John Kerry, Nethercutt's ad goes like this:
(Begin ad.) When most Americans think of Osama bin Laden, they think of this (clip of Ground Zero rubble). Patty Murray has a different view of bin Laden. Clip of Patty Murray speaking in a high school classroom, dated December 11, 2003 saying "He's been out in those countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities and the people are extremely grateful. He's made their life better. We have not done that..." (End clip of ad)
GIBSON (grinning widely): Uh-oh. Turned out there WAS (his emphasis) a tape of those disturbingly positive words about the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden....But does the ad take her words out of context? Is the ad unfair? Here to answer is the candidate behind the ad, Republican Congressman George Nethercutt.
GIBSON: Listen, it's tough for me to take her side of this, but I'm going to for just a moment (laughs). She's trying to explain why there is sympathy for Osama bin Laden in the Muslim world. Now, her actual explanation is WRONG (his emphasis), but nonetheless you make it sound as if she is a supporter of Osama bin Laden. (facetiously, in a sing song voice) Didn't you cross the line?
NETHERCUTT (smiling): No, sir, we did not go over the line. These are Sen. Murray's words. They're not taken out of context. She's making assertions to students that we somehow have to understand Osama bin Laden, that somehow we're at fault, we haven't done what he's done, which is patently false. We've done great things for people all around the world. And he hasn't. He's a killer and I guarantee you there are no day care centers or hospitals that women or children could use in places like Afghanistan. I don't know what countries she's talking about.
GIBSON: So are you attacking her for her factual errors about Osama bin Laden or the fact that she seems to be offering an explanation as to why people in his area of the world would be following him?
NETHERCUTT: I think she has a different philosophy of how you fight the war on terror.
GIBSON (feigning surprise): What?! Understanding, nurturing, culturing, hugging?
NETHERCUTT: Sure. I...
GIBSON (laughs again): Now, come on, Congressman.
NETHERCUTT: Can't we all get along? (laughs)
GIBSON (still laughing): You're not really saying she wants to go out and give Osama bin Laden a big hug and make everything all right, are ya'?
NETHERCUTT: No. Look. I would hope not.
[BIG FACT comes up on the screen: ELWAY POLL: NETHERCUTT IS 20 POINTS BEHIND SEN. MURRAY]
NETHERCUTT: But to make this assertion that somehow Osama's done these great things and people love him, which they don't, terrorists do, we don't, no one else does, and that we haven't - that's a false assertion.....
Nethercutt outlines some examples of Murray's voting record that he disapproves of.
GIBSON: But, Congressman, the real question everybody wants to know is how'd you find the tape? We've known she said this. It was reported but there was no tape, no tape, no tape. Suddenly, it is political season time and Congressman George Nethercutt HAS the tape. How did you get the tape?!
NETHERCUTT: We got it from the school district as far as I understand. They taped it and we obtained it from them, as far as I know. It's been out in the real world - it's been on FOX News, I think - the words that she said, in the past.
GIBSON: No. The words were.
NETHERCUTT: Ok, but not the tape?
GIBSON: As far as I know, I've never seen, but maybe I missed it. (According to a 1/9/03 posting on Free Republic, the tape was aired on FOX News as a FOX News Alert on January 8, 2003 at 5:10 PM)
NETHERCUTT: I think we got it from the school board, or the school district I should say.
GIBSON: And you don't feel bad about this? You don't think it was unfair? You're not bein' just a little bit too twisty with the knife?
NETHERCUTT: John, look. This is what we've offered to do. We've offered to take all of her remarks. She said it's false. I don't know what's false in what she said, unless she's not tellin' the truth. We've offered to put the ad - everything she said in this segment of about 2 or 3 minutes on the air at our cost and let the people decide. We're not manipulating anything. This is Patty Murray saying things that are outrageous and it expresses her commitment, I think, on how we fight the war on terror. I differ with her on this issue and, I think, a lot of the public does too, and that's what's important in this election.
FOX then aired an incomplete version of Patty Murray's response ad and Gibson introduced his rebuttal guest, Ellis Henican of Newsday, who argued forcibly against the sleaze contained in the ad. By the end of this four-minute segment, Henican became exasperated with Gibson.
GIBSON: Do you think that Patty Murray, based on what you heard her say, would subscribe to the notion once advanced by the Presidential nominee, John Kerry, that we need to conduct a more (snidely) "sensitive" was on terror?
HENICAN (loud exasperated sigh): Oh, John! John!
GIBSON: Wouldn't you say that it sounds like she does think that?
HENICAN: You know. The word that I would use is "smart." Let's be "smart" about it. And part of it is understandin' what makes those people [terrorists] tick.
