Like a broken record, Sean Hannity can’t stop talking about Rev. Wright and President Obama’s “radical associations” which, apparently, can’t be highlighted enough or be more relevant to the coming 2012 campaign. During an interview last night (1/4/12) with Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney, Hannity made it clear he thought McCain should advise Romney to attack Obama on those grounds. While the rest of us have been there and done that four years ago, Hannity, it seems, wants to start playing that “GD America” video of Rev. Wright all over again. But given Hannity’s own past association with a white supremacist that he has tried to bury, one wonders what a psychiatrist would make of this ironic mindset.
Hannity’s comment came during Part 2 of a lengthy segment based on McCain’s endorsement of Romney.
I was looking at Barack Obama’s background, his associations: Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Father Pfleger, looking at, you know, what his life was like as a community organizer, connections to ACORN, Alyinski-ite, Black Liberation Theology… I thought you were the nicer person because… I would have brought all of that stuff up, but again, I’m not a politician. I couldn’t be elected dog catcher.
Do you think that some of what we, the little that we were able to glean from President Obama has come to fruition and do you think maybe some of the issues you didn’t bring up in 2008, if Governor Romney were to get the nomination, would you advise him to bring some of these things up?
McCain sighed and said, basically, no. “What the American people are deeply concerned about… our economy and jobs and secondarily, our leadership in the world.”
Hannity didn’t push it further – but it’s a safe bet he’ll bring it up again.
The funny thing is, while Obama’s associations have been endlessly rehashed, Sean Hannity has largely skated over his past association with white supremacist Hal Turner. In 2005, Max Blumenthal reported in The Nation about the friendliness that developed between Turner and Hannity when Turner was a frequent caller to Hannity’s WABC radio show. Blumenthal wrote:
During an August 1998 episode of the show, Turner reminded Hannity that were it not for the graciousness of the white man, "black people would still be swinging on trees in Africa," according to Daryle Jenkins, co-founder of the New Jersey-based antiracism group One People's Project. Instead of rebuking Turner or cutting him off, Hannity continued to welcome his calls.
In March, 2008, at the height of the Rev. Wright controversy, Malik Shabazz, of the New Black Panther Party, confronted Hannity about his association with Turner. From my post on the confrontation:
Shabazz (asked), “Let me ask you this. Are you to be judged by your promotion and association with Hal Turner?”
Hannity waved his arm around. “I don’t know anybody named – this is nonsense. I don’t…” Then Hannity changed his tune. “Sir, sir… That was a man that was banned from my radio show ten years ago, that ran a Senate campaign in New Jersey.”
Then, as Shabazz refused to stop talking or back down, Hannity, in a tacit admission, said, “I’m not running for president.”
According to The Nation, it’s true that Hannity eventually banned Turner from his radio show and that Turner had run for office (Congress, not Senate) – but Hannity was for Turner before he was against him. Turner went on to have quite a career as a white supremacist/FBI informant and he’s currently in jail for threatening three federal judges.
But a few weeks after Hannity’s confrontation with Shabazz, Turner took to his vile internet show, confirmed his association with Hannity and as proof, gave out a “backdoor” phone number at WABC that allowed him to get straight on the air. I confirmed that the number went straight to the WABC host. You can read my post about this and hear excerpts of Turner’s stomach-turning show here.
I've repeatedly noted that Turner is hardly the only white bigot in Hannity's past. In fact, he seems to have a penchant for them in his present.
While Hannity continues to insist that President Obama’s past associations are somehow relevant and important, he has yet to properly explain his own.
Video via Media Matters.
Wait, this is Hannity we’re talking about… he probably thought those children had it coming.
A rare instance where Hannity tells the truth and he still ruined it by trying to be a politician on TV.
Look guys, there’s a black guy in the White House. The White House!!! When are you gonna do something about that?!!!! Depends?!! … Rommel?!! … You guys with me …