Imagine the outrage and attempts to implicate hate speech by conservatives if someone planted and threatened to explode bombs, and ended up leaving a suicide note railing against President Obama. But just over a year ago, a similar individual who expressed his hatred of President Bush and Karl Rove in a suicide note received little attention. As Aspen, Colorado, delayed its New Year’s celebrations while the city faced threats from several bombs planted by would-be bank robber James Blanning as he tried to extort money from local banks by threatening to detonate the bombs, little attention was given to the left-wing sentiments expressed in his suicide note in which he railed against President Bush, Karl Rove, the rich, and the war in Iraq.
Anchors Gretchen Carlson on FNC’s Fox and Friends and Tamron Hall on MSNBC News Live mentioned some of the left-wing ramblings on January 2, 2009, while on CNN’s American Morning and The Situation Room, a clip of an Aspen law enforcement official was shown in which he recounted some of the political sentiments. The broadcast networks all reported the general story, but did not mention his political views. FNC’s Carlson informed viewers that Blanning’s note "criticized President Bush," and that he "resented the rich and was upset that Aspen had become a ritzy resort." MSNBC’s Tamron Hall noted that "he hated Bush and Rove with a passion."
CNN’s American Morning twice showed a report by correspondent Thelma Gutierrez that included a clip of Aspen’s Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn relaying that Blanning "had a problem with the Bush administration and wars in the Middle East." The same report ran twice on the same day’s The Situation Room.
Below are transcripts of relevant portions of the January 2, 2009, Fox and Friends on FNC, MSNBC News Live, and CNN’s American Morning and the Situation Room:
