Fact Check Please: Use of the word "Enemy" by the opposition?

[GTaudiophile]

House Republican Leader John Boehner plans to hammer President Obama during an election-eve rally on Monday night, for his use of the word “enemies” during an interview with Univision radio that got huge play in the conservative blogosphere.

The president said: “If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies, and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us’ — if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election — then I think it’s going to be harder. And that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2nd.”

In remarks prepared for delivery to a rally in Cincinnati with Rob Portman, the GOP nominee for Senate in Ohio, and John Kasich, the GOP nominee for Ohio governor, Boehner says:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a president in the White House who referred to Americans who disagree with him as ‘our enemies.’ Think about that. He actually used that word. When Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush used the word ‘enemy,’ they reserved it for global terrorists and foreign dictators — enemies of the United States. Enemies of freedom. Enemies of our country.

“Today, sadly, we have president who uses the word ‘enemy’ for fellow Americans — fellow citizens. He uses it for people who disagree with his agenda of bigger government — people speaking out for a smaller, more accountable government that respects freedom and allows small businesses to create jobs. Mr. President, there's a word for people who have the audacity to speak up in defense of freedom, the Constitution, and the values of limited government that made our country great. We don't call them ‘enemies.’ We call them ‘patriots.’”

Source


Okay, so Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck aside, have any sitting Republican politicians ever resorted to referring to the opposition as the "enemy"?

I hope someone can fact-check me on this. What about Dick Cheney?

But I think Boehner has a point: by using that very word, Obama "elevates" his political opposition to that of terrorists, etc.

Nice to know what kind of president we truly have.

 

[theeedude]

GOP did more damage to this country than Osama Bin Laden could ever dream of doing by himself.

 

[Throckmorton]

Nice manufactured issue by Boehner. As if Obama wants Latinos to start killing Republicans.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Please, friend/enemy is as common as contrasting terms as black/white. Trying to read more into that is just retarded. Actually, that's just politics, actually buying into it is retarded.

 

[GTaudiophile]

GOP did more damage to this country than Osama Bin Laden could ever dream of doing by himself.

You mean by things like the Patriot Act and starting pointless wars with illegal jailsm and inventing "Homeland Security" with color-coded threat levels?

Funny...Obama has continued all of these.

 

[theeedude]

You mean by things like the Patriot Act and starting pointless wars with illegal jailsm and inventing "Homeland Security" with color-coded threat levels?

Funny...Obama has continued all of these.

Obama has continued starting pointless wars? Which pointless wars has he started?

 

[PokerGuy]

It's a very revealing comment, it shows what he thinks of anyone who doesn't share his view of a government-run utopia. Apparently anyone who doesn't think more government is the answer to everything is now ... wait for it... an enemy of the state.

 

[Attic]

Obama has continued starting pointless wars? Which pointless wars has he started?

Everytime you post your idiot take on this board a bunny dies.

 

[Fern]

Poor choice of words on Obama's part. He should have said "opponents".

Seems to me his public speaking skills have diminished since being elected.

Fern

 

[nick1985]

His teleprompter must have not worked that night

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Poor choice of words on Obama's part. He should have said "opponents".

Seems to me his public speaking skills have diminished since being elected.

Fern

It's not Obama's fault, it was the idiot that wrote the speech that was projected on the teleprompter.

 

[Attic]

Poor choice of words on Obama's part. He should have said "opponents".

Seems to me his public speaking skills have diminished since being elected.

Fern

Poor choice of words is one take.

Here's another.

His words reveal his intentions. He's trying to fire up voters for his cause. I'd say his choice of words was calculated and far from a mistake. He believes the word "enemy" will have more presence and impact (despite its revelation of his character for using it in this instance) than the word "opponents".

It's unfortunate we have this guy in office. We need a leader and Obama has shown he has no idea what is expected of a leader and/or no desire to be a leader for this nation. I can't imagine a worse figure in power than what Obama has chosen to become as President of the United States. At a time when we need to unite he is dividing as much as he can in pursuit of an agenda.

 

[Craig234]

Poor choice of words is one take.

Here's another.

His words reveal his intentions. He's trying to fire up voters for his cause. I'd say his choice of words was calculated and far from a mistake. He believes the word "enemy" will have more presence and impact (despite its revelation of his character for using it in this instance) than the word "opponents".

It's unfortunate we have this guy in office. We need a leader and Obama has shown he has no idea what is expected of a leader and/or no desire to be a leader for this nation. I can't imagine a worse figure in power than what Obama has chosen to become as President of the United States. At a time when we need to unite he is dividing as much as he can in pursuit of an agenda.

You're another crazy ideologue. I have no problems with your criticizing Obama's leadership - that's in the range of less than insane opinions.

You CAN'T IMAGINE a worse leader? The guy before him was FAR worse. Palin is worse than that. How about Hitler? You can 'imagine' him can't you? He's not worse?

And the blame for not uniting but dividing - we have Republicans who have chosed a policy of nearly complete obstructionism, the most divisive I know of in history, and you don't have a word to say about them - it's all Obama's fault, when he has bent over backwards to the correct attacks of the left for ridiculously doing so?

Another clue about you being an ideologue, your use of the empty word 'agenda' like it was a synonym for 'treason'. Any decent politician has an 'agenda'. Is it good or bad?

People like you are almost enough to question whether democracy is worth it.

 

[Craig234]

Obama was clearly referring to the Republicans as the enemies *of the Hispanics in his audience*, not his enemies.

And his context of 'enemies' was clearly as political enemies, not military enemies.

John Boehner was clearly lying in misrepresenting this, as he frequently does. His bankrupt agenda against the American people doesn't leave him a lot to say.

Now, it could be argued the word enemies was highly justified.

People who strongly support demanding identification from Mexican-looking people, who support groups who go to the border with guns, and so on.

 

[dullard]

Here is a brief list: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/01/boehner-enemy-hypocrisy/

My favorites:
1) Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) called Obama “an enemy of humanity” for his pro-choice views
2) Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) called Obama “a more serious threat to America than al Qaeda,” and said he was “a dedicated enemy of the Constitution".
3) As Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin famously said Obama is “palling around with terrorists.”

But none of them probably tops McCarthy in the 1950s.

 

[nick1985]

#3 actually has some merit.