Did Sean Hannity call his audience Tim McVeigh-wannabes?

Original Link: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0401/sean-hannity-call-audience-tim-mcveighwannabes/

By Ron Brynaert

A video posted on YouTube two days before April Fool's Day asks, "Did Sean Hannity call his audience Tim McVeigh-wannabes?"

Well, the answer is... sort of.

At the very end of this video clip taken from a FOX News Channel broadcast on March 30, and uploaded by the website Mox News, conservative radio host and Fox anchor Hannity can be clearly heard telling his audience, "Can I add one thing. I think we won the debate."

"When you think of the vast majorities they have in Congress, and they had the bribe back room deals, corruption," Hannity continued, "that's because of the Tea Party movement, all these Tim McVeigh wannabes."

So far, at press time, the video has only gotten 1,475 views, but it was mentioned on Thom Hartmann's radio show this morning and the link is being emailed to news sites such as RAW STORY (A shorter clip with only 345 viewings can be viewed at this link).
Fox News Channel viewers, at the time of its broadcast, wondered why a crowd full of conservatives would cheer being compared to the white supremacist sympathizer who was executed for killing 168 people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

At a forum for Comedy Central's Daily Show, viewers from the left and right were taken aback.

Hopefully some staffer has already seen this - or you guys tivo his show to catch this kinda stuff, but....

Just before his commercial break at about 9:10, Hannity praised the crowd for being "Tim McVeigh wannabes." I couldn't believe my ears - I still kinda hope I heard it wrong. Palin and her crosshairs are one thing, but this????

For the sake of context... Hannity's show is in the Reagan "Library" and they started out talking about getting rid of Obama, etc....

.....

Yeah, I heard it to. It knocked me back so far I had to sign up here to get the word out. Still find it hard to believe.

.....

I just heard the "Tim McVeigh Wannabes" comment myself on the Hannity replay here in the Midwest at about 11:15. Immediately "went to the Google" to check whether I heard what I thought I heard. I'm about as conservative as they come (I have Ronald Reagan's picture hanging nearby right now), but I hope that he wasn't urging on anyone who would even remotely try to emulate McVeigh.

....

Yes, as the conclusion to the host and two guests stroking up each others egos in a typical unilateral discussion anger orgy, they said that healthcare was actually a victory and then Hannity thanked the supporters of the victory including the tea party and the Tim McVeigh wannabes.

And it gets better.. There was applause and cheering.
Forum user Rusty Bucket speculated, "Well I could see how he might have been trying to use sarcasm - but the only thing is - alot of those people DO want to be Tim McVeigh wannabes. So he may have been sarcastic, but I dunno about some of the fruitbats in that audience."

An article at Utah's Ksl.com reveals that Rusty Bucket pretty much nailed it.

The day after the Tea Party Express made a stop in Salt Lake City, a prominent voice of conservative talk radio was in town with a similar message.

Sean Hannity broadcast his national talk show from KSL studios Wednesday.

He told a small gathering before the show that the Tea Party movement is legitimate and will withstand mounting attacks from its opponents on the left.

"We've got veterans, we've got stay-at-home moms, people who really don't like the direction of the country. They're speaking out and they've been compared to terrorists, Tim McVeigh-wannabes. They've been called un-American. They've been called every name in the book. Now, the latest attack is that these people are violent," he said.
So, Hannity was almost definitely using sarcasm when he referred to his audience as "McVeigh-wannabes."

However, there doesn't seem to be any explanation for why Congressman Kevin McCarthy falsely said that no Republicans voted for the stimulus last year. Liberals can feel free to mock that with no fear, since the audience at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California cheered that, as well.