Ten O'Clock News; Barney Frank on John Birch Society

Oh. Thank you. I am here today to talk about the John Besh psyche and what a very serious threat I think it poses to ration O small d democratic politics. People have a perfect right to belong to the John Birch Society you have a perfect right to want to fight a society or to propagate any manner of

pastoralists and ill spirited conspiracies but the rest of us I think every right to identify them for what they are. And your DR site is not simply another group of very conservative people. It is the grandparent today of the far right wing organizations that I think have tried very hard to poison American politics. The Birch Society has consistently been a source the most like to put it. I'm reasonable and vicious attacks on a whole range of people and this is an organization to think of Margaret Thatcher. As for Britain substantially closer to coming just control our countries and collectivist control he says America is now 40 to 60 percent controlled by the Communists and a practice I would guess it by the judge and we're in the high end here in Massachusetts and so

we should perhaps be thankful that by their bizarre view we have about a role to speak out. It's not just a gun but she said this is a whole complex of very far right wing organizations that have a distressing agenda in the most recent piece of this right now. And Mr. McMahon has apparently become a government figure you know this is their attack against like you mention the regular you know POWs that we finally got it but I guess I should mention that's a particular reports to Jewish organizations because of the Holocaust in fact the president proposed that just before he speaks in a breath. I've got to have it for me to McManus October 1984 the Brits say about it and talking again about the terrible plot the Genocide Convention is you know we tend to victimize Americans shammy has every right to privacy as stated in the past of the John Birch Society. I was surprised at his age he's going to wherever it was I thought fairly well publicized by the late 50s you know 60s Robert

Welch had said right I can are with and you know come this conspiracy that has made and made a number of other very crazy and also vicious remarks is not a Benoit form of insanity it's a very nasty one that has a degrading effect on our politics especially as impugning people's motives and the kind of conspiracy theory that says bad people are floating around. Mr. Shami invited Mr. Ganesh I'm going to Miss Macmanus probably as someone who reviews your respect for. Tension and shouting that's very nasty going to book The Naked capitalist is that what it was I thought I was through talking about nudity in my campaign but I guess it's a comeback in a new form. The These things you think anybody has a right to do what you don't have a right to do I think is to do them in one way for them. You don't have a right I think to claim that that there for yourself if in fact I mean no longer the grief you get when you can just at the

time you know that's fine for a valid conversion. We get a lot of those but they were not to be this kind of merging about I must say I was startled to be in that memo with the with the references to Fred I guess it makes me think of the Chinese people missed a chance to do a good campaign song in 1982 they could have gone on the slogan better friend than Ted like that. I think the point is that people have a right to understand all this and that's about it and I think it does document a mindset that Mr. Cheney has that it's relevant to take into account particularly since the far right wing group is yeah right. It confirms to me the fear that if we want to win this election which I don't think he will it will go to be a very good ally of Jesse Helms. Johnny a Jeb identity of people who hold views are quite emphatic on what I think the majority of people met you should have. That's about if you want to and I think it's particularly important in the

John Birch Society that somehow. He said you know kind of a benign respectabilities definition said the eccentric old uncle. Who's really been decent guy who just had this thing about something the John Birch Society is a very unpleasant right organization. That's my judgment and stands for democracy. You never want to take any spots of any democratic action that I mean that I mean that the kind of hate mongering and name calling today engaging in a kind of paranoid just for authorial style that they form the right of the far right wing groups are picked up. Like the fact I guess is also a perception of him I guess from the cammies group and you're just. If you know the other I think it's a very serious problem and a very legitimate issue to be discussed in this campaign. You know if you have good grief live that from Washington you make international aid is going to work if you know your rights campaigner and I could fight in here instead of in do with the fact that you know what I think. But I also think it's important campaign issue right. I have spent a

lot of my time fighting with the far right wing groups. I know very well a lot of public and I'm very pleased best way to have the Wall Street Journal. I think you know the Washington Monthly has to be for going to what we cover which is still obviously there's room for a wide spectrum of conservative and moderate to get together. What leadership is there between just here's my you and John Kerry can't deal with this is the John Kerry campaign I think I might have been talking but. I've been talking to them. About this campaign and you know well we're going to tell him what I feel with that and I think what I want to teach you that you know this other you know maybe you're going to go right back. Same story presiding judge heard at face value looking out of it.

I also think it's an issue that would have protected his human does he make over a family you know I would talk to him about the way I think I'm going to Perth. I didn't bother me to have people come to me. My profession at the end of it is out of the hand there are people who look great but he's done not government to now be this tradition and it does seem to be very very young he has dissemble about his late father going back to Saturday Night Live Fred never was a part of it you don't always take him to meet the 70 pound to give us the set a trap or give us some of their country to give us a crazy. How can you list off speakers who read his book you know.