In an ad for the program, Maddow lectured, "It doesn't have to lead to violence, but it can and it has. We ignore this, our own very recent history of anti-government violence and the dangers of domestic terrorism, at our peril."
In a previous commercial [1] for the special, an announcer questioned, "15 years later, can McVeigh's words help us understand today's anti-government extremists?" Will the left-wing host attempt to connect tea partiers and conservative activists to violence?
It wouldn't be the first time. On March 22, Keith Olbermann [2], Maddow's colleague on the cable channel, attacked such protesters for their "incitement to violence."
On April 15, 2009 [3], MSNBC used the Republican elephant logo in a segment on violence and the "radical right."
Maddow's special airs at 9pm on April 19.
A transcript of the MSNBC ad, which aired on April 12, follows:
VOICE OF TIMOTHY MCVEIGH Text onscreen: Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995]: I feel no shame for it.-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [4] to follow him on Twitter.
ANNOUNCER: An MSNBC special presentation with Rachel Maddow.
RACHEL MADDOW: The McVeigh Tapes puts into perspective the threat posed by anti-government extremism. It doesn't have to lead to violence, but it can and it has. We ignore this, our own very recent history of anti-government violence and the dangers of domestic terrorism, at our peril.
ANNOUNCER: The McVeigh Tapes. Next Monday at nine on MSNBC.
!-break->