Delahunt's office ‘threatened’ following remarks to ex-Cheney aide

Since U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt's (D-Quincy) questioning of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff David Addington last Thursday that set off a maelstrom in the conservative blogosphere, his office has received more than 2,000 phone calls, voicemails and emails criticizing the U.S. House member, some in threatening ways, PolitickerMA.com has learned.

U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Quincy)

Of those received, about 10 percent have been threatening, members of Delahunt's staff said -- many were described as "disgusting."

"Some of the people are very angry and threatening," said Mark Forest, Delahunt's chief of staff. "These people are very angry and have been stirred up." Forest declined to comment on what any of the threats said specifically.

Forest was referring to conservative talk show hosts and bloggers that have vehemently criticized Delahunt for his questioning of Addington. At a hearing at the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties that intended to discuss any White House discussions of the use of illegal torture techniques in the war on terror, Addington replied to Delahunt's question by saying: "I can't talk to you because al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN."

"I'm sure they are watching," Delahunt responded. "I'm glad they finally have a chance to see you, Mr. Addington."

The comments sparked criticism on conservative websites and talk shows who labeled Delahunt as out-of-touch and even calling on al Qaeda to attack Addington. "Delahunt is both a fool and a reprobate," Scott Johnson, a fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute, wrote on Powerline.com. "He does not understand that his good will toward al Qaeda means nothing to them, and his encouragement of their mission is simply vile."

Former Cheney Chief of Staff David Addington

"Mr. Delahunt is both a vile liar and a cowardly lion willing to roar down at Mr. Addington while encouraging terrorists to do his dirty work in a war he has been ineffective at stopping," added "The Directors" of RedState.com, a popular conservative blog. RedState also provided its readers Delahunt's contact information and called on them to call his office to condemn the remarks.

Forest said the campaigns have worked. Less than one percent of the calls to Delahunt's offices have been from people in Delahunt's district. "Any time someone is critical of the far right," Forest said, "you provoke this type of response and there will be a segment within that response that will be pretty nutty and pretty far out there."

In particular, Forest said conservative radio talk show hosts Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh have been very critical of Delahunt, despite the six-term congressman appearing on Fox News shortly after the hearing to say his remarks were misinterpreted. "If you listen to some of these talk radio stations," he said, "the hosts themselves are very angry."

Forest acknowledged that the liberal blogosphere can be equally intense and that reactions like these are part of being a lawmaker. "There will always be controversial votes, there will always be controversial issues," he said. "That's the price of doing the job."

But he said there has been a strong disconnect from how Delahunt's remarks have been interpreted on the Internet compared to the feedback he has received from his constituents and colleagues.

"This not something we get asked about in the local diner or the post office," he said.

In many ways, Forest said, this episode illustrates how the Internet can distract from the issues raised at the hearing -- Addington, he said, refused talk about any White House discussions of torture policies.

"In some cases, the Internet is very helpful in communicating information but it is also very helpful in communicating misinformation," he said. "They'll take some aspect of what was said and they will twist it as if it is intended to mean something else, which it doesn't."