Oklahoma Democratic chairman says Timothy McVeigh would be member of tea party were he alive today

“I certainly stand by my remarks, because it's widely known that McVeigh was anti-government. I think that he was a right-winger, and I think the current tea party people, while I'm not saying that they're proposing violence, they're anti-government,” party Chairman Wallace Collins said.

BY SEAN MURPHY | Published: April 25, 2012 Comment on this article

The chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party is refusing to back down from comments he made that likened convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to tea party activists.

photo - FILE This Friday, April 21, 1995 file photo shows Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh escorted by law enforcement officials from the Noble County Courthouse in Perry, Oklahoma. Mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik's shocking testimony to a Norwegian court has revived a debate about how much of a public platform mass-murderers should be given in trials. Such atrocities are often waged for attention and carried out in the name of political or religious goals, and a trial gives perpetrators more of what they crave: a huge audience. Perhaps ironically, some extremists who carry out horrific attacks to make a political point reject the opportunity to speak out in court. An example is Timothy McVeigh, who acted out of hatred for the U.S. government when he bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people.(AP Photo/David Longstreath, File) ORG XMIT: LON116

FILE This Friday, April 21, 1995 file photo shows Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh escorted by law enforcement officials from the Noble County Courthouse in Perry, Oklahoma. Mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik's shocking testimony to a Norwegian court has revived a debate about how much of a public platform mass-murderers should be given in trials. Such atrocities are often waged for attention and carried out in the name of political or religious goals, and a trial gives perpetrators more of what they crave: a huge audience. Perhaps ironically, some extremists who carry out horrific attacks to make a political point reject the opportunity to speak out in court. An example is Timothy McVeigh, who acted out of hatred for the U.S. government when he bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people.(AP Photo/David Longstreath, File) ORG XMIT: LON116

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Chairman Wallace Collins, who last week told a Fox News reporter that if McVeigh were alive today he would likely be a member of the tea party, reiterated his position Tuesday.

“I certainly stand by my remarks, because it's widely known that McVeigh was anti-government. I think that he was a right-winger, and I think the current tea party people, while I'm not saying that they're proposing violence, they're anti-government,” Collins said Tuesday. “They dislike the government. I don't know if you'd call them a government hater, but I certainly see them in a similar vein. Maybe they're an offshoot or offspring or next generation.”

McVeigh, who was convicted on federal murder charges for the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, was executed in 2001. The bombing, which resulted in the deaths of 168 people — including 19 children — remains the worst domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history.

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