For those of you keeping score at home, this is the third time Hoffa has stood by his remarks.
(Briefing Room) — Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa maintained Tuesday that union workers are at “war” with Tea Party-affiliated politicians, but insisted he wasn’t inciting violence.
Hoffa stood by remarks he made over the weekend at a Labor Day rally in Detroit at which he called for workers to “take these son-of-a-bitches out” in 2012.
“I will never apologize for standing up for my fellow Teamsters and all American workers,” Hoffa said in a press release Tuesday.
Hoffa also accused what he called “anti-worker media,” including Fox News Channel and the website Drudge Report, of editing the clip of his speech to make it appear he was “inciting violence against members of Tea Party organizations.”
“We didn’t start this war — the right wing did. My comments on Labor Day in Detroit echo the anger and frustration of American workers who are under attack by corporate-funded politicians who want to destroy the middle class,” Hoffa said. The remarks were “referring to voting out Tea Party politicians in 2012,” according to the release.
“We’re fighting back. That’s what Teamsters do — we stand up for what is right,” Hoffa said.