Really.
Desperado has already discussed the Sherrod incident here, shared excellent commentary here and here, so I won't rehash the whole mess. You know what happened.
But it's ok, really, it's not the right-wing media's fault, you see. According to Ann Coulter, Breitbart was set-up by evil liberals.
The whole key to this story is that Andrew Breitbart was set-up. He was sent a tape as we now know was massively out of context. It didn't look like this woman was saying something racist when she first said oh, it was taken out of context.
I think Breitbart ought to reveal his source because he was set-up. This was a fraud. The person who sent the edited tape has to know what the full speech said.
And whoever sent only that segment to Andrew Breitbart is the one who should apologize to Shirley Sherrod.
Rush Limbaugh concurs, saying, "I know Andrew Breitbart, he doesn't purposely screw around with edits."
Let's be real, here. Breitbart got his panties in a wad because the NAACP issued a statement calling on the tea party to denounce its racist elements. Instead of acknowledging that some racists had gained power within the tea party organization, he figured he'd just show that the NAACP was the organization that was REALLY racist (once again, it's the "I know you are but what am I right wing pundit strategy). He found a tape and spliced it up (or found a spliced up tape) and didn't verify, seek context, or request a statement from Sherrod.
It was a Van Jones-style political attack that meant to pit evil black liberals vs. angelic white conservatives. It wasn't a set-up. The media didn't question it and ran full-throttle with the story without verifying or seeking comment.
The administration made a gigantic mistake in handling the whole mess the way they did. Hopefully Robert Gibbs got a teachable moment out of this to relay to the President - treat Fox News like I treat my three year old in the middle of a tantrum - ignore them. Since when are we allowing the influence of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck affect governmental personnel decisions? They only have as much power as we give them.
Ever notice how when a left-winger says he was setup, the right screams "conspiracy nut." But, when a right-winger does it, it's the truth...
uh huh, and that's not science fiction...it's documentary, hmmmmmm...
And Lovecraft found the words that I could not... :O)
And Cthulhu stirs amid the screaming of the jars - dreaming, but dead, and mindful of the exquisite horror of it all...
One thing more....Ann Coulter claims that Breitbart was "set up".
Well, then....he just proved what an absolute idiot he really is. And that he really is NOT a journalist or even a credible blogger since he didn't even take the time or the effort to do even the most cursory check. Like...watch the whole damn video.
Fox...same thing. They couldn't be bothered to check it out.
I hope Ms. Sherrod files a lawsuit again Fox, Breitbart, Beck, Limbaugh....for mental anguish and damages. And I believe it's way past time for the FCC to hit Faux Noise with a huge fine. They are nothing but cretins over there.
Oh, puhleeezzzee.... cry me a river. Poor neo-cons.. boo hoo. I'm still waiting for Breitbart, Newt and others at Fox to apologize to Ms. Sherrod for their vicious statements. I guess we will be waiting a long time for that one! As for Ann Coulter, shut up and go away already.
Of well *of course* it was all someone's ELSE's fault. Of course. Because we all KNOW the Party of NO is NEVER at fault. Oh no. It is never their fault. No, not at all. Never never never. Ann Coulter (get a look at her Adams Apple) said so!
Give me a freakin' break.
The party of NO has NO sense of responsibility. NO ability to say, yeah people, we screwed up. NO sense of wrongdoing.
NO NO NO. They are so busy twisting their words to blame others for THEIR wrongdoing, their eyes are crossing.
What a bunch of blackhearted bastards. They are so busy trying to ruin the NAACP (the actual target) that they don't give a damn that they hurt a good woman in the process. She's just so much collateral damage. You know...one of those "small people".
We are supposedly fighting a war on terror and do you know who the REAL terrorists are? Idiots like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Andrew Breitbart, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann et al.
There's your terrorists, America.
It's the illuminati that are coming to get us. They set this fight up 100,000 years ago to ensure that ALL humans would remain a slave race and a ready resource. The special benefit is that on Reptilian holidays we provide a tasty morsel, as well.
Think that's crazy? Ask yourself this...Whose motivation makes more sense, the Republicans or the Reptilians?
Okay I bite. Obviously, he took the tape and immediately (slobbering from his mouth) and posted it. He also gave a copy to Fox News and they immediately ran with it. Oh, wait it a minute. You say he had this tape for weeks. He was just sitting on it waiting for the right moment to release it. Yeah, I guess he didn't have enough time to verify.
Of course Fox News apologized for calling her a racist and demanding she resign. They had to have apologized for demonizing her and almost exclusively running with the story right. Oops, they just slammed the administration for acting to hastily. Gee, why did the administration choose to act at all?
It was all a liberal conspiracy. The liberals put a fine woman through the ringer, embarrassed her on national television, internet, and print media, forced her to resign, and then offered her job back when it was all over to screw over the right wing media. Am I getting that right? Am I missing anything. While you are spinning conspiracy yarns maybe you should cook up Obama being on the grassy knoll. He's good for it right?
yeah - that's it; they wuz set up :)
and the earth's flat !!
GOP, Tea Party, Conservatives and their friends & supporters are NEVER, EVER wrong, and they NEVER make mistakes.
It's ALWAYS a liberal conspiracy.
I pity anyone living in such state of complete desillusion.
Thank you Kel for putting the focus back where it belongs. On the REAL racists and troublemakers who KNOWINGLY created the lie to start this unnecessary controversy.
And again as Kel said, they take advantage of the left's own desire for a clean house and conscience and hypersensitivity to hypocrisy (that the right blatantly have no issue with time and again) knowing that the left would overreact to perceived racism amongst its own ranks, even when that perception is manufactured by the right for the expressed purpose of dirty underhanded politicking.
What. A. Surprise.