The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Irony Alert: Eric Boehlert Is an Expert on What Is ‘Ugly and Contemptible’

Posted on | July 21, 2010 | 77 Comments

“. . . that didn’t stop him from launching the smear campaign. And that’s what Andrew Breitbart and Fox News and the right-wing media does. They’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s sort of ugly and contemptible, and if he had any decency, he’d apologize to Shirley Sherrod. He’d also stop with this incessant race-baiting that we’ve seen.”
— Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America

Much, much more at Memeorandum, including an ill-considered anti-Breitbart piece by David Frum and a kind of wishy-washy piece by Jonah Goldberg.

A couple of points: First, Andrew Breitbart didn’t fire Shirley Sherrod; Tom Vilsack did. Secondly, according to Steve Doocy, “Fox News never mentioned the story until after Sherrod had quit” — and if Doocy is right, as Dan Riehl says, the administration’s pre-emptive Blame-Fox excuse is non-operative.

Category: Andrew Breitbart, Fox News, Media Bias, Racism

Comments

77 Responses to “Irony Alert: Eric Boehlert Is an Expert on What Is ‘Ugly and Contemptible’”

  1. Mike LaRoche
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 4:43 am

    David Frum ignores the unwelcome fact that nobody reads his drivel.

  2. Mike LaRoche
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:43 am

    David Frum ignores the unwelcome fact that nobody reads his drivel.

  3. richard
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:44 am

    Obama is about to be brought down for the black panthers another racist group he is trying to cover for.

    Oy. Another non=issue, fabricated by Fox and the nutters. I mean, so much a non-issue it will go nowhere; the Bush Justice Department is just as involved as Obama’s, and to think this goes right up to Obama is plain nuts.

    Breitbart has been exposed (again) as a con artist, a conscious and persistent falsifier of fact, a deceiver of his readers and, one suspects, of himself. Luckily this is the stake through the heart that will rob him of any credibility he may have had. An innocent woman has been smeared, joyfully and gleefully, and there’s no way out of this for Breitbart. I am so delighted this applauding story has a happy ending.

  4. richard
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 4:44 am

    Obama is about to be brought down for the black panthers another racist group he is trying to cover for.

    Oy. Another non=issue, fabricated by Fox and the nutters. I mean, so much a non-issue it will go nowhere; the Bush Justice Department is just as involved as Obama’s, and to think this goes right up to Obama is plain nuts.

    Breitbart has been exposed (again) as a con artist, a conscious and persistent falsifier of fact, a deceiver of his readers and, one suspects, of himself. Luckily this is the stake through the heart that will rob him of any credibility he may have had. An innocent woman has been smeared, joyfully and gleefully, and there’s no way out of this for Breitbart. I am so delighted this applauding story has a happy ending.

  5. Video: Shep Smith Has His Panties in a Wad About Shirley Sherrod :: The Lonely Conservative
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:53 am

    […] The Other McCain has more on this here. […]

  6. Jeff Weimer
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 5:44 am

    gg- Kinda like you have people out there claiming that the Obama’s Hawaiian birth certificate is a fake and that his alleged Kenyan hospital birth certificate(s) are genuine. Moron.

    No, not really. There may be some, but they’re like the 9-11 truthers. Fringe, out there. But you have no problem trying to equate all of us to that if you think it’s on the right. Double standards, glass houses, all that. Do you agree with, say, Code Pink? Can I tar you with that?
    I personally believe he’s a-100% eligible.

    I’m kinda getting tired of the personal attacks. It’s fine you think I’m a moron, but you’re using your opinion of a third party to make that judgement about me. Lame.

  7. Jeff Weimer
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 1:44 am

    gg- Kinda like you have people out there claiming that the Obama’s Hawaiian birth certificate is a fake and that his alleged Kenyan hospital birth certificate(s) are genuine. Moron.

    No, not really. There may be some, but they’re like the 9-11 truthers. Fringe, out there. But you have no problem trying to equate all of us to that if you think it’s on the right. Double standards, glass houses, all that. Do you agree with, say, Code Pink? Can I tar you with that?
    I personally believe he’s a-100% eligible.

    I’m kinda getting tired of the personal attacks. It’s fine you think I’m a moron, but you’re using your opinion of a third party to make that judgement about me. Lame.

  8. young4eyes
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 6:14 am

    “Wake up. Obama is gone soon. Before Jan he will be arrested and charged with Treason”
    Booferd,you dimwits have been saying that since BO took office. But hey,what would Cons be without a little delusion wishful thinking? Listen, it’s OK. He’s only half-black. No need to be so afraid…

    “The mere fact she was fired so quickly lent absolute (at the time) legitimacy to the substance of the video. Why else would they ask for her resignation if it weren’t true?”
    You’re such an artard Weiner. Read your quote back to yourself and ask yourself if it makes any sense.So according to you they fired her because it was true despite the evidence to the contrary.Therefore her firing makes the manipulated tape true…Really? You give mental midgets a bad name.

    A-dopey Walls-“The NAAAAACP is just another Bolshevik front dedicated to the aggrandizement of power for the Social Democrats.”
    Yeah, you guys have been saying that ever since the Civil Rights Era.Are you like 90 or something? Hey, after we get rid of the racist elements in the Tea Party maybe we can take care of the John Birch elements. Oh, that’s right– they are one in the same…
    Hey, despite all the embarrassingly transparent attempts to try to shift focus and make this about BO ( new heights of lameness), the fact remains that the Tea Party still harbors its racists.Breitbart got spanked and exposed for the desperate loser that he and the rest of his Tea Bagging boyfriends are.
    How about that Mark Williams! Boy is he making Breitbarts claims about the Tea Party look like, well, lies….

  9. young4eyes
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 2:14 am

    “Wake up. Obama is gone soon. Before Jan he will be arrested and charged with Treason”
    Booferd,you dimwits have been saying that since BO took office. But hey,what would Cons be without a little delusion wishful thinking? Listen, it’s OK. He’s only half-black. No need to be so afraid…

    “The mere fact she was fired so quickly lent absolute (at the time) legitimacy to the substance of the video. Why else would they ask for her resignation if it weren’t true?”
    You’re such an artard Weiner. Read your quote back to yourself and ask yourself if it makes any sense.So according to you they fired her because it was true despite the evidence to the contrary.Therefore her firing makes the manipulated tape true…Really? You give mental midgets a bad name.

    A-dopey Walls-“The NAAAAACP is just another Bolshevik front dedicated to the aggrandizement of power for the Social Democrats.”
    Yeah, you guys have been saying that ever since the Civil Rights Era.Are you like 90 or something? Hey, after we get rid of the racist elements in the Tea Party maybe we can take care of the John Birch elements. Oh, that’s right– they are one in the same…
    Hey, despite all the embarrassingly transparent attempts to try to shift focus and make this about BO ( new heights of lameness), the fact remains that the Tea Party still harbors its racists.Breitbart got spanked and exposed for the desperate loser that he and the rest of his Tea Bagging boyfriends are.
    How about that Mark Williams! Boy is he making Breitbarts claims about the Tea Party look like, well, lies….

  10. Estragon
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 7:03 am

    Breitbart erred in not insisting on the full video. When the NAACP refused his request, he should have gone back to his source – the one who sent him the edited video which was misleading as least as to Sherrod’s actual position today. Breitbart should out his source, because sending deceptively incomplete information should trump any promise of confidentiality.

    Sherrod did, however, by her own admission, discriminate against the man because he was white, only later deciding to help him – although not as much as she might have, again by her own admission. And the NAACP audience was clearly in assent with her discriminating against the white devil.

    Goldberg flinching is somewhat surprising (Frum’s basic stance is the flinch, so no shock there). And to think RSM even recommended him as a possible successor to Rich Lowry as NR Editor, if NR should ever come to its senses (which, granted, seems unlikely)!

  11. Estragon
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 3:03 am

    Breitbart erred in not insisting on the full video. When the NAACP refused his request, he should have gone back to his source – the one who sent him the edited video which was misleading as least as to Sherrod’s actual position today. Breitbart should out his source, because sending deceptively incomplete information should trump any promise of confidentiality.

    Sherrod did, however, by her own admission, discriminate against the man because he was white, only later deciding to help him – although not as much as she might have, again by her own admission. And the NAACP audience was clearly in assent with her discriminating against the white devil.

    Goldberg flinching is somewhat surprising (Frum’s basic stance is the flinch, so no shock there). And to think RSM even recommended him as a possible successor to Rich Lowry as NR Editor, if NR should ever come to its senses (which, granted, seems unlikely)!

  12. Jeff Weimer
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 7:33 am

    Here’s a challenge: Show me just a few if not ONE instance of dkos community endorsing any Killian Document truthers, or even Bush/Kerry Diebold conspiracy, at Daily Kos (a blog that has a HUGE readership, gets about 2 million unique visitors per month.)

    Surely Kossacks must be Kilian truther if not outright fringe elements (like 911 truthers) right?

    gg –

    1) Killian –

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/10/34914/1603

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/11/15636/444

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/1/7/84217/-TANG,-Revisited

    2) Diebold –

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2004/11/7/71306/-Soros,-Sperling-et-al:-Buy-Diebold,-Sequoia-et-al

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2004/11/4/70319/-Ohio-Provisional-Ballots,-Recounts,-and-Fraud-%5BUPDATED%5D

    And that’s what I could find quickly. You’re not a lawyer, are you?

    And BTW, dkos isn’t as big as it used to be, no matter how much you might like it. Maybe if you visited there more often it might get some traffic back. And you really don’t have to tell me about the site, I’m fully aware of it. Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt anyway.

  13. Jeff Weimer
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 3:33 am

    Here’s a challenge: Show me just a few if not ONE instance of dkos community endorsing any Killian Document truthers, or even Bush/Kerry Diebold conspiracy, at Daily Kos (a blog that has a HUGE readership, gets about 2 million unique visitors per month.)

    Surely Kossacks must be Kilian truther if not outright fringe elements (like 911 truthers) right?

    gg –

    1) Killian –

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/10/34914/1603

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/11/15636/444

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/1/7/84217/-TANG,-Revisited

    2) Diebold –

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2004/11/7/71306/-Soros,-Sperling-et-al:-Buy-Diebold,-Sequoia-et-al

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2004/11/4/70319/-Ohio-Provisional-Ballots,-Recounts,-and-Fraud-%5BUPDATED%5D

    And that’s what I could find quickly. You’re not a lawyer, are you?

    And BTW, dkos isn’t as big as it used to be, no matter how much you might like it. Maybe if you visited there more often it might get some traffic back. And you really don’t have to tell me about the site, I’m fully aware of it. Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt anyway.

  14. Cameroonian
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:06 pm

    @Jeff: You’re overlooking the elephant in this room/thread — which is that Stacy has deliberately excluded himself from the list of conservative commentators who are “self-policing” the honesty of this particular debate. The post on which we’re all commenting CRITICIZES the very people you hold up as paragons of integrity. And it does so precisely because they’re exhibiting integrity. Stacy eschews integrity because it’s non-partisan. And that’s all you need to know about Stacy.

    @Mike: If “nobody” reads Frum’s stuff, why did Stacy post a link to it? And why are we all talking about Frum? Unlike Mike Laroche or Stacy, Frum gets paid for his opinions.

  15. Cameroonian
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 8:06 am

    @Jeff: You’re overlooking the elephant in this room/thread — which is that Stacy has deliberately excluded himself from the list of conservative commentators who are “self-policing” the honesty of this particular debate. The post on which we’re all commenting CRITICIZES the very people you hold up as paragons of integrity. And it does so precisely because they’re exhibiting integrity. Stacy eschews integrity because it’s non-partisan. And that’s all you need to know about Stacy.

    @Mike: If “nobody” reads Frum’s stuff, why did Stacy post a link to it? And why are we all talking about Frum? Unlike Mike Laroche or Stacy, Frum gets paid for his opinions.

  16. Cameroonian
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:15 pm

    @Jeff: Of course there WERE people who said the Killian documents were real. But what you said was quite specific: “There are STILL people out there…[emphasis yours]” The posts you found are all 5-6 years old. You STILL haven’t backed up your claim with any evidence.

  17. Cameroonian
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 8:15 am

    @Jeff: Of course there WERE people who said the Killian documents were real. But what you said was quite specific: “There are STILL people out there…[emphasis yours]” The posts you found are all 5-6 years old. You STILL haven’t backed up your claim with any evidence.

  18. wombat-socho
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 12:44 pm

    This is a fine collection of trolls and sock puppets we’re acquiring here. All hits are good hits, though, right Stacy?

  19. wombat-socho
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 8:44 am

    This is a fine collection of trolls and sock puppets we’re acquiring here. All hits are good hits, though, right Stacy?

  20. Jeff Weimer
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 3:16 pm

    @cameroonian. Now you’re just picking nits. Nice try.

    Of course there are at least two – Mary Mapes and Dan Rather.

    the borader point is, of coures, both sides have creepy conspiracy theorists. Your side insists on lumping ours together with everyone else, while saying your conspiracists are somehow different. It’s an argument you use to stain the legitimacy of your opponent – makes it easier to ignore or belittle any argument, no matter how valid. Also makes it easier to call them names, which your side has a disturbing propensity to do at the earliest opportunity.

  21. Jeff Weimer
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 11:16 am

    @cameroonian. Now you’re just picking nits. Nice try.

    Of course there are at least two – Mary Mapes and Dan Rather.

    the borader point is, of coures, both sides have creepy conspiracy theorists. Your side insists on lumping ours together with everyone else, while saying your conspiracists are somehow different. It’s an argument you use to stain the legitimacy of your opponent – makes it easier to ignore or belittle any argument, no matter how valid. Also makes it easier to call them names, which your side has a disturbing propensity to do at the earliest opportunity.

  22. Cameroonian
    July 23rd, 2010 @ 1:45 am

    Stacy said: “according to Steve Doocy, ‘Fox News never mentioned the story until AFTER Sherrod had quit’ ” [capitalization mine]

    Ahem. The archives at Foxnews.com document that Fox News repeatedly ran the story BEFORE they learned Sherrod had resigned. In fact, Fox News repeatedly implied that their reports actually spurred Sherrod’s resignation.

    The first Fox news story was posted online sometime before 1:41 p.m. on Monday. Original headline, as preserved on numerous other websites: “Caught on Tape: Obama Official Discriminates Against White Farmer.” Quote from the final, updated version of the story: “The USDA did not have an immediate response when contacted by FoxNews.com. On Monday evening, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement announcing Sherrod’s resignation.”

    The second Fox news story was posted online sometime before 6:15 p.m. on Monday. Quote from the first version: “FoxNews.com is seeking a response from both the NAACP and the USDA.” Quote from the final, updated version: “The Agriculture Department announced Monday, shortly after FoxNews.com published its initial report on the video, that Sherrod had resigned.”

    The third time that Fox ran the Breitbart story was near the end of Bill O’Reilly’s pre-recorded show on Monday night. Quote from Bill: “Ms. Sherrod must resign immediately….We are requesting an explanation from the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, and will keep you posted.”

    In a follow-up story on Tuesday, Fox once again asserted that it had run the story BEFORE Sherrod’s resignation was announced. Quote: “Vilsack announced Sherrod’s resignation shortly after FoxNews.com’s initial story Monday evening….”

    It’s Doocy’s fig leaf that’s “non-operative,” Stacy. As Jon Stewart once said, Doocy is one half of the “idiot sandwich” that is Fox and Friends.

  23. Cameroonian
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 9:45 pm

    Stacy said: “according to Steve Doocy, ‘Fox News never mentioned the story until AFTER Sherrod had quit’ ” [capitalization mine]

    Ahem. The archives at Foxnews.com document that Fox News repeatedly ran the story BEFORE they learned Sherrod had resigned. In fact, Fox News repeatedly implied that their reports actually spurred Sherrod’s resignation.

    The first Fox news story was posted online sometime before 1:41 p.m. on Monday. Original headline, as preserved on numerous other websites: “Caught on Tape: Obama Official Discriminates Against White Farmer.” Quote from the final, updated version of the story: “The USDA did not have an immediate response when contacted by FoxNews.com. On Monday evening, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement announcing Sherrod’s resignation.”

    The second Fox news story was posted online sometime before 6:15 p.m. on Monday. Quote from the first version: “FoxNews.com is seeking a response from both the NAACP and the USDA.” Quote from the final, updated version: “The Agriculture Department announced Monday, shortly after FoxNews.com published its initial report on the video, that Sherrod had resigned.”

    The third time that Fox ran the Breitbart story was near the end of Bill O’Reilly’s pre-recorded show on Monday night. Quote from Bill: “Ms. Sherrod must resign immediately….We are requesting an explanation from the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, and will keep you posted.”

    In a follow-up story on Tuesday, Fox once again asserted that it had run the story BEFORE Sherrod’s resignation was announced. Quote: “Vilsack announced Sherrod’s resignation shortly after FoxNews.com’s initial story Monday evening….”

    It’s Doocy’s fig leaf that’s “non-operative,” Stacy. As Jon Stewart once said, Doocy is one half of the “idiot sandwich” that is Fox and Friends.

  24. Cameroonian
    July 23rd, 2010 @ 2:14 am

    @Jeff

    I’ll concede that at least as of the date of her last news interview, Mapes was still insisting the documents were real. But Rather’s very clear and long-held public position (you can look up his court filing against CBS) is this: 1) no one has yet proved the documents are forgeries, and 2) if they are forgeries, it wasn’t his job to worry about that.

    So…one person (Mapes) who last said it three years ago three years ago and another person (Rather) who isn’t even saying they’re real is quite a long walk-back from your original, “There are STILL people out there on your side trying to argue the Killian memos are REAL.”

    Your fevered imaginings that invent such a “side” and put me on it demonstrate the point I’m making: knee-jerk demagogues divide the world into people who agree with them on everything and people who don’t, and regard the latter as enemies. You didn’t notice this, but the guy who brought up Dan Rather (by calling Breitbart the conservative incarnation of the same) was Jonah Goldberg — the very guy that both you and I praised in this same thread. That you regard Goldberg’s sentiment as something that could only come from the other “side” of your two-dimensional world is just dumb.

  25. Cameroonian
    July 22nd, 2010 @ 10:14 pm

    @Jeff

    I’ll concede that at least as of the date of her last news interview, Mapes was still insisting the documents were real. But Rather’s very clear and long-held public position (you can look up his court filing against CBS) is this: 1) no one has yet proved the documents are forgeries, and 2) if they are forgeries, it wasn’t his job to worry about that.

    So…one person (Mapes) who last said it three years ago three years ago and another person (Rather) who isn’t even saying they’re real is quite a long walk-back from your original, “There are STILL people out there on your side trying to argue the Killian memos are REAL.”

    Your fevered imaginings that invent such a “side” and put me on it demonstrate the point I’m making: knee-jerk demagogues divide the world into people who agree with them on everything and people who don’t, and regard the latter as enemies. You didn’t notice this, but the guy who brought up Dan Rather (by calling Breitbart the conservative incarnation of the same) was Jonah Goldberg — the very guy that both you and I praised in this same thread. That you regard Goldberg’s sentiment as something that could only come from the other “side” of your two-dimensional world is just dumb.

  26. Kojocaro
    July 30th, 2010 @ 11:38 am

    notice how the tard and his minions are defending the black panthers they shoud go back to whatver black nationalist site they came from[Y4E i mean you]

  27. Kojocaro
    July 30th, 2010 @ 7:38 am

    notice how the tard and his minions are defending the black panthers they shoud go back to whatver black nationalist site they came from[Y4E i mean you]