Accuse the Accusers: @scrowder Gets the Left’s ‘Plate Glass Window’ Treatment

Posted on | December 12, 2012 | 90 Comments

After yesterday’s incident in which labor union activists tore down an Americans for Prosperity tent in Lansing and sucker-punched Stephen Crowder, this headline zoomed up the Memorandum aggregation:

Breitbart Folks Appear to Fake Violence in Lansing

Huh? This was a decidedly odd piece of blogging: The claim that somehow the union thug clobbering Crowder was part of a right-wing hoax, based on such “evidence” as the event having been reported by “James O’Keefe’s buddy” Lee Stranahan — because, hey, if anybody at Breitbart thinks it’s actually news, that means it must be phony, right?

Also, the video was edited. Anybody who edits a video is obviously engaged in some kind of evil conspiracy.

What the hell is this silly gibberish? Are these people crazy?

No, they’re engaged in a systematic effort to create confusion and discourage mainstream journalists from reporting on the incident.

“Accuse the accusers!” Re-arrange the narrative of events so that a story that obviously makes the Left look bad is, instead, a story about the Right unjustly trying to make the Left look bad.

This perversion of the narrative makes the teller of the tale (“Crowder works for Fox News! Stranahan works for Breitbart!”) the pre-demonized focus of the story, the villain whose tale can’t be trusted by any mainstream, legitimate journalist. And you can bet that any MSM reporter who does try to report honestly on what happened in Lansing will be brutally excoriated by Media Matters and others on the Left for taking this incident seriously as actual news.

Crowder is being smashed “through a plate glass window,” so to speak. If conservative New Media and citizen-journalists call attention to such an incident, that very fact — the involvement of conservatives, and their interest in the incident as news — will be leveraged by liberals as part of the counter-narrative to discredit and de-legitimize the story.

So it doesn’t matter to Marcy Wheeler at “Emptywheel” whether her bizarre version of what happened in Lansing is true or even rationally plausible. She has no interest in truth.

She only cares about “winning.”

In this case, “winning” means providing reporters with some flimsy pretext for ignoring what actually happened yesterday: Union thugs physically attacked their opponents in broad daylight.

This should frighten us. The Left has rejected any notion of objective truth. Instead, there is only political truth. And political truth is judged by the Marcusean axiom of “liberating tolerance.”

Look: Jim Hoft says the goon who punched Crowder is Tony Camargo of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 876.

Does that fact check out? Is there actually such a person?

Was Camargo actually in Lansing as part of the labor union protests?

If so — if Camargo exists and is an actual IBEW member — then this is not a “hoax” or a “sting” or any other kind of right-wing artifice.

If the basic facts of the story check out, then does this not also prove that Marcy Wheeler at “Emptywheel” is a contemptible liar?

And, strange to say, when I did a Google search just now, it led me directly to a Pastebin file by . . . Ron Brynaert.

Maybe this is just a coincidence. Or maybe not.

UPDATE: Patterico blogged about Marcy Wheeler yesterday without, apparently, wondering where she learned the “accuse the accusers” trick.

UPDATE II: Welcome, Instapundit readers!

The question of whether to blame sloth, stupidity or liberal bias for media malfeasance is always a tough one.

Generally, I prefer to think of bad reporters as just being stupid and lazy. They might get angry if you accuse them of being biased liberals.

These varying explanations are not, of course, mutually exclusive.

Category: Labor Unions, Media Bias, Michigan

Comments

90 Responses to “Accuse the Accusers: @scrowder Gets the Left’s ‘Plate Glass Window’ Treatment”

Finrod Felagund
December 12th, 2012 @ 1:47 pm

I’m reminded of a line from Death Race 2000:

“Loved by thousands, hated by millions!”
SDN
December 12th, 2012 @ 1:47 pm

Link?
Adjoran
December 12th, 2012 @ 1:50 pm

There are no more limits. The media’s ability to completely cover for Barack Obama since 2004 has proven the depths of gullibility of the American electorate have not yet been plumbed.

Why should the online left not join in? Who is going to call them on their lies? The media? As if! Conservative bloggers? Bunch of racists, right? The Courts? See Kimberlin skate away!
SDN
December 12th, 2012 @ 1:55 pm

Just went over to Hanity’s and watched. Crowder didn’t have anything to do with union guy falling to the ground; wasn’t even in reach until union guy got up and lunged.
Surprise: Media Forgets To Report on Union Violence | Animus Turbare
December 12th, 2012 @ 2:31 pm

[…] via Allahpundit, R.S. McCain writes about the lack of news coverage as a: No, they’re engaged in a systematic effort to create […]
Darkness on the Edge of Town: Unions and Islamists Lock Arms for the Horst Wessel Song | Andrew J. Patrick
December 12th, 2012 @ 2:42 pm

[…] we speak, the usual suspects are pretending that this either didn’t happen, or that it contain’s exculpatory “heavy editing”. I suppose it’s possible that Crowder shouted “All Union Men enjoy union with men, if […]
Anonymous
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:20 pm

[…] […]
NJ Reader
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:28 pm

Kind of like Dan Rather’s reaction to his ‘news’ story — (paraphrase) The story is correct, even if all the facts are wrong. Maybe (modern) liberalism — anything but liberal — truly is a mental illness.
Union Thugs Destroyed Hot Dog Vendor’s Cart While Shouting Racial Slurs | The Lonely Conservative
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:31 pm

[…] Surrealism has more.Of course, the left is claiming that the “Breitbart folks” faked the violence that was caught on camera for all to see. Nice Deb has plenty of unedited video in case there’s any doubt in your […]
JeffWeimer
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:37 pm

This is exactly what Stacy’s talking about – just make s**t up to confuse folks and keep them away form the truth. GFY Steve.
Moonbats And the Media - Lowering the Boom
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:39 pm

[…] significant. Since yesterday, the Left-wing blogosphere has been wailing about the possibility that conservatives were responsible for what happened with the AFP tent, and for the vicious and unprovoked attack on conservative […]
richard mcenroe
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:42 pm

Well, if you can’t trust the state to maintain an honest legal system, who can you trust? Right, Senator Menendez?
OsborneInk
December 12th, 2012 @ 3:50 pm

So what about all those cops who were in the immediate area of this horrible “union thuggery”? Why didn’t Crowder and friends report these assaults to the police instead of running to tell the internet?
jsn2
December 12th, 2012 @ 4:12 pm

That lefty broad, Mrs. Wheeler, indicated she has an interest in using feuilletons. A feuilleton (modern definition) is an “unofficial” version of an event, meaning it isn’t necessarily true, it depends on the purpose of the author. That’s what she does on her website, she writes her version of events to suit her purpose which is to promote Progressive ideals through any means necessary.

She writes lies to advance Progressive themes. Simple as that.

In the case of the incident yesterday with Steven Crowder she is lying to cover for her Union Thug Brothers. She’s a Propagandist for the Left.

Stacy, you had it exactly right, she has no interest in the truth.

P.S.
Modern journalism as practiced by the left is a never ending feuilleton.
Finrod Felagund
December 12th, 2012 @ 4:39 pm

Wow, so much ignorance packed into just a few lines.

How do you know he didn’t report the assaults to the police? Did you know that he’s a professional journalist, so his JOB is ‘running to tell the [I]nternet’? Where do you get off using ‘scare quotes’ around union thuggery when the video evidence is plain to anyone with eyes to see? Did you ever think that maybe the cops were intent on keeping a full-blown riot from breaking out, and didn’t have the time right then to deal with one case of assault?

See, we can ‘ask questions’ too.
Dino Spumoni
December 12th, 2012 @ 4:52 pm

Whereas what you’d think ought to make them angry would be to be thought of as lazy or stupid. But, no, that, they seem to be OK with.
Unsooper
December 12th, 2012 @ 6:10 pm

Why did you get probation on that child rape charge?
Left Responds To Michigan Union Violence By Blaming The Victim « American Glob
December 12th, 2012 @ 7:47 pm

[…] Stacy McCain was on the case… After yesterday’s incident in which labor union activists tore down an Americans for Prosperity […]
richard40
December 12th, 2012 @ 8:51 pm

I always figured Inglorious Bastards was fiction, but so what. It was a pretty entertaining movie, and it never pretended to be factual. I didn’t notice any real political bias in it either. The movies that steam me are ones where there is obvious leftist bias, the facts are mostly wrong, but the movie gives the impression that they are telling historical truth.
The latest outrage is the Oliver Stone untold history thing, that has the gaul to pretend that Stalin was an unfairly persecuted peacemaker.
The Blue State Leftist Cabal Throwing Tantrums To Cover Up For Their Failures | Alan Charles Itzkoff – the Conservative Top 10
December 12th, 2012 @ 9:14 pm

[…] Accuse the Accusers: @scrowder Gets the Left’s ‘Plate Glass Window’ Treatment : The Other McCa… […]
Bob Belvedere
December 13th, 2012 @ 8:14 am

Those who think we need to ‘build solutions’ are engaging in Leftist Thinking, playing their ideological game by engaging in social engineering. That is not conservative.
Bob Belvedere
December 13th, 2012 @ 8:52 am

Exactly.

Since Mr. Tarantino has been mentioned, may I put in a plug for what I think is, perhaps, his best file, Jackie Brown.
Bob Belvedere
December 13th, 2012 @ 8:53 am

Right, Rep. Moran?
Michael Morris
December 13th, 2012 @ 10:20 am

Yeah, Basterds never came off as being anything other than a “what if?” film. It was a pretty fun film too.
TMLutas
December 13th, 2012 @ 2:00 pm

You can win arguments all you like (and I have myself, for many years). When the question goes out “who’s going to stand with me as a worker getting screwed” there really ought to be an alternative that’s better than the union.
TMLutas
December 13th, 2012 @ 2:30 pm

Actually, I’m quite up on it, though I do question your own commitment. The fundamental problem with building an alternate solution to support workers than incumbent unions is the fear of union violence. It certainly is keeping me from starting up a business along those lines. One of the few things that should unite the right in support of government action is to ensure that people can go about trying out their ideas, trying to live their lives and start a business without fear of violence. That’s not true in this area.

All workers (i.e. all individuals who get paid in advance of the product/service being sold and revenue booked) have certain core interests in common. They all benefit from low unemployment. They all benefit from better communication. They all benefit from a variety of skill upgrades. They all benefit from mentoring. They all benefit from decoupling benefits from their place of work so they can leave as they please.

Individual liberty in the american sense is ordered liberty. It is not license and it works better when it has a better supporting infrastructure. The supporting infrastructure for workers for the past century has been unions. They suck but it’s what we’ve got and our laws accommodate them. That should end because the information revolution has made better options possible that are both more effective and without violence.

Building the supporting infrastructure is not an alternative to individual liberty. It is individual liberty implemented in the real world after it climbs down from the ivory towers of CATO and Heritage.
TMLutas
December 13th, 2012 @ 2:32 pm

Those who do not build solutions to societal problems are called barbarians. The civilized see problems and build solutions. They may be solutions that are capitalist, socialist, communitarian, or individualistic but all but the barbarians build something that lasts beyond them.

As for me, I like my solutions with a strong liberty component and without coercion.
Bob Belvedere
December 13th, 2012 @ 2:44 pm

You desire to ‘build solutions to societal problems’ – that’s engineering.
Bob Belvedere
December 13th, 2012 @ 2:46 pm

I desire nothing more than to leave people alone do to as they see fit as long as they do not prevent anyone else from doing the same.
Quartermaster
December 13th, 2012 @ 4:08 pm

Tarantino is not a serious historian like Oliver Stone.
Wombat_socho
December 13th, 2012 @ 4:22 pm

Stop with the friendly fire. It seems obvious (to me at least) that he’s proposing voluntary professional associations, not guilds or unions with the power to block people from taking jobs.
And so begins the end of the world as we know it
December 13th, 2012 @ 6:39 pm

http://theothermccain.com/2012/12/12/accuse-the-accusers-scrowder-gets-the-lefts-plate-glass-window-treatment/
I’m surprised they didn’t say it was Bush’s fault…
Matthews: What we need is a media that’s more biased against conservatives « Hot Air
December 13th, 2012 @ 6:40 pm

[…] to be grousing about press coverage after an election in which they crushed Republicans, no? Read R.S. McCain’s piece yesterday about leftist reaction to the assault on Steven Crowder and see if it makes more sense. […]
‘Through a Plate Glass Window’: How Liberal Media De-Legitimize Dissent : The Other McCain
December 13th, 2012 @ 8:50 pm

[…] in calling attention to these incidents.Call it “Wheelerization,” in tribute to the way Marcy Wheeler deliberately smeared Crowder as having somehow faked his own beating, simply because . . . well, James O’Keefe! […]
Left’s ‘Tent Truthers’ Claim Union Attack on AFP in Lansing Was an ‘Inside Job’ : The Other McCain
December 14th, 2012 @ 10:20 am

[…] a Plate Glass Window’: How Liberal Media De-Legitimize DissentDec. 12: AFL-CIO OMG WTF?Dec. 12: Accuse the Accusers: @scrowder Gets the Left’s ‘Plate Glass Window’ Treatment Category: Labor Unions, MichiganComments /*A Point of ViewAdrienne's CornerDaily […]
Bullying Redux | Animus Turbare
December 14th, 2012 @ 11:39 am

[…] it “Wheelerization,” in tribute to the way Marcy Wheeler deliberately smeared Crowder as having somehow faked his own beating, simply because . . . well, James O’Keefe! […]
Harry Jismsm
December 14th, 2012 @ 11:51 am

What really bothers me most, I think, is the fact that most liberals lie, they know they lie, and by todays moral standards they are not ashamed or embarrassed by their lying. Excusing it by claiming the lying is for the ‘greater good’. In the end it is still LYING.
Harry Jismsm
December 14th, 2012 @ 11:54 am

In addition, I would like to thank Hot Air for the link to this site. Never heard of it before. Now bookmarked!
Steven Crowder places wife under armed guard after ‘severe’ threats | Liberty Unyielding
December 14th, 2012 @ 8:14 pm

[…] Despite video clearly showing Crowder being assaulted, liberal union supporters claim that Crowder initiated the assault in a systematic effort to accuse the accusers. […]
FMJRA 2.0: I Can’t Stay Long : The Other McCain
December 15th, 2012 @ 5:09 pm

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