So I tuned into Morning Joe this morning (why, I still don't know) and Joe was on there ranting and raving and slamming the WH and the Dept. of Agriculture for firing Mrs. Sherrod based on Breibart's video. He was concerned about the WH firing Mrs. Sherrod based on an Internet video on a blog. He also went on to try to claim that FOX "News" was an innocent party because they didn't start playing the video on a loop live on air until AFTER she was fired.
Now, let's stop and think about that for a minute. The WH allegedly used a video posted on a RWing blog that frequently supplies such videos to FAUX which are then played on a loop over and over again until eventually someone "resigns." As Rachel Maddow pointed out last night, that happens regularly.
FAUX playing illegitimate, misleading, and outright LYING videos over and over again is what they do. Honestly, I'm willing to say that most if not ALL of those nontroversies would have gone away quietly in the night if OTHER "news" organizations like MSNBC and CNN and ABC and CBS didn't pick up the misleading reporting and run it in their own loops. Contrary to popular opinion, MOST of the country (probably like 80% or more in a non-professional guess) NEVER watches FAUX in the first place. And I'm willing to bet that a lot of the people who DO watch it only watch it for entertainment value (maybe they like having high blood pressure?) or to see what the latest crazy RWing paranoia is.
The problem here is that MOST of the misleading/down right lying reporting done on FAUX is sooooooo easily debunked it's not even funny. All you have to do is GOOGLE most of the time.
But I digress, why is FAUX not an innocent party in the smearing of Mrs. Sherrod? Because we KNOW how they operate. They HAD the video, you know Breitbart gave it to them maybe even before he posted it on his own website (this is a baseless claim that I feel comfortable making). The Tea Party's racism had been a hot topic because of the NAACP's resolution and then that guy Williams' subsequent overtly racist letter in response. So we all KNOW that the media (sadly, not just the conservative media) was looking for something to do a false equivalency with that. In fact, didn't Breitbart admit that the only reason he posted the video was because of the NAACP's resolution?
So, I can understand why the WH-- or whomever-- wanted to get in front of the story before it got out of control. That's not FEAR, that's just recognizing how FAUX and the media in general operates.
I love watching people like Joe who were right there crucifying Mrs. Sherrod on Tuesday morning being so "concerned" about how quickly she was fired. They are outraged, (outraged I tell you!) that the WH didn't watch the entire video before firing her. But I ask, how many journalists really asked to see the entire video before running with the story on Tuesday morning and showing that same edited clip over and over (I think I remember seeing it at least twice on Morning Joe within 30 minutes on Tuesday before I had to leave for work) and talking about how bad ALL racists are (which is true).
I don't think the WH was "scared" I think they were being overly cautious because they've seen how people in the so-called "liberal" press have been treating them since the damn election. They aren't STUPID. This time they may have jumped the shark, but if the full video had never been released, if Mrs. Sherrod had never stood up for herself, if those White farmers had never come out and praised her, how much do you want to bet people like Joe Scaroborugh and the rest of his idiot panel would have been talking about how politically smart it was to get out in front of the story?
Last night, I watched Keith's Special Comment, and I was so happy to hear him point the blame right where it needed to go-- at the media-- including MSNBC. The people who were so eager to have the latest race story to try to paint Obama as some sort of racist (or as weak and afraid to discuss race) that THEY didn't do their own due diligence to check out the legitimacy of the claims against Mrs. Sherrod.
I also caught Rachel's show which blew me away. Her first segment was just first class journalism, and then she came back later with clips showing the progression of FAUX from "outrage" over the comments to trying to look innocent in the aftermath. It had me wondering if maybe FAUX had FINALLY jumped the damn shark. But no, I turn on that SAME station (MSNBC) the next morning and see Morning Blowhard defending FOX as if they don't have a HISTORY of releasing videos like the one Breitbart posted and smearing good people in this administration. How quickly people forget the Michelle Obama "whitey" tape (that never surfaced, but I bet is still being used as a smear against her), or the nontroversy when Michelle made her "for the first time ever I'm proud of my country" remarks. One didn't exist, the other was taken completely out of context, but FAUX still played them over and over again to rile up their ignorant audience.
See the clips of Rachel's show here:
First segment:
Segment on FAUX trying to play us like we're idiots:
TRANSCRIPT of ENTIRE SHOW HERE
As Rachel pointed out in the first video FAUX is currently running with the Black Panthers story, something FAUX is STILL running with even though anyone who can GOOGLE knows that the story is utter bullshit.
This is what the Administration was anticipating when it made its decision, it didn't know weakness, it just showed too much caution. To try to absolve FOX of any responsibility is just disingenuous.
I could go on, but I feel like I've said enough for now. I may update with more, but this entire situation is pissing me off. FAUX does this shit all the time and, as Rachel points out, one can't help but wonder when the hell everyone else will stop following their lead because they are leading them right off of a cliff.
Oh, and while the other "journalists" out there are trying to paint the Obama Administration as "scared" of the "Conservative media" (this was a recurring theme in yesterday's presser), I have to wonder why THEY don't do their own damn jobs and fact check before they run with FAUX's stories. Are they scared? Why doesn't anyone want to take on FAUX outside of Keith, Ed, and Rachel? It's not just money because there is a market out there for telling the truth and debunking their BS, just look at the Daily Show. If anyone's "scared" I'd say it was them. If THEY did their jobs like they are supposed to, the Administration wouldn't have to worry about misleading internet videos.
Also, check out this bloc post "They're All Fox News". It's almost like groundhog day (the movie).