Excuses In Favor Of Distance

The Modern American Right simply can't comprehend the very simple concept that they claim is one of the pillars of their ideology - accountability.

In light of the many "controversial" moments during the seemingly endless GOP Presidential debates, the Right is in full-on defense mode because some audience members booed an active duty member of the American Military because he is gay and he disagrees with Don't Ask Don't Tell.

For examples, check Breitbarts frothy-mouthed minions here, here, and here.

The rusty lynch-pin of their defense is that "it was just a couple of people", that this is something that not everyone in the Modern American Right would accept. And while the Right wants to paint this as a smear by Liberals/Progressive, the reality is that those that did cast aspersions at this soldier were largely ignored. They faced no backlash, even though Liberals/Progressives that merely questioned the need to invade and remain in Iraq were labeled as un-American traitors.

So it was with little surprise that I watched Fox"News" do their best to run . But what Megyn Kelly did was such a distortion of reality that I'm shocked that a time-space paradox didn't manifest itself right there in the studio with her:



Is Kelly attempting to excuse the actions of these people in order to push the narrative that there must be a specific amount of vitriol hurled by a set amount of persons toward a group of people that the Modern American Right allegedly champions before it becomes wrong? It would certainly appear that way. Moreover, her laughably flaccid claim that it wasn't the soldier that was being booed, that it was his question, falls completely flat when one considers how the Modern American Right spends countless hours decrying Liberals/Progressives questioning a particular mission of the American Military but offering support of the troop that is put in harms way.

I've seen and heard many disgusting and revealing aspects of Right Wing posturing, but this has got to be one of the worst. Not only do these people use members of the American Military as props, but they are more than willing to completely ignore real hatred that is leveled at them.

I'm wondering how long it's going to take the folks at Fox"News" or any lunatic fringe wingnut to piece together some conspiracy theory that it was actually Liberal/Progressive infiltrators at the debate that did this.

So He Was Right.......This Time

In light of yesterdays confession by Rep. Anthony Weiner, it's no wonder that Breitbarts Big Blogs are in full on gloat mode.

But there's something that people need to realize - this doesn't vindicated Breitbart in any fashion other than he somehow managed not to screw this one up. And for the man that is perpetually wrong, that's a pretty big step up.

The downfall is ultimately going to be two-fold: Weiner will likely face an ethics investigation and will probably be resigning in the weeks or months to come, and Breitbart will get away with the narrative that all criticism of him, his websites, and his "employees" are completely unfounded because he showed the world Rep. Weiner's - well - weiner.

What this should cause all people to do is put more pressure on Breitbart to prove his legitimacy. We shouldn't let the media give him a complete pass on this. After all, this is the same guy that pushed the demonstrably false ACORN story that the media didn't even come close to correctly covering.

So the question I find myself asking is this - would Breitbart take the same stance against a GOP member of Congress? Likely not, as his modus operandi is strictly "anti-left" and in no way objective in nature. I would suggest we not hold out collective breath in the hopes that Breitbart "expose" conservative misdeeds.

The boasting and bragging will likely dominate media coverage for the remainder of the week, so look for Fox"News" to claim some moral victory before lunchtime today.

As for Weiner, his credibility is pretty much shot in the eyes of the average media audience. But that was the idea, was it not? As one of the most vocal and intelligent opponents of the Modern American Right, Breitbart knew that he had to get this one right so they could be rid of Rep. Weiner. But the Congressman wasn't really a victim so much as complicit in his own downfall, Breitbart just knew he had to exploit it the best way possible.

Idiots On Both Sides

Naturally, Glenn Beck would weigh in on this in order to malign anyone within the liberal/progressive movement.



Funny how he is doing exactly what he told people NOT to do in reference to the Tea Baggers that have repeatedly been caught using racial divisiveness and blatant and unblushing racist language.

And while the reactionary Right in America are falling over themselves trying to show that it's really the Left that are the racists, there is one thing that separates what happened at the Koch's event and what happens each and every time a Tea Bagger is highlighted for their racial animus - the Left actually holds people accountable while clearly admitting that not everyone in attendance at any event is going to be a "perfect" person.

Common Cause, the group hosting the Florida even where Breitbart and his crew shot the video in question, has released this statement:

Common Cause condemns bigotry, hateful statements caught on film at rally

Common Cause’s 40 year history of holding power accountable has been marked by a commitment to decency and civility – in public and private. So we are of course outraged to find that a few of those attending the events around a gathering Common Cause helped to organize Sunday near Palm Springs voiced hateful, narrow-minded sentiments to an interviewer in the crowd.

We condemn bigotry and hate speech in every form, even when it comes from those who fancy themselves as our friends.

Anyone who has attended a public event has encountered people whose ideas or acts misrepresented, even embarrassed, the gathering. Every sporting event has its share of “fans” whose boorish behavior on the sidelines makes a mockery of good sportsmanship; every political gathering has a crude sign-painter or epithet-spewing heckler.

We organized the “Uncloak the Kochs” panel discussion and took part in the rally afterwards to call public attention to the political power of Koch Industries and other corporations, their focus on expanding that power, and the dangers it presents to our democracy.

We’re committed to staging other forums and public events in the coming months to continue that effort. We urge all Americans of good will to join us.

Those on tape who made these pointless and ridiculous statements are just as bad as the Tea Baggers that make equal claims against their opponents. They are both a pox on their respective movements and should be pointed out as such. However, the modern American Right are more intent on framing this as a failure of American popular media as well as a way to white-wash their own failures.

Once the initial claim broke that ALL within the Tea Bagger caliphate were racists, I knew that this would spell trouble for the Left in America - as it wasn't true. Certainly, there are more than enough racists in the modern American Right to have to deal with at any given "party gathering", but to paint the entire group with the same brush is dishonest. I think there are even some I would regard as my political opposition that just might be able to exercise the intellectual honesty to admit even as much.

The only problem is that a majority of Tea Bagger allies are more content to point the finger in the opposite direction - or even reinforce the Left's claims by trying to be clever - and cast aside accountability ( allegedly a cornerstone of conservative ideology ) in total.

The Left in this country would do well to speak out about this clip, but do so in an honest fashion that not only points out that racial animus can cross party lines but showcase how the modern American Right are continuing with the same debunked narrative - that it's not them.