GOP Darling Does Something Offensive Again

Image by "SIR: Poseyal : KNIGHT of the DESPOSYNI via Flickr

You might remember Jame O’Keefe.

He’s the arrogant little punk who videotaped ACORN workers, and then intercut the video with scenes to make it look like they were assisting him in a prostitution ring.

Of course, it was later revealed (way too late) that it was all a fabrication.

Congress cut all funds and ties to ACORN, and the organization pretty much closed up shop nationally.

Several people lost jobs, and ACORN, an organization that signed up poor people to vote, was destroyed.

Which of course was their real crime. We can’t have the disenfranchised voting.

It was all part of the right wing voter suppression strategy. Study after study has shown that the more people who vote, the more likely liberals will prevail.

O’Keefe is also the guy who tried to wiretap Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office while posing as a telephone company person — in order to “prove” the senator was not responsive to constituents or some such nonsense.

He comes off as a spoiled rich brat with unlimited cash who decides to do stupid shit to people  because their existence offends him.

Well, now Salon is reporting that he has tried to “punk” a CNN reporter in a bizarre scheme that I have yet to understand:  “James O’Keefe’s planned sexual harassment “prank” goes awry”

Was O’Keefe trying to create irrefutable evidence that he has deep, disturbing problems with women?

A document “explains” his plan:

According to the document, O’Keefe was to record a video of the following script before Boudreau arrived: “My name is James. I work in video activism and journalism. I’ve been approached by CNN for an interview where I know what their angle is: they want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort….

“Instead, I’ve decided to have a little fun. Instead of giving her a serious interview, I’m going to punk CNN. Abbie has been trying to seduce me to use me, in order to spin a lie about me. So, I’m going to seduce her, on camera, to use her for a video. This bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five will get a taste of her own medicine, she’ll get seduced on camera and you’ll get to see the awkwardness and the aftermath.

It’s already part of the record that he is reflexively racist .

Remember, this is the guy that the right venerates as an example of their new journalism. He and enabler Andrew Breitbart pull disgusting stunts that destroy people in an effort to intimidate and silence discussion and opposition.

What a cad.

Update: Media Matters has a nice summation of O’Keefe’s “career”: The Lies of James O’Keefe.

-Chris

Jon Stewart vs. Fox News

Image via Wikipedia

Alternet is reposting a piece by Jason Easley’s PoliticusUSA.com blog about Jon Stewart’s threat to Fox News and the Republican media establishment.

Quite honestly, Stewart is one of the few folks who are doing the most basic journalism out there.

Republican positions depend on people being distracted and deeply enraged — about gossamer nothing issues. Under the cold light of facts, the Republican record and their myriad tangle of lies, dishonesty and hypocrisy are readily apparent to anyone with half a brain.

The rest of the corporate media establishment spend a lot of time being “fair” and pretending that all arguments carry equal weight — when a simple look at the facts (easily obtainable records, video, audio recordings) could easily cut to the heart of the matter.

Instead, the lazy, ratings-driven media creates a false “two-sides” dichotomy that bears not resemblance to reality.

Position A: The moon is a rocky object that orbits the earth

Position B: The moon is a hole cut in a big black sheet that makes up the sky

In the mainstream media, what we would see is an interview of the a supporter of position A, followed by something like this nonsense:

“…but detractors say that people who hold Position A are part of a NASA cover-up, and the moon is merely the light coming from behind the big sheet that wraps the earth. Back to you, Vance.”

And that’s assuming that there aren’t more sides to the story — as there are in most complex policy issues.

Stewart knows this game, and educates his audience to be media savvy.

Unlike Fox, the Daily Show host has a young audience that will continue to grow as the elderly who regularly view Murdoch’s monstrosity die off, leaving no one to replace them. The Colbert Report, which follows Stewart’s show, also has a vibrant, smart younger viewing demographic.

That’s why, Easley argues, Stewart and the hilarious Stephen Colbert are such a threat to Fox:

Fox News has made no secret of their distaste for Colbert, and especially Jon Stewart, and it is pretty obvious why. Colbert and Stewart are educating an entire generation of younger viewers to critically think about what they see in the media. The long term health of Fox News is going to depend on their ability to attract and retain younger viewers. These are the same viewers that are watching Jon Stewart expose and mock Fox News on a nightly basis. This is why FNC goes out of it’s way to impugn the credibility of Stewart anytime they can.

This is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal mediascape.

The Republican war on science and intellectualism has taken its toll, and the consumers of right-wing pabulum often display pride in their ignorance and lack of education.

For those in the reality-based community, the nation would be better served to develop serious news sources that use the reporting basics Stewart uses to good effect on his nightly comedy program.

Truth and facts are a killer to failed Republican ideas. And they know it.

-Chris

Related Articles

• Jon Stewart Highlights Anti-Muslim Bigotry at Fox News (redstateprogressive.com)
• Jon Stewart Skewers Fox News And MSNBC For Skewed Coverage Of President Obama (mediaite.com)
• Jon Stewart Vs. Fox News: Media Fighting Fair [Media] (gawker.com)