Andrew Breitbart is The Wrong Choice on Election Night
by Charing Ball
Maybe it’s about time to admit that those who control the mainstream media might be a tad bit racist.
Yesterday, news spread throughout the blogosphere of ABC News’ intention to bring in Andrew Breitbart, professional liar and founder of BigGovernment.com, as one of their commentators for their election night analysis.
Excuse me, but are we short of conservative pundits? Is ABC News that hard up for ratings? I mean Juan Williams, fresh off of his firing, might have appreciated an opportunity to redeem himself in front of a national audience. Surely, his appearance could have satisfied both parties.
However, despite his chance at the big leagues, Breitbart is sparring with ABC News executives about whether his invitation is explicitly to analyze the election results, or to just sit on a panel for an online town hall meeting.
After receiving a severe tongue lashing from many liberal bloggers and professional journalists, ABC News was forced to issue a statement: “He has been invited as one of several guests, from a variety of different political persuasions, to engage with a live, studio audience that will be closely following the election results.”
Oh yeah, that makes it better.
In case ABC wasn’t aware, it was Breitbart who manipulated a video of Shirley Sherrod speaking at a NAACP meeting. The video tricked many news outlets (including ABC) into thinking that Sherrod was making racist statements, which led to her firing from the Department of Agriculture.
And remember the ACORN controversy? When the two knuckleheads, Hannah Giles, who posed as a prostitute, and James O’Keefe, who posed as Giles’ boyfriend, tricked ACORN employees into allegedly giving them advice about federal tax evasion? Well, it was those heavily edited videos that helped to launch Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com and thrust him into the media spotlight.
Of course, the following year, ACORN, an organization dedicated to helping the poor, was stripped of its federal funding. When the original unedited videos miraculously surfaced—odds are that Breitbart knew—many of the “trusting” news outlets were left with egg on their faces, including ABC.
Excuse me if I come off a bit cynical of this televised and online panel discussion, but Breitbart is a blatant race-baiter and a manipulative liar all rolled into one. To even think of giving this egomaniac a platform makes me wonder what exactly does ABC hope to accomplish? I mean, what demographic are you targeting?
Who knows, maybe ABC is trying to be “fair” to extreme right wing neo-Nazis. I guess they figured since an African-American is president that it’s only fair to allow this racist blowhard to have his say on a national—or semi-nationally depending on who you believe—network. As ridiculous as it sounds, the reality that ABC felt compelled to invite this huckster to balance out their panel denotes just that.
ABC News’ decision to even consider Breitbart is not only a slap in the face to Shirley Sherrod, but also to the rest of Black America, those who were denied the services of ACORN, and everyone who believes in unbiased journalism.
Ironically, ABC News agrees with those same news agencies that blasted Juan Williams and Rick Sanchez for speaking from their hearts, no matter how ridiculous they sounded. Neither of these men was extended the same opportunity to play commentator or sit on a panel to discuss the election results.
If you treat a professional race-baiter as a “legitimate” political commentator on your station, you are pretty much solidifying that race politics is at the heart of your motivation.
I shed no tears for ABC News and all the backlash they are receiving. After all, inviting Breitbart to serve as the face of your network’s election night coverage is like a fire department hiring a pyromaniac as its fire chief. You are bound to get burnt.
