On Shirley Sherrod, ZoNation has the definitive rant about the firing (see below). But I'm more interested in the Brietbart angle on this.
First, here's ZoNation's take - it is worth a full listen, because he's right.And since he mentions it, here's the entire Sherrod video for those interested;
But what about Brietbart? Did he get this wrong? I don't think so. Having brilliantly exposed the ACORN scandal one nut at a time, allowing ACORN to react one video at a time and deepen the problem for themselves, it seems odd that Brietbart would make what is seemingly a rookie mistake. In fact, I think this was a deliberate and different tactic. By exposing a portion of the video selectively Brietbart was able to expose a few things;
1. The selective nature of news reporting - by choosing which parts to publish he exposed the deplorable methods the mainstream media uses. It made it hard for them to condemn him for doing the same thing they do regularly.
2. It could have exposed a double standard in the White House in light of the speedy reaction to the events that preceded the beer summit. Or,
3. It could have led to an all-too-fast overreaction by the administration, as it indeed did. That over-reaction would help point out a pattern of poorly thought out decisioning by the White House.
4. Who is to say there isn't more Brietbart has waiting on Sherrod? It wouldn't be the first time he's kept some of his powder dry for subsequent barrages. The man is no fool.
Is it ugly and underhanded if that indeed is Andrew Brietbart's methodology? Or is it fighting fire with fire? Personally, I applaud Brietbart for being so effective in exposing the cracks in the theology of progressivism and modern liberalism. If it indeed was a tactic, it was quite effective.
I also think that conservatives have far too quickly been willing to distance themselves from any perceived error in judgement on the part of fellow conservatives. Not all errors in judgement are created equally - some are worth distancing and disavowal, others not so much. And not all errors are what they seem - sometimes they are not errors at all.
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