WKJM
burbles happily:
If you missed the two-night Hillary-O'Reilly lovefest extravaganza (as I did, deliberately), we've got an easier-to-digest six-minute highlight reel just for you...
Yeah, with a lead-in like that, I'm sure I can totally trust the highlights to represent the event accurately. No doubt about it. None.
Seriously, you'd think Obama supporters like "Marshall" would have learned something from about the perils of doctoring "editing" videos from their recent experiences, but n-o-o-o-o!
Which reminds me:
ABC called the doctored video of "War Room" that smeared the Clintons a "the definition of a dirty trick"; in other words, Ratfucking. And not only do we know that an Obama supporter created it, the Obama campaign has issued a classic "non-denial denial." Sounds to me like there just might be a story here!
So, I thought I'd see if the tribunes of the people in the blogosphere had done to advance the story, and --- I know this will surprise you -- *** crickets *** Not one single solitary link on the whole front page. Zip. Zilch. Nada. (Although I did find the burbling noted above.)
So, is it only TPM's 2008 campaign coverage that's completely corrupt? Or everything?
And how do I tell?
If I had reportorial resources, like WKJM does, there's are the questions I'd ask:
1. Who blogwhored the video to the A list? Amato, in his critique, says "a good friend." Atrios says he "I was going to ignore it until Drudge posted it, but stupid me anyway." Why didn't he ignore it, then? The second question is related:
2. Why would any A lister accept the video uncritically? A transcript (at least for the Kantor "nigger" smear) only came later; and if the video had any provenance at all, it wasn't exposed in the postings. Surely some sort of checking was done on something so potentially controversial? (And something, as well, that also may have involved copyright material?)
3. Who's the video "editor" and why won't they come forward? Ben Smith quotes the "editor" of the video(s)* who says (a) they are an Obama supporter and (b) the Obama campaign has nothing to do with the matter yet (c) the Obama campaign has, so far, issued a non-denial denial. There seems to be no reason to take any of this on trust.
4. Is the video "editor" JedReport, prominent Kos poster, Obama supporter, and former Hill staffer?
5. Why isn't a "dirty trick" news? ABC's Tapper calls the episode a "dirty trick" -- and it's hard to think of a better word for faking the word "nigger" into a video, attributing it to a prominent Clinton supporter, and ratfucking her campaign by releasing it immediately before a crucial set of primaries.
NOTE The other piece of the story, of course, is who blogwhored the video to the A list, (the honorable Amato's "good friend", for one). That's the trail that leads to.... Where? The Obama campaign? It's an obvious question, yet nobody seems to be asking it. I wonder why?
NOTE I just recommended "Marshall's" silly little clip. Heck, why shouldn't "Marshall" become more like what he already is? Meanwhile, Greg Sargent is wasting his talents on the stupid gas tax controversy. Ah, priorities. (The "creative class" [cough] thinks that working people who drive to work should take one for the team because at some point in the future, The Precious will have an energy plan, so they're clutching their pearls about a minor Hillary proposal that Krugman calls stupid but not evil. Yawn. Good luck with that, Boiz.)
UPDATE Questions originally posted in comments at Susie's place.
Front page
Comments
Did it portray the interview accurately?
I still haven't watched the full thing(bad Aeryl, I know), so I don't know.
Bill Clinton for First Dude!!!
He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.
- Sir William Drummond
That's not the question, Aeryl
The question is, Why would I waste my time finding out?
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Well, I watched it
True, you probably wouldn't want to, but I was curious.
It was pretty much clips of Bill screeching, with Hillary answering him, occasionally stroking his ego. He fell for it of course.
Pretty much what I'd expect. The editing is obvious, and the questions and answers look right.
Bill Clinton for First Dude!!!
He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.
- Sir William Drummond
I stopped watching...
TPM's videos about the second day he got video'd up.
They all feature his own talking head...talk about ego's...sheesh
Josh has thoroughly ruined his own credibility, his brand.
I understand that for Kos, credibility was highly overrated.
TPM absolutely needs credibility as his brand is one of news, less of opinion.
Susie Found More Info on the Video Push
Here - http://susiemadrak.com/2008/05/03/08/19/following-the-trail/
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
A-List Progressive Blogs Are Readily Taken In By Faked Video
That is my headline for the mess.
Well someone really smart set the boiz up for a big fall a long time ago didn't they. This smart person understood their bloated egos and has totally played the boiz this whole primary season like cheap fiddles. The boiz have become what they said they hated. Their precious egos are so invested at this point that they can't stop digging their own graves. For smart "kids" they have proved to be so dumb. They really live in a little bubble at this point. A weird house of mirrors. It must be scary as hell in there. Who will ever believe what they promote or say after this year? I will always look at them as being in the pocket of someone. I stripped their blogs sites off my computers months ago and will never go back.
On another note, here in Indiana people are so excited for Hillary the air is charged. I went to vote early yesterday and there were several people there to vote as well. Everyone was quiet while filling out the forms. I finished mine and when called to go vote I said out loud "well Hillary this is my vote for you". The other 4 people waiting to be called to vote all said immediately I'm voting for her too! I swear the hallway turned into a bunch of friends in that moment. Even in the parking lot we were all smiling and waving goodbye to one another.
There have been so many lessons this primary season. For one I learned what real strength looks like, in that, one, Hillary is absolutely amazing, and, two, some bloggers ran against the herd and weren't afraid to say wait a minute, not so fast. I guess the biggest thing learned is to not hand over authority to anyone. It is like I've gone through the looking glass in the last several months. I remember when the Dems took the House and Senate in 2006 and staying up late to watch the returns and feeling like the country was coming home again. And what has happened - nothing. The DNC and the Dem elite have shown who they really are this primary season. Even the blogs I used to go to for "the news" have turned out to be paper tigers. I used to be proud to call myself a Dem and that I came from a long line of Dems. Now I'm not sure what I am anymore. And maybe that is for the best. One less label, one less pigeon hole.
(This is strange "In My Life" by the Beatles just came on the radio. Seems appropriate in a way.)
Sorry, I have gone on too long here. I was just going to post my would be headline. But, I want to thank this community for being here. I lurk mostly but have found a new home here. Some of the other voices in the blog world that have rose up in the last few months are amazing too.
"Obama supporter"
There is no reason to assume that the video was doctored by a supporter rather than the campaign itself. I really fail to see why not blame the campaign. It's not as if we have an "independent" suspect.
KoshemBos
A-lister credulity
What bugs me is that all these A-Listers had the evidence in front of them... if they actually LISTENED to what had been said in regard to the "shit" part, they would have known that the video was not reliable. But they relied on the captions, rather than their own ears.
Amato's good friend
the fact that Amato identified the source as a "good friend", and not just someone from off the street, suggests that this was someone either directly or indirectly associated with the campaign.
You bet, Paul
And the silence is deafening, isn't it?
Perhaps the "good friend" was on a conference call? Or a mailing list?
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
the netroots village
Really not much different than the beltway village, it is just human nature and not very attractive.
There are places I remember, Linda
Especially a town called "Hope."
Amato sacrificed his journalistic integrity
for a "good friend" when he chose to protect that friend's identity.
Now we know we can't trust Amato if his friends are involved.
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Vote, n.
The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country. - Ambrose Bierce
x
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“I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat.” - Will Rogers
Not so fast
Because Amato told us about it. That's a lot better than the alternative, no? So don't trash him.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Huffington Post is still hyping this
They currently have a story says that Kanto denies having said anything like that. Considering that it has already been shown that it was a doctered tape, you would think the Huff Post would leave the story alone, even if they didn't have the integrity to issue a correction. Huffington is in Gerth territory here.
I think Huffington is just screamingly jealous of other successful women.
Could this be our Jed?
Jed Lewison, listed in the 108th Congressional Directory (printed 8/04) as Communications Director for Maria Cantwell -- that is the last year his name is found anywhere in the directory.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/...
Also, this salary summary of Jed Lewison indicates that he worked for Sen. Cantwell from 10/1/02 to 1/3/05.
http://www.legistorm.com/person/Lewison_...
There was only one other Jed(d) listed in the 2004 Congressional Directory -- he worked then, as he still does for Gary Ackerman of NY.
And ... I think we have a winner! Here, Jed Lewison is commenting on Matt Yglesias' blog, and just take a look at the website linked to his name. http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/05/stereotypes.php#comment-233839
Iphie: look at the comment thread on the Kantor video
story at the Jedreport.
There is a comment from "jedreport" that states:
"i can 100% vouch for the fact that nothing was dubbed in from the dvd. it is exactly what was on the dvd. there was a little bit of audio quality filtering, but that doesn't change what was said, just narrows the dynamic range and gets rid of background noise.
The only way this person could "100% vouch" for the editing is if he did it himself or was present when it was done.
We have our Jed.
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Real ponies don't oink - Patrick McManus
x
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“I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat.” - Will Rogers
We found Jed
From the Jedreport:
"A little about me: I'm 34, male, and live in Las Vegas. I'm a political junky, though I haven't worked in politics since 2004, when I was a senior staffer on the Hill. Now I write, blog, and post the occasional YouTube video. I'm also seeking representation for a recently completed political thriller set in Las Vegas and DC. You can reach me at JedReport at Gmail -- especially if you know any literary agents interested in a good read! -- Jed"
http://www.jedreport.com/
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Real ponies don't oink - Patrick McManus
x
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“I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat.” - Will Rogers
I have one basic rule of thumb.
If you read something about a Democrat that's absolutely repugnant, the story probably isn't true and you need to learn more.
More often than not, I'm right.
Susie is right
more on how the video spread
Please move Jed comments to the new thread
The Yglesias comment is just icing on the cake, so I featured it. Now what needs to happen is the backlink from him to the doctored video.
Go here.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi