The War on Fox - Catch-22 for Who?

Via Memeorandum The White House war on Fox News rages on. Jake Tapper devoted his question at today's gaggle to clarifying the administration's position on Fox. Here is a portion of his exchange with Baghdad Bob Gibbs:

Tapper: But that’s a pretty sweeping declaration that they are “not a news organization.” How are they any different from, say –

Gibbs: ABC -

Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?

Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o’clock tonight. Or 5 o’clock this afternoon.

Without naming them, Gibbs is singling out "Hannity" and "The Glenn Beck Show" which means the opinion shows are the problem. Never mind that all of MSNBC qualifies as opinion, the opinions there are pro-Obama and not an issue for this White House.

Gibbs' answer proves the point that Joe Scarborough made this morning on "Morning Joe." Here is a clip of Scarborough opining the real goal here is to make sure the main stream media does not cover anything investigated by Fox. He hits on what must surely be a few sore points namely ACORN, Van Jones, and now Anita Dunn:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If Scarborough is correct, the White House strategy reveals a great weakness within. Nearly every day some new revealing statements from the people chosen to work in this administration comes to light. If it were a matter of a problem statement by a single person, the statement rightly reflects on that person. At this point every revelation taints the White House instead. How can any consider it a coincidence that there are this many Mao lovers and self identified communists in high levels of this administration? It defies credulity.

The White House has no tangible strategy to stop this continual drip drip drip of video clips espousing bizarre philosophies and socialistic statements. If they could get out in front of this somehow maybe they could stop some of the bleeding. In reality, though, they can't make a Friday dump because there are likely plenty more of damaging statements from this crew yet to be found and they all know it. They can't keep dismissing these statements or lamely tying them to Lee Atwater. The mud that sticks is sticking to the White House walls.

Following the implied warning to the media not to follow news that comes from Beck and Big Government is a loser for the media. When the next ACORN-type revelation goes uncovered, the media is left with egg on its face. They can only sit on the sidelines while the White House drives up Fox's ratings. If there is an implied threat that the full force of the executive branch of government will be unleashed against those who fail to heed the warning, the only downside to the media is less access and higher ratings. How many Times staffers will be willing to take more layoffs so this White House can avoid answering questions about Anita Dunn or Ron Bloom? It speaks volumes about this absurd dishonest administration that they think this preposterous attempt to double-bind the media is their way out. "That's some catch, that Catch-22."

Glenn Beck is a Political Terrorist

David Sirota appeared with David Frum on CNN to discuss the Van Jones resignation. Sirota's argument, if we can call it that, is that Jones was targeted based on his race and affiliation with the Progressive movement. Frum does a reasonably good job of attacking the substance of Sirota's charges, though he is quick to distance himself from Beck.



Hat Tip: Hot Air Headlines

Rough Night For Huff Po & KOS

Scalp Dance Anyone?

Certainly Not with the KOS Kids who declare it a .....

Wait for it ......


Anyone who thinks this was about race rather than the man's own words coming back to hurt him is delusional. We are talking KOS here though, so delusional is the order of the day, I suppose. The bigger issue was who vetted him, or didn't rather? Beck asked questions about white and black persons in positions of power with communist backgrouds. Lynching? Perhaps it was lynching looking into Bill Ayers' background or his wife Bernadine "Dig it! First they killed those pigs and then they put a fork in pig Tate's belly. Wild!" Dohrn? But they're not in the administration, like the 32 others Beck asked about. Since the KOS kids didn't even know who Jones was, I doubt they know the race or gender of the others with a radical communist past either.

Nevertheless, the KOS headline, if it does nothing else, it certainly proves The Other McCain to be prophetic:

Welcome to the Obama Nation, where all criticism is subject to the accusation of raaaaacism. If Obama throws Jones under the bus, the Leader's minions will depict it as a sop to right-wing hatemongers, and Jones will walk away with a platinum Victimhood Card, immediately redeemable for a six-figure book contract.

I would guess a high tech lynching qualifies for a platinum Victimhood Card.

Jones Mocks Rumsfeld after his Resignation

Remember the old truism, "he who laughs last", Mr. Jones? This is a long video of a speech on Media Reform. The point in the video where Jones mocks Rumsfeld comes at 16:05 so just slide the counter to about 15:50 or so.



Hat Tip: Hot Air commenter: omriceren on September 6, 2009 at 12:56 AM who also blogs at Mere Rhetoric

Took Them Long Enough

Van Jones Resigns From Washington Post, the full statement:

"I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today," Jones said in a resignation letter released by the CEQ late Saturday.

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide," he said.

"I have been inundated with calls -- from across the political spectrum -- urging me to 'stay and fight,'" he continued. "But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.

"It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead."

Good Riddance

Left Wing Attack Machine Targets Glenn Beck

From Mediaite the Socialist Joker poster that gained viral status a few weeks ago has been adapted to target Glenn Beck. Would that this were the worst of the attack machine, Beck himself might find the effort a sad but small cost to bring attention to those who surround the President. The same ferocity we witnessed when Sarah Palin threatened the election of Barack Obama is evidently being employed in full force against Beck. The latest is a series of anonymously posted accusations that Beck murdered and raped a young girl in 1990.

Mediaite suggests this is a well coordinated attack unlikely to disappear anytime soon. In an update they report:

Update #3, 4:30pm: “Glenn Beck murder” and “Glenn Beck rapist” are now top suggestions when you do a Google search for Glenn Beck.

There are suspicious polls placed on sites like Twiigs and Reddit. The poll response is a remarkable 13,000 in just a few days. A website was created with the domain name "glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com." Though there is a small disclaimer at the bottom indicating the site is a parody, there is a consistent challenge that Beck prove he didn't commit such crimes:

“Notice: This site is parody/satire. We assume Glenn Beck did not rape and murder a young girl in 1990, although we haven’t yet seen proof that he didn’t. But we think Glenn Beck definitely uses tactics like this to spread lies and misinformation.”

As Mediaite suggests it comes across less like parody and more like a coordinated malicious attack, possibly to detract from the efficacy of Beck's questioning of the Czars like Van Jones. The White House is supposed to be responding to the latest report on Jones shortly, by the way. Jake Tapper tweeted the announcement just over an hour ago. It seems Beck's attention to Jones is hitting the Administration quite hard. As with Palin, we can expect to see Beck on the receiving end of relentless efforts to attack and destroy by any and all means.

UPDATE: Allah at Hot Air has a full report on the latest non-denial denial from Van Jones. He claims not to have agreed with the petition. Jake Tapper via Twitter states that a source has informed him Jones did not carefully review the petition. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Van Jones: Complete Revolution Away From Capitalism

UPDATED: SEE NEW INFORMATION BELOW
Naked Emporor News has a shocking clip from a 17 month old radio interview with Green Jobs Czar Van Jones. Jones describes an incremental process for pushing the green job movement until it ultimately completes a total transformation away from "gray capitalism."




ViaGateWay Pundit Van Jones signed the official 911 Truth Document. The Truth Document was an acknowledgment he believed George Bush was behind the 911 attacks. He is a Truther; you can see his signature (#47) here. No kidding, there is no end to the skeletons in Van Jones' closet.

See also Smitty's post at "The Other McCain" who reminds us to send our Congressmen the message support H.R.3226 - Czar Accountability and Reform (CZAR) Act of 2009.

Van Jones: Republicans are Assholes

Via The Hill Tony Romm has the video of Van Jones, "the Green Jobs Czar," calling Republicans assholes. He later describes himself as an asshole, which Romm is quick to point out. If you watch the video, however, this is hardly an excuse as he appears to be on a roll enjoying the audience response:




Romm describes the comment as "off the cuff and then goes on to describe it as a slip:

Jones made the off-the-cuff remark in February, during his lecture at a Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative (BERC) event on the green economy. At the time, the Obama administration had not yet tapped Jones to serve as a special adviser on the White House's Council on Environmental Quality.

The Hill's apologetic descriptions seem rather absurd since the tape speaks for itself. Clearly they see this as damaging, however, and do their dutiful best to smooth it over. This is not reporting, this is damage control.

For more on this see Legal Insurrection's post Glenn Beck's Revenge
Hat Tip: Memeorandum

Developing Meme: Palin's Pallin' Around With a Terrorist

Mark Silva, in the aptly-named "The Swamp" blog of "The Chicago Tribune," appears to be developing the lefty meme on Palin's invitation to her friends to watch Beck's New Republic series this week. Palin's pallin' around with terrorists by associating with Beck. Three words can best describe this nonsense; whiskey, tango, foxtrot.

Beck's series looks at those who "surround" the President based on the candidate Obama's statement:

Now, the reason I think that it's important to just get these facts out is because the allegation that Senator McCain has continually made is that somehow my associations are troubling.

Let me tell you who I associate with. On economic policy, I associate with Warren Buffett and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. If I'm interested in figuring out my foreign policy, I associate myself with my running mate, Joe Biden or with Dick Lugar, the Republican ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or General Jim Jones, the former supreme allied commander of NATO.

Those are the people, Democrats and Republicans, who have shaped my ideas and who will be surrounding me in the White House. And I think the fact that this has become such an important part of your campaign, Senator McCain, says more about your campaign than it says about me.

These are the people who are surrounding the President in the White House who have been vetted and approved by Congress; the Czars are a different story. Beck is looking at those who have highly influential positions around the President and their background and the results are startling. Palin's suggestion her friends might want to educate themselves about who these influential people are, seems to be giving the left some heartburn. Nothing settles left wing heartburn like painting folks with the "crazy" brush.

Silva seems to suggest Beck is both a radical and terrorist himself and is hypocritical for questioning the backgrounds of some in the White House. Beck questioned Jones' association with the group Color of Change, a group that also happens to be leading a boycott protest of the Beck show. Silva notes:

Jones had co-founded the group, Color of Change, promoting an advertising boycott of Beck's show since he accused Obama of being "a racist'' and not generally favorably inclined toward white people. Color of Change says Jones is no longer involved with it.

Yet he fails to note Jones co-founded the group in 2005, this is long past Jones' college years and only one in a history of more radical associations.. Jones has described himself as a communist and was a leading member of STORM. This group instructed members on Marxist teachings and Maoism. Beck has asked the White House whether they were aware of Jones' radical past but he received what can only be described as a non-answer response: "Mr. Jones is entirely focused on one policy goal: building clean energy incentives which create 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources."

Beck's past is entirely irrelevant since he is not a public servant who influences the President. If he can be considered a terrorist for suggesting the President may be racist in his attitudes toward white people, then Color for Change must be a radical terrorist group as well. When Kanye West claimed George Bush hated black people in a rant during Hurricane Katrina, Color of Change sold "Kanye was right" t shirts. This was also 2005 when Jones was heavily involved in the group he co-founded. It is unlikely either President was racist in their attitudes but both Beck and Color for Change are free to question a President's potential for bias. It is truly hypocritical, however, to suggest Beck is a radical terrorist for doing what Color for Change has done themselves.

Silva goes on to make the ridiculous charge that Palin is helping Beck build his base as she builds hers. The protest organized by Color For Change has done nothing but shine a light on Beck and his ratings have been massive. Who is really helping build Beck's base? It looks like Color for Change to me.

Silva's then makes a logical leap across a canyon to conclude Palin is "pallin around with terrorists." Palin is hardly wearing or selling "Beck was Right" t-shirts. She is picking up on the question McCain left dangling about the President's troubling associations; Glenn Beck provides a medium. In an ironic reference to Palin's admonition to the media, Silva states early on "we are not making things up." Sure could have fooled me.

Note: I am sure Palin's request to her facebook friends increased Becks viewership as has Rush Limbaugh's support as well. I dispute the notion Palin had any intention of building a base for Beck. I believe she wanted those who follow her to question Obama's troublesome associations. I also think the protest is inadvertently calling attention to Beck's research, increasing his audience to a degree in the process.