A Nice Quote For Andrew Breitbart, Dana Loesch, And Their Confused Followers

Jason Linkins at Huffington Post:

One thing that conservative agitprop activists have taught me about the world of prostitution rings and human trafficking is that the actual ringleaders of actual prostitution rings never walk into places like Planned Parenthood and willingly offer, "Hey, I run this prostitution ring of minors and undocumented immigrants, and I was wondering what services are available to me!" That is only something that people who are pretending to be the ringleaders of a pretend prostitution ring do. It's too bad that the opposite isn't true, because it would be much easier to run actual prostitution rings to ground.

But running an actual prostitution ring to ground isn't something these activists genuinely want to do. And, insofar as the FBI and the Department of Justice actually had to expend resources investigating a hoax, their efforts actually make the running-to-ground of actual prostitution rings much harder. But whatever! Like I said before, if you're visited by someone claiming to be the ringleader of a prostitution ring, call the authorities!

Can we just stop the charade? Seriously, the idea that ACORN and Planned Parenthood and (if you listen to Breitbart) every other group that supports progressive causes or God-help-us actually improves the lives of poor people are all secretly running sex slave operations reaches a level of absurdity inexpressible in natural language. It's an insult to the people who actually work tirelessly to end sex trafficking and worse, to the victims of that despicable practice. And news organizations that give a platform for hacks like Andrew Breitbart and Dana Loesch who peddle this garbage are willfully making the American public more stupid. Here's a form you can use to contact Anderson Cooper to tell him that having Dana Loesch and/or Andrew Breitbart on as guests damages the credibility of the program.

Also, here's the latest update on the situation from Media Matters: Lila Rose's Video Contradits Her Claim that Planned Parenthood is Corrupt.

h/t to Lee for the quote.

Dana Loesch and Billy Long Pimp Already-Debunked Pimp Smear Against Planned Parenthood

The site Big Journalism, with editor in chief Dana Loesch, today published a (yawn) "shocking" expose of highly edited tapes that they claim shows Planned Parenthood supporting sex trafficking. Loesch has been pushing the story from her site via Twitter:

The story is oh-so-juicy-and-exciting, except for the minor fact that it was already debunked over a week ago! Planned Parenthood was not "covering up for sex trafficking," considering that they reported the incident to law enforcement officials long ago! Media Matters had the scoop almost immediately, since this stunt could be seen from a mile away.

It was nothing more than a desperate attempt by the Breitbart network to regaining relevance after they have already been thoroughly discredited. Just one more reason why Anderson Cooper and any other self-respecting journalist should not give Dana Loesch a platform to spread her deliberate misinformation.

But that didn't stop Congressman Billy Long from retweeting this nonsense:

There is virtually NO HOPE of having meaningful political debate while conservatives allow this kind of garbage to fester in the Republican party.

Loesch On MLK Day: Millions of Tea Partiers Are "Persecuted"

Dana Loesch and the St. Louis tea party think they know the true meaning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day: it's a time to talk about how members of the tea party are the true victims of "persecution." From the Anderson Cooper 360 Review:

Pretty sad that Cornell had to actually ask Anderson to keep her honest. I guess when it comes to these segments, the rest of us have to do his job for him. At least he noted that Palin never ever backs off. I had to laugh at Dana's claim that upwards of a million private citizens were "absolutely persecuted without any evidence because of this tragedy." Persecuted? Really? And she says it on MLK day no less. Good lord.

Here's the full quote from Loesch via the transcript (it's in relation to Palin's use of the term "blood libel":

The true test of an analogy isn't how colorful the language is, but whether or not it's accurate. And, in this case, it was accurately applied. And I -- I think it's just a little bit ironic that people would find offense over the fact that this term was used, and not be offended over the fact that you have hundreds of thousands, if not over a million, private citizens who were absolutely persecuted without any evidence because of this tragedy.

So you're not allowed to be offended by the term blood libel unless you think the tea party is persecuted. In other news, you're also not allowed to condemn anti-semitism unless you're in favor of Israeli settlements in occupied territory:

Loesch: And I find interesting that a lot of people who have -- who have actually been against Israel and who have been against Jewish settlements are suddenly finding themselves sympathetic to the Jews.

I guess that means that 99% of United Nations countries are not allowed to denounce anti-semitism.

Finally, Loesch claimed that "a ton of Jewish organizations" have been defending Palin's use of the term blood libel, but when she was challenged, she couldn't come up with any (since, after all, Alan Dershowitz is not an organization). Naturally, she changes the subject:

BELCHER: Here's -- here's the bottom line. When -- when the -- Jewish organization after Jewish organization comes out and say, this is a -- this is a slur, a -- a racial slur against -- against Jewish people...

LOESCH: And there's been a ton of Jewish organizations that have defended her.

BELCHER: You know what? I'm -- I'm -- I'm going to...

(CROSSTALK)

LOESCH: Why do you discount those?

BELCHER: Dana, I don't think there's been a ton of Jewish organizations that have been defending her.

LOESCH: No, no, no. I think that's disingenuous, Cornell. That's disingenuous,

COOPER: Wait. Wait. Not -- not both at the same time.

Cornell, just finish your thought.

LOESCH: No, no, no.

BELCHER: Well -- well, OK, OK. Anderson, you're -- you're keeping everyone honest.

Let's line up the people, the Jewish organizations that have come out and said this is a racial slur, and let's line up the Jewish organizations that say that -- that this is not a racial slur, and let's see where that falls. Let's keep -- let's keep us honest on this.

LOESCH: If it means that much to you, instead of actually focusing attention on those who were shot and focusing on the -- the lack of discussion surrounding the fact that we have...

COOPER: But -- but, Dana, couldn't -- I mean, wouldn't...

BELCHER: No, you can't play that. That's -- that's a -- that's a nice little spin game, but the question...

LOESCH: Oh, wait a minute, so, standard...

If you've got the stomach, you can watch the video here:


By the way, can someone explain to me why Cooper is giving a platform to the woman who employs the people who tried to sexually humiliate his colleague?

h/t to Justin Gibson for a link to the transcript.

It's Working! Right Wing Playing Defense On Loesch's Anderson Cooper Appearances

Yesterday, I wrote a post suggesting that if Anderson Cooper 360 was going to have Dana Loesch on the show to complain about how unfair it is that anyone would suggest there's something wrong with the tea party's extremist rhetoric, she should also be asked to explain the time that she said "I love the way a fire smells when it's burning tyranny" while her fellow tea partiers torched a photograph of Congressman Russ Carnahan (this was the day before they carried a coffin to his home). In that post, I suggested that people contact the AC360 show to share their concerns. That post was retweeted by at least 22 people on Twitter, and shared by 28 people people on facebook.

Apparently, this is getting the right wing agitated. Today, Meredith Dake, the executive producer of the Stage Right Show (and hence, intimately connected to the Andrew Breitbart Empire of Dirt), called on conservatives to contact AC360 and tell them how much the love Dana Loesch:

As an explanation, Dake said they needed to push back against "Eric Boehlert and the bigoted Left."

Boehlert is a frequent critic of Loesch and other Breitbart sock-puppets, and he had retweeted a call from @newsjunkie365 for people to contact the show with concerns:


Obviously, it's a free country and Cooper's show can have anyone they want on as guests. However, if they are going to boycottshun and shame Breitbart for his disgusting behavior, why would they reward Breitbart's second-in-command toady who engages in all of the same types of unethical activities? If they are going to have Loesch on to talk about extremist rhetoric, why wouldn't they ask her about her own? If they're going to interview her about Shirley Sherrod, shouldn't they at least do the basic research to know that she was one of the primary people attacking Sherrod and carrying Breitbart's water? If they are going to let her pretend to be an expert in journalism, shouldn't they know about the fact that she spread lies about the shooting based only on an anonymous comment on fringe blog Red State?

If you think so, then contact the AC360 show and ask them to start doing a little more research about their guests' backgrounds, and particularly Loesch's background. And no, getting a "career highlights" sheet from their publicist doesn't count.

Does Having Dana Loesch As a Guest Damage Anderson Cooper's Credibility?

Eliza, a St. Louis resident who keeps a close eye on Anderson Cooper, recently published her 2010 in review post. In it, she included the following observations:

BOOKINGS THAT HURT CREDIBILITY, AKA WHY IS DANA LOESCH ON MY TEEVEE SCREEN?

This listicle topic is almost a continuation of where we just left, and it is perhaps the one that has me most flummoxed. After watching this show seriously up their game when it comes to living up to their mission of keeping people honest, it is beyond disappointing to watch them stain that credibility by continually inviting on Andrew Breitbart blogger Dana Loesch. And I love how they neglect to mention his name when introducing her. I suppose that might make Anderson Cooper look like a bit of a hypocrite.

After all, our anchor didn't speak very highly of Breitbart's brand of "journalism" (which is also favored by Loesch) during the Sherrod debacle. Not to mention Loesch's Breitbart-like penchant for attacking people (my recent favorite is probably when she called Eric Boehlert a "Soros buttboy"--classy!), while our anchor makes calls for civility.

I understand why the show invites her on: she's young, conservative, and attractive. But she's also a bully, has a severe aversion to facts, and is not only a supporter and editor for the discredited Andrew Breitbart, she's also a promoter of the work of James O'Keefe, a man who once attempted to sexually humiliate a former CNNer. This is the guest 360 wants to lend their credibility? Surely there are better individuals in the supposedly vast Tea Party that could provide their perspective. If the show is fully informed of everything I have just posted, I can only assume this is just a game to them, and they do not respect their viewers as much as I would have hoped.

Just to throw in my two cents, Loesch is pretty clearly every bit as dishonest and unethical as Breitbart, and every bit as willing to destroy innocent people for cheap political points: she simply hasn't had the power to do as much damage as he has. But if folks like Cooper keep giving her a platform, she will someday soon.

Anyway, Eliza's whole post is a very thoughtful media critique. You can read it here.

Reminder: Dana Loesch Told Anderson Cooper to "Shut Up" And Said He Was "Riding the Vanderbilt Coattails"

CNN's Anderson Cooper has frequently invited Dana Loesch on to his show to spread her hateful rhetoric. By giving her a national platform, Cooper allows Loesch to reach a bigger audience with her non-stop hate mongering, such as yesterday's claim that a moveon activist should apologize for having her head stomped on by Rand Paul supporters. Of course Loesch now kisses Cooper's butt as she does with anyone who can advance her career, saying that he's a "gracious host," but what did she think about him before he invited her on as a guest?

A post on her blog answers that question. Loesch wrote a blog post titled "Shut Up, Cooper," in which she suggested that the only reason Cooper had his job is because of Vanderbilt connections:

Sorry, we all don’t get to the high positions by riding the Vanderbilt coattails.

So remind me again why Cooper and CNN continually provides her with a platform to spread lies and hate?