Blogs ‘n Politix
September 26, 2007 by demon princess
Seems that attack ads by Republicans ~ in the Virginia state legislature, at least ~ have descended to what the Washington Post calls a “new low.”
Republican state legislator Timothy D. Hugo has launched an attack ad on his Democratic opponent with a twist: quoting comments to a blog by someone writing under a pseudonym as “proof” that even Democrats think the Democratic candidate runs campaigns on the negative side. (Hmm ~ projection?)
Hugo claims that everybody already knows that the “anonymous” commenter is a supporter of Democratic candidates, so if s/he says something critical of Democratic candidate, it must be true.
So, blog fans, be careful what you post as a comment in the future ~ it may well end up as an authoritative “quote” used against a Democratic candidate.
So much for considered, thoughtful & rational political discourse in the age of campaigns for office run by out-of-context soundbyte.
Link to the Washington post article is here.
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MSNBC’s Dan Abrams and Shuster’s Apology
MSNBC General Manager Dan Abrams asked/ordered David Shuster to apologize for Wednesday’s Rep. Marsha Blackburn incident and even wrote the bulk of Shuster’s on-air apology.
We also hear that an on-air explanation of this episode is not expected today, with MSNBC hoping to pretend the entire episode never happened.
Blackburn’s office told Abrams that the congresswoman never received a death notice from the Army for Jeremy Bohannon (that is true). Shuster hoped to acknowledge on air the various complaints received and that MSNBC would look into it further. Shuster is slated to host “Tucker” on Monday and that would provide a proper venue for a follow-up.
Abrams conceded that it was fair for Shuster to ask whether or not Blackburn knew the identity of the last person from her district who died in Iraq (she didn’t), but should acknowledge if he made a factual error in naming Jeremy Bohannon.
But as today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal article suggests, it’s not totally clear that Shuster made a factual error. Yes, Blackburn’s office did not receive a notice from the Army, but Bohannon’s last legal address (and where he lived for a year before joining the Army) was in Blackburn’s district.
Shuster appealed for further time to look into it, but Abrams shipped the reporter to apologize on air during Wednesday’s 6 p.m. hour:
But according to Pentagon documents, that young man came from a town inside a neighboring congressional district, not from Representative Blackburn’s, and for that, I apologize for that mistake.
Did Abrams cave to Blackburn’s pressure and fail to back his own reporter? Or should Shuster not have mentioned Bohannon’s name and just let it stand that Blackburn didn’t know the identity of the last person from her district to die in Iraq? Or should Shuster not have asked the question at all until the particulars of this situation were completely settled?