Seems that NewsBusters, a far right group that purports to be a media watchdog, has stirred up the wingnutosphere with an inaccurate pair of stories. (No one could ever have predicted!)
First, Sarah Palin mentioned yesterday in a speech that a "hidden audio tape" had just been uncovered, in which Obama purportedly made some ominous statements related to coal emissions. I heard about this from one of the resident loons on the Bloggingheads.tv forum, username kidneystones, who has spent most of the past six months reposting the latest lies and smears leaking out of the damp basement that is the wingnutosphere.
In fact, the audio file has been available since the interview was conducted back in January. Read the SFC's statement about that here. Or, read my reply on the forum, which includes the SFC statement and some other links, here.
Next, NewsBusters updated their original post by adding a partial "transcript" of the interview, and the howler monkeys went into full frenzy, all of them copying what NewsBusters had up. kidneystones of course reposted that same "transcript" in the forums.
Yeah, quote marks are in order.
I downloaded the audio file from the page where SFC had it posted. (They don't appear to have ever posted their own transcript of the interview.)
Turns out the NewsBusters "transcript" is incorrect. It has added sentences to make what Obama actually did say sound worse. The wingnutosphere has seized on the bogus transcript to try to create a panic: ZOMG!!!1! Obama promised to bankrupt the entire coal industry!!1!1!!
If your eyes haven't rolled back into your head by this point, and you want to see my transcription of the relevant part of the audio file, visit this page on BH.tv.
Yes, I'm letting them make me as crazy as they are. It'll all be over soon.
2 comments:
So I imagine that 15 point deficit Obama has in West Virginia goes to a 30 point deficit. Which means - no change in the electoral map.
What does occur to me, B, is that this wingnut phenomenon is going to actually grow, post election. Not to be a downer - we just have to brace for reality. I've said all along that the far right hatred of Clinton will be nothing compared to what we are going to see.
Mostly, I think you're right that this has no change of significance on the electoral map. It did give me pause when thinking about a couple of swing states, both in the sense of tipping the scales for the undecided/weak Obama supporters, and in mobilizing the GOP GOTV effort.
As for growing after the election, I'm not so sure. It will depend on at least two things: whether Obama can get a couple of quick accomplishments under his belt, and whether the wingnuts who post comments on the blogs who have been spreading this latest lie find someone like Scaife to fund them. I don't doubt that there will be a contingent of losers who spend the next four years dreaming up new reasons to hate Obama. I'm less sure that they'll have meaningful clout, or whether they'll just make themselves ever more marginalized.
I dream of a schism on the right between such mouth-breathers and those conservatives and Republicans who still have some grasp of reality and decency.
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