AP uncritically quoted "dirty trickster" Roger Stone -- founder of C.U.N.T. -- attacking Obama's patriotism
SUMMARY: An AP article about conservative attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's patriotism quoted Roger Stone, identifying him only as a "Republican consultant." The article did not mention that Stone established the anti-Hillary Clinton 527 group Citizens United Not Timid, which emphasizes its acronym on its website and on T-shirts, or that he reportedly was forced to resign from a political campaign in August 2007 after allegedly leaving a threatening telephone message at the office of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's father.
In a February 24 Associated Press article about conservative attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's patriotism, staff writer Nedra Pickler quoted Roger Stone's assertion that "[Sen.] Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd." But Pickler identified Stone only as a "Republican consultant." She did not mention that Stone established the anti-Hillary Clinton 527 group Citizens United Not Timid, which emphasizes its acronym on its website and on T-shirts, or that Stone was forced to resign from the campaign of New York state Sen. Joseph Bruno in August 2007 after "allegations that he left a threatening telephone message at the office of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's father," according to an August 22, 2007, New York Times report. In a January 28 Weekly Standard article, senior writer Matt Labash described Stone as "a professional dirty trickster and high priest of political hijinks."
The Times article also noted that "Mr. Stone is known as an aggressive strategist, having once, while still a teenager, recruited a mole to infiltrate the 1972 presidential campaign of George S. McGovern." A June 17, 1986, Washington Post article also documented Stone employing deceptive campaign tactics as far back as the 1970s:
In the fall of 1970, Stone moved to Washington to attend George Washington University. He became president of the District of Columbia Young Republicans. While his roommates were protesting the Vietnam War, Stone says, he was attending meetings of the Young Americans for Freedom. He also volunteered to work for Chuck Colson at the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). He became an assistant to Bart Porter, who helped manage the dirty tricks operations. Under the pseudonym "Jason Rainier," Stone went to Kentucky and recruited a political spy, paying him $5,800 for information on Democratic opponents. He also went to New Hampshire and donated money to the abortive presidential campaign of Rep. Pete McCloskey (R-Calif.) in the name of a left wing group called the Young Socialist Alliance. Stone then drafted a letter to the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader describing the contribution, enclosing a receipt from the McCloskey campaign.
Stone was a guest on the January 28 and February 18 editions of MSNBC's Tucker, the latter coming just days after NBC apologized for Jane Fonda's use of the word "cunt" on Today during a discussion of the play The Vagina Monologues, as Media Matters for America Senior Fellow Eric Alterman and The Huffington Post's Jason Linkins noted.
From the February 24 Associated Press report:
Sen. Barack Obama's refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism.
Now Obama's wife, Michelle, has drawn their ire, too, for saying recently that she's really proud of her country for the first time in her adult life.
Conservative consultants say that combined, the cases could be an issue for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination, especially as he runs against Vietnam war hero Sen. John McCain.
"The reason it hasn't been an issue so far is that we're still in the microcosm of the Democratic primary," said Republican consultant Roger Stone. "Many Americans will find the three things offensive. Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd."
"Conservative consultants say that combined, the cases could be an issue for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination..."
And WE in the "liberal" media keep giving credence to people like Roger Stone. After all, we're only happy to do our part in making the impugnation of an American's patriotism into an election issue.
How many people think that a 527 Group with this acronym and mission would have been allowed to use such an acronym under a Republican administration if for example the target of the group’s wrath was Laura Bush?
I know there was a story here at MM introducing this group last week – but I am even more repulsed by its very existence each time I read about it. Such a blatantly vulgar acronym created by the party of “family values” is just total hypocrisy personified – not to mention degrading to ALL women. How low will these people really go, is there a limit?
The avalanche is just starting.
Badly rememberred, no doubt. From Robert Scheckly's, "Options"
All the old rules are now cancelled. New rules will be introduced at random times and purposes.
It is a good day to kickback, groove to some stupid tv. Better yet stay in bed all day.
Or if that sounds boring. I could take you for a ride.
In addition to Stone, Pickler's sources included an announcer from Fox News and a swift-boater from DC.
Apparently when Pickler wants to impugn the patriotism of a U.S. Senator and candidate for President, the threshold isn’t very high — any scoundrel will do.
FireDogLake has set up a page to send complaints to local newspapers carrying the slanderous material by Nedra Pickler:
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/speakout/pickler
I wonder if those family-values, God-fearing Republicans wear their C.U.N.T T-shirts to Church.
This is very, very low for a wire service.
And if conservatives ever want their party back they would do well to push back against this type of smear mongering. My bet is that most of them have sold out so far they don't even recognize how indecent their party of choice has become. We see it here every day with some of the usual suspects trying to mitigate what their awful compatriots in the press do every day of the year.
I challenege this "dirty trickster" or anyone else for that matter who claims Obama, or any presidential candidate for that matter, is so called "blame America first" to provide some sort of quote. Some sort of policy position that backs up this ridiculous talking point. Being critical of one's own country is not "blame America first", it is indeed saying that we have some issues, and here is what I'm going to try to do to solve them. It just always seems that republicans (in general) talk about how great the US is (and I agree) and that according to their world view, everything is peachy here in the good old US of A.
On the other hand, have someone bring up issues that the country faces domestically, and all of a sudden, we're blame America first? What a crock o' crap that is. Also, I'd be more than ecstatic for Obama to be from the McGovern wing of the democratic party, unfortunately, Obama isn't that liberal.
Your frequent USA! USA! USA! chants lately have me thinking...
Maybe Democrats should start using the chant as the #1 chant throughout the General Election campaign. It would soooo burn the Repubs arses to have us hijack something from them for a change!:) Who knows, we might even turn "conservative" into a dirty word again.
I said it before on the CNN Poll thread...but if the shoe fits.
"Anyone notice the photo of former Pres. GHWB endorsing Sen. McCain? You can find it at MSNBC...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23222576/displaymode/1176/rstry/23222046/
I don't see a pin on either lapel."
I'm pretty certain that Mr. Stone noticed that event, and I'm pretty sure that AP covered that event.
Sorry...I forgot...I must have overlayed reality instead of those darn imaginary waving flags. :)
I'll plug back in to the matrix now. :)
http://dragonballyee.blogs.com/philly/files/let_the_eagle_soar.mp3
These guys are so far out there it's really hard not to find humor in this filth. I'm smiling while reading the meaning of the acronym and at the same time I'm telling myself if I were on fire this guy probably wouldn't even piss on me to put it out.