The latest CSP hit job, in summary:
* 12/20: ABC News does an innocuous exit interview with four House members, Carol Shea-Porter included. Pindell links.
* 12/26: The latest Pat Hynes/Shawn Millerick right wing smear machine masquerading as a news site takes a quote out of context and makes stuff up that isn't in the interview.
* 12/27, 1:47PM: Someone (presumably) feeds it to NRO's Jim Geraghty, a known national conduit for the local right-wing smear artists in this state.
* 12/27, 3:05PM: The Hill's Jordan Fabian (who once wrote for NRO) uncritically parrots the piece. From there, aided by the credibility of an (allegedly) legit news organization like The Hill, it ricochets around the right-wing blogopshere.
It's incredibly easy for hit jobs to go up the right-wing stovepipe and into the Village bloodstream, isn't it?
I think what's most interesting, though, is the timing. Frank Guinta hasn't even been sworn in yet, but they must be worried enough about his mystery money problem (which Fabian couldn't be bothered to mention) that they are trying to kneecap a potential comeback for Carol.
UPDATE: Contact the Hill's editorial department at jennifery@thehill.com, with the following questions:
* Given the striking similarities between the two, did Fabian get his information for the piece from NHJournal (or from the NRO echo chamber link)?
* If so, why didn't he link to the original source?
* Did Fabian watch the original interview on ABC?
* If so, does he really believe in the full context of the interview that Shea-Porter was talking about direct Chinese influence on her own election?
* Did Fabian contact the Congresswoman or her office for comment prior to publishing?
UPDATE x2: Could someone out there who knows former Dem Chair Jeff Woodburn kindly inform him of what he's lending his good name to?
UPDATE x3: Good for them - the Hill backs away from the prepackaged hit job. Maybe next time they'll do a little research before uncritically cutting and pasting the work of GOP operatives.
|
