Amy Goodman: The Dubious Mr. Dobbs

The Dubious Mr. Dobbs

Posted on Dec 4, 2007

By Amy Goodman

Truth matters. History and context count. “You’re entitled to your own opinions. You’re not entitled to your own facts,” the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously observed. CNN’s Lou Dobbs has migrated to a pre-eminent position in the debate on immigration in the U.S. Since he identifies himself as a journalist, he has a special responsibility to rely on facts and to correct misstatements of fact. CNN, which purports to be a news organization, touting itself as the “Most Trusted Name in News,” has an equally strong obligation to its audience to tell the truth.

Dobbs was best known for anchoring CNN’s “Moneyline,” an early and influential program that helped create the televised financial-news genre. On “Moneyline,” Dobbs featured corporate CEOs and generally lauded them. About five years ago, Dobbs began changing his line, invoking populist rhetoric and championing the cause of the middle class. He thematically titled his coverage “War on the Middle Class” and “Broken Borders.” Dobbs’ signature issue of undocumented immigrants, or, as he calls them, illegal aliens, has tremendous influence on the debate nationally. So it matters if he is wrong.

On March 28, 2006, Dobbs said on his show, “And it’s costing us, no one knows precisely how much, to incarcerate what is about a third of our prison population who are illegal aliens.” As it turns out, the number of noncitizens incarcerated in the U.S. federal and state prisons is closer to 6 percent, not 33 percent. Note that the 6 percent includes legal immigrants as well.

On April 14, 2005, Lou Dobbs opened his show by saying: “The invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans. Highly contagious diseases are now crossing our borders decades after those diseases had been eradicated in this country.” CNN correspondent Christine Romans filed a report, then told Dobbs, “There have been 7,000 in the past three years.” CBS’ “60 Minutes” later challenged the fact, pointing out that there had actually been 7,029 cases reported over 30 years. When Lesley Stahl confronted Dobbs on the statistic, he defended it, saying: “Well, I can tell you this. If we reported it, it’s a fact.”

Dobbs’ reporter, Romans, said her source was “Dr. Madeleine Cosman, a respected medical lawyer and medical historian.” Cosman, who died in March 2006, was a medical lawyer and staunch anti-immigrant activist. She was recorded saying publicly of Mexican men: “Recognize that most of these bastards molest girls under age 12, some as young as age 5, others aged 3, although, of course, some specialize in boys, some specialize in nuns, some are exceedingly versatile and rape little girls aged 11 and women up to age 79.”

After I played the tape of Cosman for Dobbs, he conceded to me that his reporter’s source, Cosman, was a “whack job.”

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http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071204_the_dubious_mr_dobbs/

I have never set about to watch Lou Dobbs on purpose, but sometimes the t.v.'s on and there he is going on and on about all these illegal aliens taking our jobs, our social services, blah, blah, blah. Same line night after night. He's an inciter like Limbaugh and O'Reilly.

He is!

because he became no better than fox on spewing hate.

They kept it civil, too! Well, as civil as Amy and Juan can get when on attack. Dobbs was unprepared for them, but he did get his message more clearly stated than the usual portrayal of him. However, Amy and Juan really lit into him on his sourcing. He had to admit they were right and he had not done his homework on the Minutemen or that crazy eugenics "doctor." But he said that the NYT had cited her and written a glowing obituary last year, to which I can only say, "That is why I read The Independent and Guardian/Observer."

I'm certainly happy that this clown was exposed for what he was and how weak he was in his defense.

Dobs, I must say, kept his cool but was squirming in his seat. Corporate broadcasters are not use to being on the hot seat. CNN is trying so hard to get the angry white male demographic away from Fox news. It's not gonna work!

http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/videolinks/videolink_354.html

Lou Dobbs was an arrogant, insulting, lying, misleading jerk ... and, to top it all off, he couldn't respond effectively - he couldn't come with an argument or debate them intelligently.

Along with Sy Hersh, one of our last and best journalists.

I try not to watch Dobbs, however one day before thanksgiving I tuned in a few for a minutes. Either Dobbs has some health issue or he seemed to be intoxicated. Again last night I watched for a few minutes. The guy has marbles in his mouth or a bottle of Bushmills in his desk. This is totally baseless observation on my part. If he is ill I wish him only the best. If not Blitzer better get him to blow in the bag.

Not Dobbs, Goodman, or Gonzalez. Gonzalez especially seemed to have left rational debate behind.