You have to have a perverse admiration for the rw machine - they won. Unless . . . .

This mess with Shirley Sherrod was played with such precision by the right wing machine.

They put out the edited tape.

The right wing media, nostrils aflare, all sang from the same sheet music: Racist in E Minor

The Criminal Chorus sings an accompanying round of "Off With Her Bigoted Head"

So well crafted was the ruse that the NAACP made similar calls for her head, to their everlasting shame.

The White House, ever eager to please the right wing and appear above it and decisive, fire the "Rogue Racist Operative."

Reality intervenes in that day's episode of "Political Kabuki Theater" and the tapes are shown to be not only wrong but quite likely in their use, criminally so.

The right wing media, in the most well choreographed about face in the annals of True Crime Curiosities, chide the White House for their overzealous actions, all the while avoiding any mention of their own fundamental involvement to their eyeballs.

That about face is rivaled by that of the White House, who now praise and apologize to the woman and offer her some "civil rights" job - as if that might be the only thing to which a competent professional black woman aspires.

The media condemns itself in a round of breast beating, mea culpas, and an artful mix of self- and cross-condemnations. Olbermann and Smith lead the charge.

Water coolers across this once great land offer up a warmer flavor of mountain spring effluent as the talk is heated between the typical warring camps of coworkers.




Mostly, the White House looks a little bad: out of touch to some, overzealous to others, weak and ineffectual to still others. It doesn't matter what the facts are. Once again, perception is reality. And there is little on the plus side for the white house. Unless there's a prize for aloofness.

Meanwhile, over at Right Wing Central, they're chuckling. Their lawyers have gone over the scripts and they feel like they're on safe ground. True enough, they got caught with cookie crumbs on their hands, but mostly they're immune. The bad press for them will pass. After all, they **are** the press. Who might be able to shed light on their shenanigans? An old, angry sportscaster? A young lesbian commentator? A brave but neutered "one of their own"? Not likely. The White House? Ha. They're easy. They have that glass jaw; when told to jump, they predictably ask "How High, Sir? May I have Another, Sir"?




And so, on balance out in RealityLand, the Right Wing once again wins. They got some mud spots on their cuffs, but overall, they won.




Unless . . . . . .




One person is in a position to make a difference in all this. And that would be one Shirley Sherrod. She has shown herself to be the most honorable, most strong, most righteous personality in the entire sordid mess. She has the case against ScumBagAndy and his henchmen. She was, indeed, an aggrieved party in all this. Falsely accused. Falsely terminated as a result. Defamed, maligned, reputationally assaulted, politically lynched.

In her round of morning yakker appearances today, she's indicated that she's aware she has a case and intends to move forward on that basis.

Shirley, quiet, professional, competent Shirley - the black woman, the victim, at the center of it all - has the high likelihood of success in anything she decides to pursue. I wish her nothing but the highest success.

for their heinous acts.

Instead, we get yesterday, which was yesterday's yesterday and last month's yesterday and last year's yesterday and last decade's yesterday.

Yes, the left that has the wherewithall to take them down has failed us. We without the wherewithal have long targeted them and cited sound reasons to take them down.And yet they stand, don't they?

Don't blame the angry left. Blame the sanguine left.

than there was at those that perpetrated the scam. They pretty much got off scot free

Thank you for making it.

Its like Lucy, Linus, and the football.

. . . . . bzzzpssst sss ssssss psssttt sssss over there bzzzzpsssst

:hi:

This thread's been attacked pretty hard. That's okay. This is about thoughts and their free exchange. That free exchange requires that ideas be seen and shared. I'm making sure that happens.

Nice post Stinky.

for a very classy lady. This story definitely has legs, and the longer it extends, the better Shirley is going to look.

played out so differently if the Admin hadn't been so knee jerk reactive.

If they had just waited 24 hours and did some investigating of their own, they would have been in a great position to discredit all the RW players. And they would have had plenty of ammo when the next faux scandal emerges from the right.

Instead, the story is Vilsack's apology and today's phone call from the Prez. What could have been a golden oportunity to skewer the right became a WH problem. Very sad.

K&R

There are links to it on DU someplace.

If she has to shame the democrats and the so called unbiased media to get there, all the more power to her.

it seems the rightwing can lie, they can shout and they can put anything the Democrats do on the ropes. But the main point is, THEY STICK TOGETHER. THEY LIE IN UNISON, THEY SHOUT IN UNISON, and they push the buttons on the populace every chance they get.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. The left wing or whatever the Democrats are supposed to be, is looking like they're lost. They're scared of those big bad guys up there on the hill, and we have a president that wants to work hand in hand instead of stuffing what we the people really wanted down their throats. what the hell is wrong with this picture??? Again, we own the entire enchilada and can't muster enough votes to help feed unemployed people?

We as a party don't deserve to win it seems.

Now stand by as Charlie Rangel becomes front page and continuous play on the media circus.