Sherrod seems likely to get job back; Breitbart still flinging baloney
This statement, time-stamped as sent at 2:07 a.m., was in my email this morning.
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tonight released the following statement in response to the release of remarks in video from Shirley Sherrod:
“I am of course willing and will conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts to ensure to the American people we are providing services in a fair and equitable manner.”
Apparently the case is keeping at least some folks in Washington up at night. Good. The statement from the Obama administration represents a considerable change in tone from an email sent late yesterday afternoon defending Sherrod’s firing. They owe her not just her job back, they owe her a high-level apology as well. The NAACP has already issued such a statement.
Andrew Breitbart, who initially released the highly deceptive video at BigGovernment.com, continues to defend it. OK, maybe Shirley Sherrod isn’t racist, he now concedes. But her NAACP audience surely is.
“Regardless of what else is in Sherrod’s speech, the first video released on BigGovernment.com features Sherrod telling a tale of racism that is received by the NAACP audience with laughter and cheers. They weren’t cheering redemption; they were cheering discrimination. Upon hearing the cheers, Sherrod fails to offer any immediate clarification and even smiles right along with them.
Breitbart’s main objective by releasing the video was to call out the NAACP, an organization who has recently gone to great lengths to condemn the Tea Party’s alleged racism, for sanctioning racism in it’s own organization. Sherrod immediately became the scapegoat for the embarrassed NAACP and USDA, but she was never the target, the NAACP itself was, and the delight the audience took in the racist part of Sherrod’s speech leaves them exposed.
Sherrod’s firing is on the NAACP, who had the entire tape and apparently never bothered to scrutinize it until Sherrod had already been relieved of her duties. If it’s on anyone else, it’s the Obama administration, but Breitbart never even called for Sherrod to be fired.”
The refusal to accept responsibility — the utter lack of any contrition whatsoever — is dismaying, but not surprising.
Furthermore, I sat down to watch the clip in question again, and I don’t see evidence even for Breitbart’s latest claims. Early in the clip, the audience responds and chuckles along with Sherrod. But once she begins to talk about doing less than she might have for the white farmer, that reaction ceases and the audience falls quiet. Take a look for yourself:
Here’s the full video of Sherrod’s remarks:
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189 comments Add your comment
Jon
July 21st, 2010
8:24 am
It’ll be entertaining to watch the far right wing nuts that make up this state BS their way out of this one.
Grumpy
July 21st, 2010
8:27 am
Except for a few nutbags, the right wing actually stayed kind of quiet on this one. I think many people were skeptical of the video from day 1.
Paul
July 21st, 2010
8:28 am
Good morning. One story, so many issues, so many subplots.
I’m please IF what we’re NOW being told by the Obama Administration is the way it is. Briebart appears to be doing the ‘if I raise another issue maybe they’ll forget about the other” thing.
But… Ms. Sherrod said the White House asked for her resignation. Not that ‘USDA officials didn’t offer me any support.” White House says “who? Us? We wouldn’t do that!! It was AG Sec Vilsack!” It’s still the Obama Administration that hung her out because of the perception of controversy, not any actual guilt.
Welcome to politics in the White House, Ms Sherrod. From getting to the front of the bust to being tossed under the bus. You’ve seen a lot in your lifetime.
From Associated Press:
“Sherrod said she was on the road Monday when USDA Deputy Undersecretary Cheryl Cook called her and told her that the White House wanted her to resign. “They asked me to pull over to the side of the road and submit my resignation on my BlackBerry, and that’s what I did,” Sherrod said.
The administration gave a different version.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — not the White House — decided to ask Sherrod to resign, said USDA spokeswoman Chris Mather.
In a statement, Vilsack said the controversy surrounding Sherrod’s comments could lead to lingering doubts about civil rights at the agency, which has a troubled history of discrimination.”
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/20/2349465/usda-worker-pressured-to-resign.html
Makes one wonder what other decisions were made for political reasons, without a thorough investigation of all facts and circumstances.
I’m not sure she’d want her job back. Whatever her decision, I hope she lets it go and enjoys her life.
larry
July 21st, 2010
8:30 am
Seriously, this was a federal official who was defamed by a broadcast of a tape on their station that was made by a person with a questionable history.
If i was Sherrod , even if i got my job back, i would still file a defamation lawsuit against Andrew Breitbart and Faux News.
@@
July 21st, 2010
8:30 am
I watched the entire video early this morning. As it stands now, I would agree–Mrs. Sherrod deserves to be reinstated.
A little bit of Sharpton…a little bit of Bill Cosby, and a whole lot of God.
I would argue with her comment that being able to own a home can be attributed to President Obama alone. It neglects the Bush administration’s efforts in home ownership for minorities. Of course, there will be those (left-wingers) who have decided that there was nothing altruistic in Bush’s intentions.
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:31 am
I said it downstairs, I’ll say it again … I hope she sues the effing wanker for libel.
Mark
July 21st, 2010
8:31 am
Did you watch the rest of the video….Hell, she looks more of racist now than she did before!!
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 21st, 2010
8:31 am
Aahhh, the kettle doesn’t like being called black, just sayin…
So it spins, and steams and whines, maybe we should turn the heat down on the poor kettle, no?
mike
July 21st, 2010
8:33 am
Notice that Jay has no criticism for the NAACP or White House who jumped all over this story before checking the facts.
It’s almost as if baseless charges of racism are destructive. Nice to see the left is reaping what it has sown.
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 21st, 2010
8:33 am
People in glass government bureaucracy buildings shouldn’t throw stones, duh, just sayin…
larry
July 21st, 2010
8:34 am
And If i was the FCC, i would look into fining the crap out of Faux news.Especially if they dont backtrack this story.
Paul
July 21st, 2010
8:35 am
larry
“If i was Sherrod , even if i got my job back, i would still file a defamation lawsuit against Andrew Breitbart and Faux News”
Not the wire services? Not AP? Not any of the metro dailies? Selective prosecution based on perceived political leanings?
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:35 am
mike – what part of “They owe her not just her job back, they owe her a high-level apology as well.” do you not understand?
mike
July 21st, 2010
8:35 am
“I said it downstairs, I’ll say it again … I hope she sues the effing wanker for libel.”
LOL. What on earth is libelous? Dishonest and selective editing of video is not libel. If it was, all of the folks who have slandered the Tea Party with their selective editing would be guilty as well, let alone the master propagandists like Michael Moore.
As usual, you don’t know what you are talking about.
Doggone/GA
July 21st, 2010
8:37 am
“Ms. Sherrod said the White House asked for her resignation”
Not in any report I’ve seen. What I’ve seen is that she was TOLD the WH wanted her to resign. And Vilsack says he did not consult with anyone in the WH: “However, Vilsack told CNN on Tuesday that he “didn’t speak to anyone at the White House. … I made this decision, it’s my decision. Nobody from the White House contacted me about this at all.”
A White House official also told CNN that “the White House did not pressure her or the USDA over the resignation. It was the secretary’s decision, as he has said.”
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/21/agriculture.employee.usda/index.html?hpt=T1
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:37 am
mike – “Dishonest and selective editing of video is not libel.”
um. actually, when you’re accusing someone of being a racist and selectively edit a video to take quotes out of context as your “evidence”, yes. yes, it most definitely is.
@@
July 21st, 2010
8:37 am
I blame left-wing bloggers. From day one, it was they who hurled accusations of racism against anyone who disagreed with Obama’s policies.
Ass-u-me much? Leave “me” out of it.
Outhouse GoKart
July 21st, 2010
8:38 am
“If i was Sherrod , even if i got my job back, i would still file a defamation lawsuit against Andrew Breitbart and Faux News.”
Lettuce just hope Jesse and Al disagree with your opinion. We need to forgive one another and let the healing begin.
“Unclean spirit I cast you OUT!!”
mike
July 21st, 2010
8:39 am
USinUK –
Oh I understand that little aside. Contrast it with the rest of the harsh criticism that is leveled at Jay’s peers on the right. Please.
You expect partisan media outlets to be dishonest. I sure expect it of the AJC. On the other hand, the President is supposed to be the adult and get the facts. Instead he panicked and threw this woman under the bus in her car to get it done before Glenn Beck came on. This was an innocent woman thrown under the bus out of political panic.
The left has fired up this horrible race discussion and now it is biting back hard. Perhaps next time, the left will be more cautious with its race baiting.
Southern Comfort (EOI and disfunctional since 2010)
July 21st, 2010
8:39 am
Aahhh, the kettle doesn’t like being called black, just sayin…
So it spins, and steams and whines, maybe we should turn the heat down on the poor kettle, no?
So it manufactures a racist where there is none, and causes the woman to lose her job. As I said yesterday, go to a Black church, a Black barber shop, or anywhere else there would be someone telling a story with others listening. You will find the crowd nodding, clapping in approval, and many other responses. It doesn’t mean that they agree with the speaker’s actions, but that they’re merely following the story. One should at least have an idea of how things go in the culture if you’re gonna demonize it.
Doggone/GA
July 21st, 2010
8:39 am
“yes, it most definitely is”
Yes, it probably is…but it’s much harder for a public figure to win a libel suit than it is for private citizens. Generally speaking, it comes under: if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
I think she’ll let it go, especially if she gets her job back.
Jon
July 21st, 2010
8:39 am
@mike – that is funny stuff coming from the right wing that soaks up the “news” from the likes of brietbart and faux. hyprocrisy at it’s finest. something tells me you were jumping up and down for joy and did little fact checking of your own when brietbart first doctored the footage.
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:40 am
5 things you need for libel law:
1) the slander needs to have been published
2) the victim was identified
3) the remarks were defamatory
4) the remarks were false
5) the person responsible is at fault
so. yeah. I believe this qualifies.
Jay
July 21st, 2010
8:40 am
@@, as I recall, you were quite eager Monday evening to be the first one to post this “scandal” on the blog, and even expressed disappointment that Reporter/Whiner had beaten you to it.
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:41 am
Doggone – 8:39 – she was hardly a public figure prior to the release of the video
Outhouse GoKart
July 21st, 2010
8:41 am
99.9% chance of no lawsuit from Ms Sherrod for on FOX News *FLUSH*.
Wishful thinking will not get one a cheese sandwich.
Doggone/GA
July 21st, 2010
8:41 am
“One should at least have an idea of how things go in the culture if you’re gonna demonize it”
Not gonna happen. It’s much easier to demonize what you DON’T understand. I haven’t watched the video, but I’ve read parts of the transcript and all I read is typical of the “call and response” tradition. Same as someone who says “uh huh” while you are speaking so you know they are listening.
Doggone/GA
July 21st, 2010
8:42 am
“she was hardly a public figure prior to the release of the video”
Maybe not to the world, but she is definitely a public figure in her own sphere of work. All government officials are.
Jon
July 21st, 2010
8:42 am
@Mike – please point me towards this slandering of the Tea Party via selective editing. Would love to see it.
Outhouse GoKart
July 21st, 2010
8:43 am
” It’s much easier to demonize what you DON’T understand.”
Prime example is the constant trashing of FOX News.
Doggone/GA
July 21st, 2010
8:44 am
“Prime example is the constant trashing of FOX News”
And who has been doing that? Certainly not me, I don’t express my opinion of them because I don’t watch them. Comments I’ve seen here appear to be from people who DO watch and understand them.
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:45 am
mike – “the President is supposed to be the adult and get the facts. Instead he panicked and threw this woman under the bus”
he did? really? you have evidence that HE did it and not … oh … say … the Sec of Ag?
of course, yesterday, when Jay was saying that he wanted to see the entire tape before casting judgement, the righties on this blog praised him for his equanimity. NOT so much.
they ALL had the responsibility of finding out the facts of the situation and seeing the ENTIRE tape before “resigning” her.
@@
July 21st, 2010
8:45 am
jay:
I ended my comment with “This could get very nasty” and it did. Not something I was hoping for. I tire of the race issue.
“Oops! Andy beat me to it” does not denote disappointment.
larry
July 21st, 2010
8:45 am
FOX News *FLUSH*.
Ahh, printed something off of their web site i see, it is good toliet paper.
kayaker 71
July 21st, 2010
8:45 am
As of yesterday at 5:00 PM, the only politically active TV commentator who was pointing out Shirley’s unfair treatment was none other than the evil Glenn Beck. He spent a whole half hour lambasting Bozo and all of this cronies for their actions against Shirley. One of the best comments that he made was the two faced approach that Bozo and the Demos made for another person with racial skeletons in their closet, namely the highly touted and praised, Senator Robert Byrd. Seems like Byrd said some pretty evil racial things in his younger days but was praised by Bozo and his ilk for being such a great American. Selective indignation…. works every time.
mike
July 21st, 2010
8:45 am
USinUK -
“um. actually, when you’re accusing someone of being a racist and selectively edit a video to take quotes out of context as your “evidence”, yes. yes, it most definitely is.”
LOL. Well if that is the case, most of the liberal media is guilty of libel.What on earth is different about this case?
To be clear, selective editing does not constitute libel. You can claim that it is, but it is not. You are ignorant of the law, but that is not surprising. Trust me, I took the journalism ethics classes in college that Jay somehow missed.
Surely you do not claim that calling someone a racist is libel. If so, why are folks like Keith Olbermann and Cynthia Tucker not guilty? Nothing said by Fox or Breitbart is beyond the level of comments regulalrly made by these two.
I love the hypocrisy. “How dare they call someone a racist!” Do you not see what a hypocrites you all sound like? It is too funny.
I almost think that Breitbart did this knowing the deeply hypocritical response folks like you would have. Apparently the left has learned that baseless accusations of racism is wrong. Let’s just see if any of you can apply that to the people you hate so much as well or if this another case of liberal double standards. Let me guess
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 21st, 2010
8:45 am
So it manufactures a racist where there is none, and causes the woman to lose her job.
The United States of America got stuck with a clueless, vicious little demigod, hellbent on our total destruction, as president as a direct result of manufactured charges of racism, I find it hard to garner any sympathy for some racist at the USDA.
Maybe I’ll shed a tear and maybe I won’t.
Paul
July 21st, 2010
8:46 am
G’morning, Doggone/GA 8:37
““Ms. Sherrod said the White House asked for her resignation”
Not in any report I’ve seen. ”
I provided a link to the AP piece at 8:28.
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:46 am
Doggone – 8:42 – it’s a bit of a stretch to say that a way-down-the-totem-pole official with the Dept of Ag is the same as, say, a senator – or even a state senator.
mike
July 21st, 2010
8:46 am
Whining liberal hypocrites say:
“How dare the media accuse folks of racism with out-of-context imagery!”.
Evaluate yourself.
Southern Comfort (EOI and disfunctional since 2010)
July 21st, 2010
8:47 am
Doggone
My point exactly on the call and response. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s easy to take it out of context. It’s sad that we have become a sound-bite society and will convict someone before all evidence is gathered or presented. I hope nobody here has a video that could be selectively edited to discredit you in the future. No one should have to go thru something like that.
USinUK
July 21st, 2010
8:47 am
“Trust me, I took the journalism ethics classes in college that Jay somehow missed.”
well, you must not have done very well in it if you don’t understand the basic components of a libel case (listed above, for your convenience)
@@
July 21st, 2010
8:48 am
Also, jay, did you notice how I clarified my use of the word “blood”. Didn’t wanna be accused of racism simply because I used a word with various meanings.
Claims of racism serve the media, the politicians, and special interest groups. It doesn’t serve America as a whole.
larry
July 21st, 2010
8:48 am
Instead of introducing news stories , they will just call it Faux News FLUSH’s. In other words, time to go use the john.
Paul
July 21st, 2010
8:49 am
Doggone/GA
I just reread that post of yours. Seems you’re saying there’s a big, big difference between the White House asking you to resign and saying they want you to resign………
I think it’s a distinction without meaning. When a message like that comes from the White House and you’re part of the Executive -
Mark
July 21st, 2010
8:49 am
Larry, how can you sue someone for playing a video of your own words?…what country do u live in?
mike
July 21st, 2010
8:50 am
USinUK –
“he did? really? you have evidence that HE did it and not … oh … say … the Sec of Ag?”
Well, Sherrod claims that she was told three times that it came from the White House. You gonna throw her under the bus now too and call her a liar? LOL
“of course, yesterday, when Jay was saying that he wanted to see the entire tape before casting judgement, the righties on this blog praised him for his equanimity. NOT so much.”
LOL. You are full of unintentional humor today. So you want conservatives to praise Jay for giving a liberal the benefit of the doubt that he has never given conservatives? Good luck with that.
Look, why don’t you educate yourself on libel or better yet earn your paycheck for once instead of making me laugh so much here. LOL
AmVet
July 21st, 2010
8:50 am
Yep the inane, but mindfully non-partisan right wing loon and his lap dogs here do what they always do, and what they do best – vilify the weak and glorify the wicked.
And it looks like they may have a new hero as yet another far right wing lnutjob his misguided hatred into deadly violence against other Americans. But fortunately the soft on crime Republicans will not read about thisi on Fox News.
OAKLAND, Calif. — A California man known for his anger over left-leaning politics said after a freeway shootout with CHP officers that he had been planning an attack on the ACLU and another nonprofit group, police said Tuesday.
Byron Williams, 45, a parolee with two previous bank robbery convictions, wanted to “start a revolution” by killing people at the American Civil Liberties Union and Tides Foundation, both in San Francisco, Oakland police Sgt. Michael Weisenberg said in court documents.
You’re doing a heckuva job, connies…
Southern Comfort (EOI and disfunctional since 2010)
July 21st, 2010
8:50 am
The United States of America got stuck with a clueless, vicious little demigod, hellbent on our total destruction, as president as a direct result of manufactured charges of racism
Only in your world, Whiner. Only in your world…
I don’t recall millions of people casting votes for him because of racism. Many probably chose him as the lesser of two evils. That’s how I made my decision.
Jon
July 21st, 2010
8:51 am
mike – i’m still waiting for that slandering of tea party via selective editing thing. please back up your claim with evidence. shouldn’t be hard for a good little conservative like you right? and it is funny to see you start moaning now as you have nothing of substance to say.