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Tucker Carlson
Just a few days before Election Day 2012, The Daily Caller, a far-right outlet created by Tucker Carlson, ran with an exclusive scoop: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), running for re-election, had allegedly paid for sex in the Dominican Republic. Other conservative media outlets immediately pounced on the story, finding it entirely credible.
Even at the time, there was ample room for skepticism, not just because of the convenient timing of the report or the sketchy reputation of Carlson's outlet, but because, as Mariah Blake noted, the "controversy" appeared to be based on non-existent evidence.
Late yesterday, the allegations completely unraveled.
An escort who appeared on a video claiming that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) paid her for sex has told Dominican authorities that she was instead paid to make up the claims and has never met or seen the senator, according to court documents and two people briefed on her claim.
The woman said a local lawyer had approached her and a fellow escort and asked them to help frame Menendez and a top donor, Salomon Melgen, according to affidavits obtained by The Washington Post.
That lawyer has in turn identified a second Dominican lawyer who he said gave the woman a script and paid her to read the claims aloud. The first lawyer said he found out only later that the remarks would be videotaped and used against Menendez, the affidavits say.
It's also worth noting that the FBI went to the Dominican Republic to investigate, but also found no evidence to support the allegations.
We do not yet know who paid the woman to lie, or why the scheme was cooked up, though it's hardly a stretch to think campaign politics had something to do with it. We also don't yet know why The Daily Caller, which has earned a reputation for lax standards, published the reports, or how much the outlet knew about the veracity of the claims. (The writer who first published the story, Matthew Boyle, has since moved on to ... wait for it ... Breitbart.com.)
What's more, The Daily Caller this morning said the woman who is now recanting her story "does not appear to be one of the women we interviewed."
And it's at this moment when those involved in conservative media might want to pause, take a deep breath, and look in the mirror for a long while.
Erick Erickson complained the other day, "I think conservative media is failing to advance ideas and stories." I think he's right, but it's probably also fair to note that conservative media is failing to apply any meaningful journalistic standards to anything they do.
The point isn't that one news organization or another will not sometimes make mistakes; I've run my share of corrections myself over the last decade. Rather, the point is that there are serious institutional flaws in conservative media that encourage and perpetuate ideologically-driven mistakes.
I'd encourage those involved in conservative media -- or just as importantly, those who rely on conservative media as reliable sources of accurate news and analysis -- to start asking some basic questions. How many of you took "Skewed Polls" seriously? How about "Friends of Hamas"? How many felt embarrassed running with Bob Woodward's recent claims about White House threats? How many ran paid propaganda from the Malaysian government?
How many ran reports about Obama's non-existent library using Reagan's childhood home as a parking lot? How many said Hillary Clinton may have been faking a concussion? How many uncritically ran with strange conspiracy theories about Benghazi, Fast & Furious, imaginary voter fraud, birth certificates, ACORN, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics?
There's something rotten in conservative media, and it's time those involved in it to start making an effort to put things right.
At the same time, it's also time for everyone else to start treating the conservative media's scoops with more skepticism. I still look back with amazement at this Washington Post item from 2009, when the paper's then-ombudsman questioned whether major news organizations were failing to appreciate the "news" right-wing activists considered important.
Soon after, the New York Times' public editor reported that Jill Abramson, the managing editor for news, and Bill Keller, the executive editor, had agreed to consciously focus attention on "bubbling controversies" that originated in conservative media.
Here's hoping, in light of recent developments, those decisions are being reconsidered in a new light.
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So? The smear is out there, loads of people now think he's dirty.
There are no consequences to a right-winger for lying or framing someone.
IOKIYAR!
You are so right . They have legions of "Shooters" out there who consume the lies and know there is no downside to turning lies and misinformation into "news" Murdoch and Ailes built a whole empire on the premise.
Considering that Shooter has posted thousands of comments on liberal news sites like Mother Jones, it is more likely that Shooter is not a consumer but a professional troll who is part of of the "lies and misinformation" news machine, and if not a professional a dedicated troll non-the-less.
ok, I guess I'm a late-comer to the comment section. What does "IOKIYAR!" mean? I'm so outta da loop....
IOKIYAR = It's OK if you are Republican.
So, who is going to reimburse the US Government for the expenses of going to the DR to investigate this fake story? Who is behind it? Who did these attorney's work for?
I see Tucker Carlson is going the way of James O'Keefe's pimps and prostitutes. It appears that that is how conservatives roll.
TYVM :)
What do "The Daily Caller," "the Volkischer Beobachter," "Pravda" and "The People's Daily" have in common?
They all use(d) The Big Lie as their propaganda model.
If we want to find the "source" of this malicious story, maybe we should be looking at The Daily Caller itself. I wouldn't put it past them to have invented the entire story as just the kind of "election eve dirty trick" Republicans employ so often.
Shooter doesn't really post on MoJo anymore. His leaving seemed to coincide with repeated linking back to racist statements he made.
Maybe we should replicate that effort here?
they were NEVER credible. so, stop pretending that right-wing media has any basis in validity
I find it hard to forgive Anthony Weiner for going to the wall to coverup his twitpic problem, and thus giving Breitbart a scintilla of credibility - at least to where I could no longer reflexively tell a winger "it's Breitbart, there has to be something hinky to this thing you are so excited about".
Let's look at the (actual) scoops:
National Enquirer - John Edwards videographer/mistress
Breitbart - Anthony Weiner tweets shirtless pics
Daily Caller - Bob Menendez, in the Dominican Republic .. oh wait, they don't have a confirmed scoop yet, do they?
(But you can see the sketchy, bottom-feeding nature shared by of all these self-proclaimed "journalists".)
WELL SAID Steve!
Benen, one would think one would keep one's trap shut when the story is whether an itinerant hooker told the truth, and when the real story is Menendez getting and giving favors to a crony. You know... corruption.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130213/columnist/302139999?p=2&tc=pg
But hey, it's your call. Keep up the good work.
WHEEEEEEE!
http://moelane.com/2012/06/09/troll-hunting-101/
When trolls can't attack the story, they insist the story is really about something else.
Troll troll troll... LOL
Benen does an amazing job, as always.
In a totally negative way, The Blank also does "an amazing job".
In the sense that conservative trolls act as an inverse barometer to reality, then yes, there is a service being performed, although certainly not as it's intended. And in the sympathetic context of mental and spiritual health concerns, it's really kind of sad.
However, in the real world of personal contacts, life is way too short to allow that kind of ugly to infect our lives.
The only problem with this post is that you're preaching to the choir, Steve. The question is how to get the hot-under-the-collar Tea Partiers to understand this message. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone of the conservative persuasion throw "facts" at me that sound like proof that the Democrats are running the country into the ground. Of course, those facts are generally deliberate lies, often laughable in their implausiblity, put forward by World Net Daily or Rush Limbaugh or Matt Drudge or breitbart.com.
You can't help but notice that there's a sinister wave of disinformation that's spreading across this country, seeping into the nooks and crannies of people's thinking with some diabolical purpose in mind.
So you think that maybe, just maybe the American people are getting fed up and tired of the lies and the liars that tell them? Many Americans like to "pride" themselves on having morality - being honest, hard working, doing the right thing et.al. - but the thing is WE are living in a time when those currently in power of any type feel a certain amount of immunity to the swill that they're selling. They're neither being called out by the corporate-owned-media journalists, nor does anyone else appear to be calling them out. But I believe that deep down, Americans are waking up and realizing that the "emperors have on NO CLOTHS" and slowly but surely WE the PEOPLE are losing our democracy. Maybe people can't express it outright, because when you've been encouraged NOT to think for decades it takes a minute for all those brain cells to start syncing together, but deep down, I think people know and are reacting in kind to the over-reach and imperialism.
Why should anyone be surprised about teapub media lying? It's a teapub feature to begin with. I agree all politicians lie, but teapubs have taken it to a new level by leaving out exaggerations and just plain lying. It's sad that most of the time you only get facts and truth by watching Jon Stewart along with real journalism by watching TRMS.
btw, almost didn't recognize Tucker without his clown tie.
Mark Sanford wants forgiveness for what he has done and so easily talks about forgiveness. When this has been an endless ploy of men, when they have done wrong. Mark Sanford you expect forgiveness, but run back to do the same thing again with your lies and deceptions. We don’t need your load of crap and your typical excuse used by men. Mark Sanford get out of politics we don’t need a lying and stealing deadbeat like you. Mark Sanford is like one of those men that says give a guy a chance every time he has done wrong. But how many chances do you give a man like this who steals from the government and lies like it is just second nature as he load his pockets with cash 30, 40, 50, or more? Geesh what a deadbeat.
"There's something rotten in conservative media, and it's time those involved in it to start making an effort to put things right."
ROTFLMAO...I don't think that in my lifetime, the conservative media well ever try to put things right.
Actually, they have been putting things right. Farther and farther to the right.
Most people tend to think they are in the majority when it comes to beliefs, until the opposite is presented to them. Those that remain in tight circles, where common beliefs are repeatedly shared, only further confirm they (at least in their own minds) are not only right in their beliefs but have been right all along ("Really? I believe that, too, so it must be true!"). It's only when they step outside of their comfort zone and confront opposition to their beliefs and start the testing process (Are my beliefs sound? Do they make sense in the larger world? Do opposing views make any sense?) does true enlightenment begin. But, the process only works if you step outside the bubble and really open your mind to other possibilities. Too many Right-Wingers find the world outside the bubble uncomfortable and confusing, too many assaults on what they've "known" to be true so they yell "Conspiracy!" and dive back into the bubble and comfort themselves with like-minded people.
If you are a cheat, you assume everyone else is a cheat, too. Human nature. Why else would the Right accuse the Left of lying, cover-up, etc...? Not that the Left is pure, but there does seem to be a preponderance of sketchy behavior on the Right and that the Right believes "Since we do it, they must be doing it, too!".
I agree Missy, but when these people have been filled with so many lies, it is like brainwashing and to snap them out of those falsehoods takes something much more than just the news media.
The Post has a follow up piece with Carlson's response that the woman who signed the affidavit is NOT the woman they spoke with in the interview. Yet, you are reporting it here as if it is indeed FACT. Will you correct it if proven false or at least add the response to the posting?
Here's the Daily Caller's reponse to the incorrect information.
My guess...not.
Added note: Choose to believe whomever you want but to accuse without response is just as wrong as to lie about accusations.
Rob: You trust the Daily Caller more than the FBI or the Washington Post?
I would totally believe Carlson's story - if he had used the name "Rush Limbaugh" instead of "Bob Menendez."
Robby, did you miss the part in Steve's article where he did in fact say that Carlson says it wasn't the same person?
Lebowsky, I don't particularly trust the WaPo, but if they and Carlson are in conflict, the WaPo is a lot more credible source. That the FBI couldn't find anything also is strong evidence that this is a fabrication on the part of someone.
dkm: The Wapo employs Eugene Robinson and Greg Sargent. I doubt those guys will sit quietly and allow their employer to fudge fact. I too see an obvious decline in their credibility, but not on factual matters. The way I see it they try to play the "both sides" game too much...
dkm, did I "miss the part"...yes, I did. I don't know how, but obviously I did. My apologizes to Mr. Benen.
Lebowsky, not trusting anyone in particular...just looking at the story from all sides.
Yes, RobbyWobby, you are an infamous "both sides" troll here, and nobody with sense and self-respect takes you serious to any degree.
I second what EntropyRules said.
The David Brooks of MaddowBlog.
Rob: Just the fact that you won't say you trust the FBI is amazing on it's face. You folks have demonized every fed, even law enforcement apparently. career law enforcement that is not political. If an FBI Special Agent is caught lying or fudging, their whole career is gone. Tucker Carlson is a daily liar. Wow Rob, you might be a cut above Annie Oakley, but as far as intellectual honesty you choose to be near the bottom of the chain...
LD,
And he certainly seems to love it there.
Heck, at least he quit wearing that bowtie!
Tucker lost ALL of his mojo when he gave up the bowties. Even if his mojo was a slimmy gray, at least then he some!
The gum shoes over at the Conservative Media Corps, Inc. are thoroughly convinced of the conclusions and endings to their investigations, and spending the bulk of their time tailoring such evidence as they so desperately need to validate their intellectual stasis carefully stroked by a reverberating echo chamber of imaginary grievances their conclusions have hoisted upon them, will not produce any movement to allay Eric Erickson's lament! -Kevo
I have read that CREW is also involved with pushing this story. If so, they need to come clean...
"it's probably also fair to note that conservative media is failing to apply any meaningful journalistic standards to anything they do."
Steve, if they did that, how would they get any stories? All of their stuff requires a lack of journalistic standards. They depend on distortion, exaggeration and flat out invention. None of that meets journalistic standards.
"...but it's probably also fair to note that conservative media is failing to apply any meaningful journalistic standards to anything they do."
I am shocked and appalled by such a prospect. /snark
But the same could be said for a lot of media that is not part of the conservative propaganda machine.
you're complaining about the right wing media peddling crap? just remember who they're selling it to.
Carlson should hire Rick Redfern, he is blogging now for Huff Po and would bring actual credentials to the job and unlike Carlson, he's never played one on TV.
> There's something rotten in conservative media
Oh, heck yeah there is.
(longer read, but worth it)
Send in the clowns has suffered a wardrobe failure, as Tucker is caught cross dressing to earn extra pay.