Leave it to Lou
Dobbs: If there's a
right-wing conspiracy theory out there floating around on the Internets, he'll
latch onto it like a pit bull. He may be past his prime, but he just won't let
go. It must be tough for CNN to look on while Dobbs
discredits 'the most trusted name in news,' one wild claim at a time.
If there's a hook to the conspiracy even tacitly involving the immigration
issue, well, you've just made Dobbs' day.
How can we forget
his preoccupation with conspiracy theories about purported
government plans for a 'North American Union' between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada?
Or his promotion of the nutty conspiracy that Mexicans plan to reconquer the American Southwest?
Over the past two
weeks, however, Dobbs took things even further, pushing one of the most
ludicrous conspiracy theories of the right-wing fringe: the notion that the authenticity of President
Obama's birth certificate is in
doubt.
Kicking things off on
the July 15 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Dobbs aligned
himself with the far-right birther movement, devoting substantial airtime to the issue
of Obama's birth certificate, asserting repeatedly that Obama needs to
'produce' it. Dobbs said that the birth certificate posted online by FactCheck.org
'purporting to validate the president' has 'some issues. ... I mean, it's
peculiar.' He also stated that he wants to see a 'long form' birth certificate,
which he called 'the real deal.' That same day on his CNN program, Dobbs brought
up the issue again. Referring to the document that
FactCheck.org posted, he said, 'It is, in fact, the so-called short form, not
the original document. It is really a document saying that the state of
Hawaii has the
real document in its possession.'
By contrast, Dobbs'
CNN colleagues have repeatedly debunked claims that Obama has yet to produce a
valid birth certificate, calling them 'total bull' and 'a whack-job project,'
and have characterized those who make these claims as 'conspiracy theorists' who
wear 'tin foil hat[s].'
Two
days after his initial rant on the subject, Kitty Pilgrim was filling in
for the immigration-obsessed-crusader as guest host of his CNN show. During the
broadcast, Pilgrim, a regular correspondent for Lou Dobbs Tonight,
debunked
claims that Obama does not have a valid birth certificate and is therefore
ineligible to be president, noting that CNN 'found no basis' for such claims and
cited 'overwhelming evidence that proves that his birth certificate is real, and
that he was born in Honolulu.'
You'd think that
would put an end to the nonsense. Yet, days after Pilgrim answered it on his
very own show, Dobbs was back on the
air claiming that
the birth certificate 'questions won't go away.' A day later, still on the
birther bandwagon, Dobbs said on his
CNN program that 'no one' knows 'the reality' of Obama's birth
certificate.
Dobbs' obsession
with this fringe conspiracy did not go unnoticed by his colleagues at CNN or
competing networks for that matter. With Dobbs digging in his heels, other outlets began picking up --
and debunking --
various strands of the story.
On the July 21
edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host
Chris Matthews hosted Rep. John Campbell (R-CA), one
of nine Republican co-sponsors of what has become known as the 'birther
bill' -- legislation
that would require future presidential candidates to provide their birth
certificates. During the nearly 10-minute segment, Matthews grilled the
conservative congressman on the 'crazy proposal,' repeatedly asking, 'Do you believe that Barack Obama is a
legitimate, native-born American or not?'
The following day,
Los Angeles Times media writer
James Rainey quoted
FactCheck.org director and former CNN employee Brooks Jackson as stating, 'CNN
should be ashamed of itself for putting some that stuff on the air.' In the same
report, Rainey noted the
assertion of 'one CNN employee' who, in an apparent attempt to distance Dobbs from the
network, 'reminded [him] several times that Dobbs' most pointed
assertions were made on his radio program, which is unconnected to CNN.'
Perhaps sensing a
tidal wave of opposition to his fringe commentary mounting, Dobbs took to his
radio show on July 21 to rant about
the 'national liberal media' debunking birther theories, telling his audience
'they are not applying critical judgment.'
At
least we now know what Dobbs thinks of his CNN colleagues and other members of
the media, who have taken to the airwaves since
Dobbs' initial rant to debunk the Obama birth certificate
theories, often while ridiculing their adherents as 'nut jobs' who advance
'ludicrous' claims that are 'more conspiratorial than
factual.'
Dobbs doesn't want you to think he
isn't fair. You see, according to him, Obama could 'make
the whole...controversy disappear ... by simply releasing his original birth
certificate.' Yep, if the president placates a bunch of right-wing lunatics,
they'll be sure to leave him alone.
It's not Dobbs who is on the
attack; he is the victim of the
'liberal media,' which is afraid to 'upset the Obama White House.' It's those
'limp-minded, lily-livered lefties ... attacking' Dobbs because he 'actually
had the temerity to inquire as to where the birth certificate was.' Dobbs'
words, not mine. You can't make this stuff up.
In
the days that followed, Dobbs faced a torrent of criticism spanning the media
gambit: NBC Nightly News debunked the
Dobbs-driven birther
theory; MSNBC's Chris Matthews wondered if
the hubbub is about
'not documentation, but pigmentation'; Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's
The Daily Show, noting that
Pilgrim had debunked Dobbs on his own show, asked, 'Do you even watch CNN?';
MSNBC's Ed Schultz said, 'For
Lou Dobbs to wonder if President Obama is quote, 'undocumented' ... that's fringe
psycho talk'; playing a clip of Dobbs on MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-host Willie Geist said birthers
are flogging an 'imaginary
controversy.'
The
sparks really flew after CNN's Roland Martin took on Dobbs' obsession with the
birther conspiracy. Interviewed by Rick Sanchez, Martin made his opinion
abundantly clear, describing
those who promote the conspiracy as 'a small group of nutty people.' Referring
to the words of a birther yelling at
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) at a recent town hall meeting, 'I want my country back,'
Martin said the
birther really meant, 'How is this black guy all of the sudden running the country?' Dobbs was
none too pleased. On his radio show, he called
Martin's rebuttal 'a hoot,' saying, 'I
can't believe Roland would say something that stupid -- that it's racist.' The next day on CNN's
Lou Dobbs Tonight, Martin told Dobbs,
'[Obama's] not here to satisfy Lou Dobbs.'
So,
who are the birthers whose claims
Dobbs is advancing?
The figures include
Andy Martin, who has made anti-Semitic and racially charged comments; 9-11
'Truther' Philip Berg; perennial candidate for public office Alan Keyes, who has
reportedly accused Obama of taking the 'slaveholder's position' on abortion; a
pastor who has prayed for Obama's death; and the discredited right-wing website
WorldNetDaily. Remember, in Dobbs' world, it is the 'liberal media' who have failed to
apply 'critical judgment' to this issue.
Late this week,
word leaked that CNN President Jon Klein had reportedly
emailed information on Thursday to the staff of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight that Klein said shows the 'story' about President
Obama's birth certificate 'is dead.' Dobbs noted that evidence -- which was a
statement by the Hawaii Health Department that in 2001, paper records were
replaced by electronic records -- on air as Klein instructed, but then asked CNN
contributor Roland Martin: 'When this could be dispelled so quickly, and -- and
simply by producing [the birth certificate], why not do it?' We already know
that Dobbs apparently doesn't follow the reporting of his own network. I
suppose, then, that it isn't surprising to see Dobbs having issues following his
own logic.
Less than 24
hours after declaring Dobbs' pet 'birther' story 'dead' -- and saying anyone who 'is not convinced
doesn't really have a legitimate beef' -- Klein caved in
to Dobbs, reversing himself completely. In a statement to Washington Post Co. blogger Greg Sargent,
Klein defended Dobbs and stated, 'I think no good journalist would
ever say that a particular story will never be covered again. Every day brings
new facts, new pegs.' Additionally, according to Sargent, 'Klein ... took a shot at Dobbs' critics, saying they're
politically motivated: 'I understand that people with a partisan point of view
from one extreme or anther might get annoyed that certain subjects are
aired.'
This raises
the troubling question of who is really calling the shots at CNN.' It's hard to
see how anyone can believe CNN is the 'most trusted name in news' when its own
president can't stand by his less-than-day-old word. CNN's 'Lou Dobbs problem' just got
a whole lot worse.
The Senate Judiciary Committee put off its vote Tuesday on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor for one week amid objections from the panel's conservative Republicans, even as the judge's support among GOP moderates continued to grow.