Confederate flag flap hurts blogging credibility at-large
By JR Hoeft | Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 | PoliticsAnd we wonder why blogs have the reputation of being cavalier and reckless.
One need only look at a highly sensationalistic post on Ben Tribbett’s blog “Not Larry Sabato.”
Tribbett wrote:
MCDONNELL CAMPAIGN BOOTH RAISES A CONFEDERATE FLAG
HOLY CRAP. THE OFFICIAL MCDONNELL BOOTH AT A GUN SHOW IN RICHMOND HAS A CONFEDERATE FLAG UP!
Now we know what the Republicans mean this year with their “states rights” focus!
Of course, Tribbett did not fact-check before posting. He succumbed to speed and partisanship, by buying into the information he was provided without a bit of skepticism.
Unfortunately for Mr. Tribbett, he was duped.
The flag was in the booth next to the McDonnell campaign’s…not in it.
The Washington Post blog, which does do reporting, unlike Tribbett, asked questions.
Hugh Crittenden, the founder and manager of the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, is backing up McDonnell.
Crittenden said he invited both campaigns to staff a booth at the show, which draws 20,000 people each year. McDonnell’s campaign decided to show, but came late, so Crittenden assigned them the only booth left open: Number 43.
It happened to be next another vendor who also signed up late, Down Home T-Shirts, which got Number 44. According to material submitted to the show, Down Home T-Shirts sells “Confederate T-shirts and more.”
He said even if McDonnell’s staffers had asked for a move, the show was so crowded that they could not have been accommodated.
“I don’t want Bob McDonnell to get a bad rap from my show. He was there trying to be there for the outdoors people and the hunters,” Crittenden said.
Tribbett was quick on the draw because someone wanted him to be. Could it have been the Deeds campaign?
Signs point to that possibility because Deeds’ campaign manager, Joe Abbey, was quick to perpetuate the myth with a link to the post in this tweet:
“BREAKING NEWS: MCDONNELL HAS CONFEDERATE FLAG POSTED IN HIS BOOTH AT GUN SHOW IN RICHMOND”
No one will remember this blatant lie (the second for the Deeds campaign in as many weeks), but what they will remember is how reckless and irresponsible bloggers bring down the entire medium through their flagrant narcissism…and how desperate candidates are quick to go negative and spread falsehoods, ruining the nobility of public service.
Today’s joint failure by Tribbett and Abbey is shameful and should be condemned by all bloggers, regardless of their political stripes. And Sen. Deeds should take his campaign staff to the woodshed, in particular Joe Abbey, for his actions today too…unless, of course, he condones this sort of behavior.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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16 Responses to "Confederate flag flap hurts blogging credibility at-large"
Wait, I’m confused, are we pretending that Tribbett actually has credibility to start with?
[...] someone is leaking photos of Confederate flags that just ain’t so. Jim Hoeft over at Bearing Drift joins Anita Kumar over at the Washington Post in taking Joe Abbey and Ben [...]
First of all, I know it’s easy to try to pin this on the Deeds campaign but you need to do a bit of research yourself before jumping to that conclusion.
Was Abbey an idiot to retweet it? Yes. But that doesn’t mean in came from him or the Deeds campaign to start with.
[...] Bearing Drift has the details: Confederate flag flap hurts blogging credibility at-large [...]
Vivian – Just as many Dems have called on Bob, Bill and Ken to disavow their unrelated supporters, so too should Deeds and others be held accountable for their supporters. Wrong? Maybe, but what’s good for the goose…
Wonder if Ben’s just as disgusted by Jim Webb or Mark Warner embracing the stars and bars. This and calling Deeds’s rural outreach a “Deliverance Tour” shows an awful lot of hate and narrow mindedness toward folks outside of the bathhouses Ben hangs out in in NOVA.
Vivian –
Don’t you think the fact that Abbey pushed this via Twitter doesn’t at the very least raise eyebrows? It’s painfully obvious that (a) the picture is taken at an angle for a reason, and (b) certain people are invested in pushing the meme.
That having been said, once again we see the lines drawn up between ethical bloggers and bottom feeders. Damn shame… when the MSM is burned enough, they’ll stop feeding the trolls.
And they think he’s still relevant?!…
Benny-wenny, who blogs over at Not Larry Sabato (no, I’m not going to link him), seems to think that he can use blatant lies and poor reporting to promote his candidate, Creigh Deeds, over Bob McDonnell to govern Virginia. While Deeds is gallivanting …
If you’re a Democrat and your side’s got no game, you can always pull out the “Republicans, especially from the South, are all racist morons” card.
Also see this from Salon: http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/08/11/south/
Come on folks. Everyone knows you can’t believe half the crap written and posted on the Internet.
When any moron can sit infront of a computer and write whatever they want, you have to take that media with a grain of salt. Sorry but spin, BS and out right lies are mixed with the truth everyday on the Net. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just plain foolish.
[...] Hoeft reports on Bearing Drift that the Confederate Flag report hurts blogging credibility. “No one will remember this [...]
[...] Bearing Drift [...]
[...] you get the inevitable smackdown from JR Hoeft – and more to the point, you deserve it, [...]
[...] Hoeft Published August 12th, 2009 Erick Erickson of RedState has taken notice of the flag flap…and in a big way. And Blue Virginia recognizes that the Deeds campaign tripped-up [...]
[...] noted by both Bearing Drift AND the Washington Post, the manager of the show stated that the flag was on display in the booth [...]
[...] Bearing Drift: ”Today’s joint failure by Tribbett and Abbey is shameful and should be condemned by all bloggers, regardless of their political stripes. And Sen. Deeds should take his campaign staff to the woodshed, in particular Joe Abbey, for his actions today too…unless, of course, he condones this sort of behavior.” [...]
[...] Hoeft reports on Bearing Drift that the Confederate Flag report hurts blogging credibility. “No one will remember this [...]
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