Glenn Beck’s Claiming of the Moral High Ground on the Sherrod Affair is a Lie
Glenn Beck has an article up at foxnews.com touting how he didn’t rush to judgement and waited for the full context when it came to Breitbart’s Shirley Sherrod smear:
Why I Didn’t Rush to Condemn Shirley Sherrod
Of course, before the story started shifting in the afternoon, Fox and many others on the Right ran with Breitbart’s video clip and his incendiary version of events. It just so happens that Glenn Beck did as well, earlier that day, on his radio show.Shirley Sherrod, is the next example. We didn’t rush to condemn her. This is another seemingly “redistribution of wealth” woman — who I would bet that I vehemently disagree with on probably everything. But she asked for the rest of the tape to be heard, the farmers in the story backed her up. It was a turning point story. We defended her and said her side of the story demanded to be heard — because context matters.
That’s how we do things. But not how the administration does them. Instead of taking her at her word and waiting for the rest of the video, she was chewed up and spit out
Media Matters has the audio of his five minute diatribe:
mediamatters.org
BECK: So we have — this came from biggovernment.com, Andrew Breitbart’s site — we have videotape of a USDA administration official discriminating against white farmers. And she says, you know, I just stood there and looked at this white farmer. Then I sent him to one of his people.Anyway, I can’t bring myself to transcribe the whole thing, but he eventually plays Brietbart’s clip, and then rants some more like this:Excuse me!? Have we suddenly transported into 1956 except it’s the other other way around? Is that what’s happening? I mean does anyone else have a sense that there are some that just want revenge? Doesn’t it feel that way?
That there are some, and we are talking about, we are talking about, I believe a minuscule amount — I don’t think African-Americans buy into this at all — but the people like the Black Panthers, and whites, like the Weather Underground. It goes to what we were talking about, Collective Salvation. “Make ‘em pay! Make ‘em pay!”
BECK:So his own kind could take care of him. If this was, you know we do this all the time, if this were…The clip concludes with Beck helpfully reminding his audience not to go postal:CO-HOST: It doesn’t matter! It’s doesn’t matter!
BECK: It doesn’t. If this were a human… it’s not about black and white it is about human! “I sent him to one of his own kind!”
CO-HOST: Unreal.
BECK: You tell me what part of the gospel is teaching that. Tell me what part of the gospel is teaching that!?
BECK: Listen, all of this stuff is coming out to get you riled up. Don’t go down that road! You need to know it, you need to be aware, but don’t get riled up. Don’t do it.