We've heard the rumors and the accusations. We've seen the evidence that proves there's no voter fraud. But that hasn't stopped the right wing noise machine from diving into the deep end of Loose Change-styles wackiness.
So, I will join them. Sort of.
In September of 2004, Dan Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday that CBS had obtained memos that contained some pretty damning criticism of George W. Bush's "service" in the Texas Air National Guard. As the story went, the documents were given to CBS by former Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, and were said to come from the personal files of Bush's former commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian.
Almost as if on cue, the right wing began to cry foul, claiming that the documents were forgeries, which was interesting in and of itself. The usual - in fact, almost autonomic - reaction by the right wing to such things is to immediately assault the character of everyone involved. To be sure, they did that as well, but the seemingly well rehearsed chorus of challenges to the authenticity of the memos sounded loudest. Again, their first reaction was not their natural reaction. They very specifically targeted the authenticity of the memos.
And damned if they didn't turn out to at least appear to be right! Bill Burkett changed his story, telling CBS that instead of a fellow guardsman, he got the memos from some nebulous, mysterious source that has yet to be verified. One of the experts who allegedly "verified" the memos came out to deny that he had done so. CBS was forced to retract the story, and - though the documents have never been proved either fake or real - apologize for the report, as did Dan Rather. It is widely believed to have hastened Rather's departure from CBS.
Curious, isn't it? An Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist, with the backing of one of the three biggest networks in the country got it wrong. Maybe. Maybe they did. Maybe they were supposed to. I am not the only person, nor the first by far, to suggest that Rather and CBS were set up. The chilling effect was certainly apparent. The simple message was: See what we did to Rather? Now, what do you think we'll do to you, a lowly beat reporter, if you ask the wrong questions?
And why do I bring this up? Suppose it is true that Republican operatives set this up to embarrass a highly respected new anchor, all in order to 'send a message' to the press. How likely would it then be that Republican operatives are working for ACORN, registering Mickey Mouse and Avatar Aang to vote in order to discredit a counter-agent to voter suppression?
Pretty damn likely, I would say.
Also, Sarah Palin is a werewolf.