Larry Johnson's Fox News Flip-Flop

Lately, Larry Johnson and his PUMA brigade cannot get enough of Fox News.  Neil Cavuto, in particular, has suddenly in their eyes become one of the most honest and forthright news people evah!  They love him because he continues to invite the PUMA malcontents on night after night -  because he believes in them - not because he's a rabid, lying partisan who wants to destabilize and split the Democratic party!  Oh no, no, no!  He's just extremely fair and balanced!!  Larry and the PUMAs have not, I repeat not, sold their souls to the devil or anything like that.

But what's this?  Oh noes! How embarassing for Larry!  He's featured in the movie Outfoxed slamming Fox News!

Here is a summary of Outfoxed (the movie Larry stars in) in case you have not seen it:

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is a 2004 documentary film by progressive filmmaker Robert Greenwald that criticises the Fox News Channel, and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, claiming that the channel is used to promote and advocate right-wing views. The film says this pervasive bias contradicts the channel's claim of being "Fair and Balanced", and argues that Fox News has been engaging in what amounts to consumer fraud.

Outfoxed negatively portrays Fox News on several fronts:

-It criticizes Fox News' coverage during the leadup to, and the aftermath of, the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

-It claims that commentators such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity attempt to intimidate guests with whom they disagree, such as author and activist Jeremy Glick.

-It states that more airtime and coverage is given to Republican politicians, particularly those in the George W. Bush administration, than to Democrats.

-It portrays Fox News management, including Murdoch and president Roger Ailes, both conservatives, as controlling the network's content, and further portrays editorial control from Murdoch on down as ensuring which stories and issues are covered and that the coverage is from a strongly conservative perspective.

-It asserts that suspensions or other reprisals are given to reporters and producers for not promoting the channel's political point of view.

Former Fox News journalists appear in the film critiquing the methods and perceived integrity of their former employer. For example, Jon Du Pre, a former reporter for Fox News' West Coast bureau, said that he had been suspended by Fox News management because his live shots from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Ronald Reagan's birthday — which Du Pre described was like a "holy day" to Fox News' hierarchy — were not "celebratory enough."[2] A former Fox News military contributor, Larry C. Johnson, also claimed that he was in high demand to give on-air analysis on the "War on Terrorism", until he called into question on Hannity & Colmes whether or not the United States could fight two wars (in Afghanistan and Iraq) simultaneously, an incident after which Johnson says he was promptly ignored as a potential Fox News contributor.[3]

Here are a few quotes from Larry from the movie:

00:06:45 LARRY JOHNSON 100%
LOWER THIRD: Larry Johnson Former Fox News Contributor
I’ve heard directly from folks, both as correspondents and
as bookers, who have expressed very grave reservations,
almost as if they’re being monitored by a Stalinist system,
afraid to be seen talking to the wrong person or having the
wrong kind of email exchange.

00:07:33 LARRY JOHNSON 100%
LOWER THIRDS: Larry Johnson Former Fox News Contributor

It’s very much a, an environment of fear.

00:09:42 LARRY JOHNSON 100%
Every morning there was a detailed list of subjects to talk
about and not talk about.

00:10:06 LARRY JOHNSON 100%
They were just actually issuing edicts to the reporters to
control what they could say and how they could say it.

00:20:55  FOOTAGE: FOX NEWS Hannity & Colmes
LOWER THIRD: FMR CIA Office Larry Johnson
JOHNSON:  Going into Iraq is going to divert resources and
attention that should be focused on .

00:21:00  LARRY JOHNSON 100%
And Sean Hannity, being the right-wing cheerleader that he
is, was just, you know, incensed that I was, had the
temerity to suggest that we couldn’t.  

00:21:09 FOOTAGE: FOX NEWS Hannity & Colmes
HANNITY: We do have the ability and the resources, we’re
able to walk and chew gum, we can handle the situation in
Iraq.  [CUT TO:]

HANNITY: And we can still finish the job of protecting
against  and another attack.
[CUT TO:]

JOHNSON: What happens is when the resources end up getting
diverted and particularly the airlift assets required…

00:21:26 LARRY JOHNSON OVER FOX FOOTAGE
Facts don’t seem to have any effect upon him.  
[LARRY JOHNSON 100%]
What was unusual is it was after that appearance that, even
though I was under contract to Fox for another 8 weeks
roughly, [CUT TO:] They stopped using me.

Hypocrite much, Larry?

•  Cavuto says Clinton has "bitchy" image

  Dear PUMAs, is Neil Cavuto really your hero?

  Summary:  : While discussing Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy for the March 4 Democratic primary in Texas, Neil Cavuto said of Clinton: "[S]he's trying to run away from this tough, kind of bitchy image."

  CAVUTO: But Frank, if she has tried that to little avail in the campaign thus far and she's trying to run away from this tough, kind of bitchy image that her critics claim that she has, wouldn't that reinforce that image and actually help Barack Obama? In other words, isn't she between kind of like a rock and a hard place?

  by JLFinch on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:03:14 PM PDT

  •  PUMAS are racists.

    Go to their site and read their comments.

    They are constantly trying to clean up their rhetoric to appear fair and balanced in their Obama hatred.

    by berkelbees on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:44:51 PM PDT

    •  They're an extremist fringe

      Some are racists, although I think the average PUMA is probably more of a narsasistic fanatic than a racists.  Most of their leaders are just fat cats who knew they'd get a bigger share of spoils of the office under their gal Hillary than they will under Obama, and are angry that his nomination has costs them millions. (Not a jibe at Hillary in particular. Every president ends up with a lot of patronage to distribute just by the nature of the job, and even if he or she is being upstanding and above board about it, there's inevitable going to be a circle of people whom benefit more than others by virtue of having earned the personal trust of the president.) This millionaire PUMA's are just hoping if they can make enough of a stink, they might be able to slop their girl or themselves back into a higher position at the feeding trough.

      by kingfishstew on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 10:14:11 PM PDT

•  They are irrelevant.

  by christine20 on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:05:56 PM PDT

•  And for his next trick

  Larry Johnson will set his hair on fire and put it out with a sledgehammer to prove how tough he is.

  by JML9999 on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:10:34 PM PDT

  •  Rec'd for the LOL!! nt

    by berkelbees on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:41:43 PM PDT

  •  I think he may have tried that once or twice

    before...

    It would explain a lot.

    by JLFinch on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:54:24 PM PDT

  •  He's competing with

    G. Gordon Liddy for the coveted "Tough Guy" trophy.

    by Grannus on Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 02:19:24 AM PDT

•  The smell of the Larry's latrine still

  was wafts through .. even after it was flushed away.

  Light a match.

  by shpilk on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:15:58 PM PDT

•  Larry and Susan are done...

  

  by blueyedace2 on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:20:26 PM PDT

  •  'What a maroon!"

    by Agathena on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:53:44 PM PDT

•  So, did "they" turn Larry

  for whatever reason.

  Or did he flip out?

  Or is this some deep and messianic spy plot on Larry's part where he {thinks} he saves us - and the only way to do it is going into the lion's den, cause that's where the good info is and the perfect place for a very black op?

  The Daniel Complex.

  And he, like Daniel, would seem to need some extraordinary alliance.

  I've had an intuitive unease about this whole story. So, the diary is not something I can resolve.

  by walkshills on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:24:43 PM PDT

  •  I think it is nothing more complicated

    than a desperately needy personality that is struggling to remain an "authority" - on something, anything, doesn't matter what, as long as it feeds his ego.

    by JLFinch on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 09:56:41 PM PDT

    •  That's strange and quite sad, too. Thanks. nt

      by walkshills on Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 08:27:27 PM PDT

•  What is it with these assholes named Larry?

  Larry Johnson, Larry Sinclair... Have they ever been seen together? Maybe poor Larry Sinclair was so high on coke he thought he was blowing Obama, when it was really Johnson's johnson he had in his mouth.

  by Hannibal on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 10:08:14 PM PDT

•  Johnson is Republican as is Puma

  This is part of the franchising of Limbaugh's Operation Chaos. Johnson was and is a Republican. Puma, Clintons4McCain, Ironmyvote...these are all Republican groups that may have wanted Hillary Clinton....

  I give them credit...for groups with a total number of about 5000 they get a lot of Juice...thank Fox Noise and the rest of the Mainstream for giving these splinter groups pub......

  Larry Johnson is just a scumbag....He got his fifteen minutes with the "Whitey" rumor....It's only shows how out of touch most white people are that believe this stuff....I mean when is the last time a black person used Whitey? I'm gonna git you sucka?

  by danieladamsmith on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 10:56:28 PM PDT

•  There certainly seem

  to be a few dozen PUMA sympathizers over at TalkLeft,also.
  They are on every thread, ripping on Obama.

  by Hawkjt on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 11:03:10 PM PDT

  •  that's called "working" a blog

    trying to make it appear like a whole bunch of people are spontaneously commenting, when it is really just the same few sock puppets over and over again

    by JLFinch on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 11:43:57 PM PDT