Beat Back The Smears

by Josh Orton, Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 11:40:13 AM EDT

Over at Firedoglake, Jane's got the story of how Larry Sinclair - the Obama smear merchant - has actually been booked to speak at the National Press Club:

Larry Sinclair is one of the most outrageous anti-Obama smear merchants. So why is the National Press Club hosting him this coming Wednesday? Apparently Jeff Gannon wasn't available.
Sinclair's story about having used cocaine and having sex with Obama in 1999 is not credible. As Stoller says, it's another "whitey" style rumor and we all know how quickly this stuff makes the leap from the right wing smear machine to Sean Hannity to Fox News and then alley-oops its way into the AP.
...
More than anything else, it was the Swift Boaters being treated like they were legitimate by traditional media that allowed them to wreak such havoc on Kerry's 2004 campaign. Reverend Wright's appearance at the Press Club also dominated the headlines for a month. They should be careful about letting their credibility be used to legitimize Larry Sinclair, no matter how marginally.

Exactly. Too often, news organizations and political institutions play pass-the-buck with political smears, unaware that giving people like Sinclair a platform help legitimize his falsehoods.

Head over and sign the petition and call (politely) to ask the Press Club not to host Sinclair.

Tags: Barack Obama, Election 08 (all tags)

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

ugh what they hell is NBC thinking?

by drache 2008-06-12 11:45AM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

Can anybody book into the National Press Club? If I claim John McCain is really a lizard monster in disguise can I get a speaking gig there too?

by alexmhogan 2008-06-12 11:55AM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

NPC is pay to play. Sinclair payed, they put him up.

by AIegra 2008-06-12 12:12PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

Yeah, he's just rented a room and is having his own function - the Press Club isn't sponsoring him or anything like that. Commenter over at FDL says the Press Club has allowed people to rent rooms to talk about UFO and alien abduction, so I guess this is in that category.

The real test will be how much play Fox gives this "event".

by geordie 2008-06-12 12:38PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

"....John McCain is really a lizard monster in disguise"

If you want to see craziness incarnate, check out this site. It goes beyond the whole "freemasons and illuminati control everything" and takes it to the nth level. If you guessed that our leaders are secretly reptile people, then you know what kind of crazy I am talking about.

Don't say I didn't warn you though lol

by John in Chicago 2008-06-12 12:49PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

Is anyone really going to take this guy seriously? I mean, anyone would vote for Obama in the first place? Also isn't there a way he could be sued for slandering Obama? I admit I haven't read up on the story so I don't know the details of what has gone on... just that he is making some pretty absurd claims about Obama and drug use/sex.

by JustJennifer 2008-06-12 11:59AM | 0 recs

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he actually flunked a lie detector test

by slinkerwink 2008-06-12 12:02PM | 0 recs

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Re: he actually flunked a lie detector test

Which doesn't mean a thing because they are so unreliable that courts refuse to use the results as evidence.

by usedmeat 2008-06-12 07:24PM | 0 recs

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Sex with Obama?

What is it with these homophobic Republicans and ilicit gay sex?

He should be so lucky! LOL!!

by activatedbybush 2008-06-12 12:02PM | 0 recs

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I know

Obama could totally score a better looking guy.

by Dracomicron 2008-06-12 12:05PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

I saw McCain have relations with a Dino from the Flintstones, I wanted to keep it quiet but now that he's running for Prez, I need to make sure America knows, can one of you book me on the talk show circuit at once?

by Dog Chains 2008-06-12 12:03PM | 0 recs

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Signed and delivered.

It's sad when random blokes on the internet such as myself know more than the National Press Club.

That is, unless they're just booking him so that they can mock him mercilessly for an hour.

by Dracomicron 2008-06-12 12:04PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

Signed the petition.

by jsfox 2008-06-12 12:10PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

On the petition site you will find the phone number 1-202-662-7500 for the Press Club, give em a call and give them a piece of your mind. Don't let their excuse that they are only renting him a room, throw you. I argued thatby renting him that room he is using their good name to legitimize his lies and smears and at the same time giving them a lousy reputation!

by eddieb 2008-06-12 12:22PM | 0 recs

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Unaware?

I think you give them too much credit. They can't possibly be that unaware of their own power to legitimize complete bs.

by Natasha Chart 2008-06-12 12:30PM | 0 recs

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Will C-SPAN be there too?

If so, that's a real problem. If not, then who cares?

by Hesiod Theogeny 2008-06-12 12:39PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

Thanks for the link to FireDogLake's petition. Can journalism get any worse??

by bethmydd 2008-06-12 01:09PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

You mean worse than they were to HRC this year?

by usedmeat 2008-06-12 07:24PM | 0 recs

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Re: Beat Back The Smears

I called, and the woman told me that he was not invited by the National Press Club, he had a friend that booked a room, and they don't have any control over that. So he will not be invited, not be included, but they can't guarantee he won't host his own little event.

by vcalzone 2008-06-12 03:31PM | 0 recs

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I've rented rooms there

for a few hundred bucks, no questions asked. Blaming the NPC is stupid. Do you blame the phone company for letting him use their lines to book the room?

by benmasel 2008-06-12 03:41PM | 0 recs