Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Sid 'Vicious' Blumenthal
TownHall.com ^ | 6/2/2003 | David Horowitz

Posted on 06/02/2003 10:13:10 PM PDT by MHGinTN

As readers of Christopher Hitchens’ point by point refutation of virtually every “factual” comment made by Sidney Blumenthal about Christopher in his new book The Clinton Wars know, Sid is such a compulsive and mean-spirited prevaricator that he gives ordinary liars a bad name. Sid is also litigious. Therefore, I will take this opportunity to invite him to sue me for any libel he detects in the article that follows. I have no concerns about Sid filing such a suit because in matters of libel, truth is a bulletproof defense.

I am going to focus on my personal experience with Sid, who has written about me twice in his life. In both instances -- and they are related -- there are more factual misrepresentations than there are sentences in his text. Moreover, the misrepresentations are all – with almost no exceptions -- wittingly made, and therefore lies, and also malicious. I haven’t sued Sid (and won’t) because as everyone knows (and as Sid would have learned had he not ended his own vindictive tort against Matt Drudge) one has to prove actual damages -- i.e., loss of income or of a job -- in order to win. Another consideration is the fact that libel laws exert a chilling effect on the democratic exchange of ideas and should therefore be used sparingly.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: davidhorowitz; sidblumenthal
The rest or the article.
1 posted on 06/02/2003 10:13:10 PM PDT by MHGinTN
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Alamo-Girl; Pokey78; backhoe; blam; wardaddy; WarSlut; shaggy eel; Victoria Delsoul; Howlin; ...
Ping-a-ling-a-ling
2 posted on 06/02/2003 10:15:43 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote Life Support for others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Bump
3 posted on 06/02/2003 10:24:16 PM PDT by steelie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
What does one expect from a Clinton toady....Truth??
4 posted on 06/02/2003 10:29:33 PM PDT by MEG33
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN; Doctor Raoul; hellinahandcart
Hey Squid! Drudge Won!
5 posted on 06/02/2003 10:30:56 PM PDT by sauropod (Its ok to laugh during sex... Just don't point!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Keep 'em coming, friend. This is just great!
6 posted on 06/02/2003 10:32:56 PM PDT by Howlin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: sauropod
The reason some journalists named the drones surrounding the clinton family "the Goons squad" is related to the squelching power of false lawsuits and vicious lies parsed in such a way to assassinate one's character in the press, with every intention of running the legal obstacle course as long as the exercise makes news, then dropping the suit due to specious nature of allegations. To use the phrase 'chilling effect' is na understatement. The Sopranos are choir boys by comparison, just ask Kathleen Willy, Jennifer Flowers, or Billy Dale ... and there are many other small, squashed opposition to the clinton 'empowerment at any cost' enterprise.
7 posted on 06/02/2003 11:35:27 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote Life Support for others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
WEB RESULTS by    (Showing Results 1 - 10 of 1,551)

1. Sid Blumenthal, the reporter's friend?
Topic: White Water Sid Blumenthal, the reporter's friend? The Boston Globe March 3 1998 Jeff Jacoby That was a helluva hoo-hah Ken Starr set off when he summoned Clinton spinmeister Sidney Blumenthal...
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a115809.htm - September 4, 2002 - 16 KB

2. SONG PARODY: Mrs. Robinson (Sid Blumenthal) [Free Republic]
... You vicious weasel Sid Blumenthal. You will find to hell you're on your way ...
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a663852.htm - June 20, 2002 - 12 KB

3. Sid Blumenthal on C-SPAN now.
Sid Blumenthal on C-SPAN now. Live event Thursday 4/23 N/A Check out C-SPAN for more of Sid Blumenthal's bull. Posted by: HonestFed (emailname) * 04/26/98 17:33:41 EDT I bought Vanity Fair.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a204209.htm - December 24, 2002 - 10 KB

4. Sids List (Blumenthals e-mail list) [Free Republic]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. ... e-mail recently sent by White House staff ideologist Sidney Blumenthal. The actual message in that e-mail ... almost have to feel sorry for poor Sid. Imagine having this list ...
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a61ec4b0ec9.htm - May 14, 2003 - 30 KB

5. Sid Blumenthal, Dirty Trickster
Topic: White Water Sid Blumenthal, Dirty Trickster March 23, l998 The Scrapbook Sidney Blumenthal didn't wait until he got to the White House to serve as an operative for President Clinton.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a137484.htm - September 23, 2002 - 9 KB

6. GEORGE MICHAEL AND RAHM EMANUEL OR SID BLUMENTHAL?
Topic: White Water GEORGE MICHAEL AND RAHM EMANUEL OR SID BLUMENTHAL? Imus in the Morning 4-9-98 Doug from Upland Rock singer and former member of WHAM George Michael was arrested in a restroom in Beverly Hills while performing a lewd act.
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a175295.htm - September 20, 2002 - 8 KB

7. One Nation Politics- Remarks by Sid Blumenthal to JFK School of...
Topic: White Water One Nation Politics- Remarks by Sid Blumenthal to JFK School of Bureaucracy
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a208817.htm - September 19, 2002 - 9 KB

8. CONFIRMED COMMIES IN DC SID BLUMENTHAL BARBARA LEE etc.HOW DO THEY...
Topic: White Water CONFIRMED COMMIES IN DC SID BLUMENTHAL BARBARA LEE etc.HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOUT POL POT
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a188422.htm - September 20, 2002 - 14 KB

9. Sid, the Early Years
... Copyright 1976, and edited by Sid Blumenthal. "Conspiracy is an ugly word " screams the cover blurb, "but what has been ...
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a129734.htm - September 28, 2002 - 12 KB

10. Blumenthal apologizes for remark
Topic: White Water Blumenthal apologizes for remark UPI via Drudge Saturday May 9 10:06 AM EDT Blumenthal apologizes for remark ... "Presidential aid and avowed religious bigot, Sid Blumenthal said...
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a242649.htm - September 23, 2002 - 18 KB

« Previous  |  Next » Power your search for "Sid Blumenthal" with: FASTGoogleTeoma

8 posted on 06/03/2003 1:11:04 AM PDT by backhoe (89% of the Media worshipped Little Big Fraud... 'nuff said?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Thanks for the heads up!
9 posted on 06/03/2003 9:32:40 AM PDT by Alamo-Girl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Back during the time period of Sidney's suit against Drudge, somebody here at FR posted a link to the deposition of Michael Ledeen, taken by Blumenthal's lawyer (McDaniel, as I recall).

If that link can be resuscitated, I encourage Freepers to take a look at it, if only just to see a vicious, nasty, surly lawyer in action, undoubtedly with Sid sitting at his side supplying the "lines of inquiry".

I could just picture Sid getting his rocks off, and paying serious atty's fees in the process, by using the suit to harass all his perceived enemies who had conspired (in Sid's furtive mind) against him.

10 posted on 06/03/2003 1:32:19 PM PDT by WL-law
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Why did you not post the rest of the article? Townhall.com is certainly not on the "do not post the entire article" list and you are obviously not HTML impaired. Just lazy maybe?
11 posted on 06/03/2003 2:14:19 PM PDT by upchuck (Contribute to "Republicans for Al Sharpton for President in 2004." Dial 1-800-SLAPTHADONKEY :)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: upchuck
Didn't think of it, re TownHall open posting.
12 posted on 06/03/2003 2:16:50 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote Life Support for others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEW

townhall.com

Sid 'Vicious' Blumenthal
David Horowitz (back to web version)

June 2, 2003

As readers of Christopher Hitchens’ point by point refutation of virtually every “factual” comment made by Sidney Blumenthal about Christopher in his new book The Clinton Wars know, Sid is such a compulsive and mean-spirited prevaricator that he gives ordinary liars a bad name. Sid is also litigious. Therefore, I will take this opportunity to invite him to sue me for any libel he detects in the article that follows. I have no concerns about Sid filing such a suit because in matters of libel, truth is a bulletproof defense.

 I am going to focus on my personal experience with Sid, who has written about me twice in his life. In both instances -- and they are related -- there are more factual misrepresentations than there are sentences in his text. Moreover, the misrepresentations are all – with almost no exceptions -- wittingly made, and therefore lies, and also malicious. I haven’t sued Sid (and won’t) because as everyone knows (and as Sid would have learned had he not ended his own vindictive tort against Matt Drudge) one has to prove actual damages -- i.e., loss of income or of a job -- in order to win.  Another consideration is the fact that libel laws exert a chilling effect on the democratic exchange of ideas and should therefore be used sparingly.

I have myself once or twice used the threat of a suit to deter particularly scurrilous charges and to avoid the kind of damage that libel suits were made for. Alex Cockburn, for example, spent a lot of time at cocktail parties in the 1980s spreading the rumor that I was a CIA agent. In fact, I have never had contact with a CIA official or operative to my knowledge, or worked for any government agency or -- with three exceptions – any outside employer for that matter. The exceptions are a one year stint as a teaching assistant at the University of California and as a lecturer in a University of Marlyand College program in the 1960s, and four years with Ramparts Magazine in the 1970s, the leading organ of the left in its time. For the last six months, I have worked on a contract basis for the FoxNews Channel. This exhausts my employment record for the last 45 years. During the rest of the time, I have been a “self-employed” author.

 Sidney Blumenthal’s first outburst of unprovoked literary malice was directed at me in a profile he wrote for The Washington Post in 1987. The article was called “Thunder on the New Right,” and purported to be a report of the “coming out” conference Peter Collier and I organized in 1987 for new left radicals who had grown tired of supporting totalitarian causes, as Sidney evidently had not. Oh, I am aware that Sidney thinks of himself as “third way” liberal and a small “d” democrat. But at our “Second Thoughts” conference we did not propose conservative or “right wing” agendas and did not regard ourselves as conservatives or right-wingers. This was a label that Sid pinned on us. In fact we had featured several self-professed liberals make this point. One of them -- David Ifshin had been the general counsel of the Mondale campaign and was a well-known Democrat. In our interview with Sidney (and with other reporters) we made a big point of the fact that our only political litmus for the event was that the “second thoughters” (as we called ourselves) be anti-Communist and anti-Sandinista (Nicaragua was the current battleground country in the still active Cold War.) Sidney’s attack, therefore, was a matter of the enemy of my friend being my enemy. Why else would he have attacked us so viciously?

  In addition to the big lie he told about our conference as a gathering of the rightwing conspiracy – a term he later coined for Hillary Clinton – Sidney added three other specific lies about myself: “When Horowitz abandoned radicalism, he also left his wife and three children, escaping into conservatism and Beverly Hills. ‘When I was a Marxist, I was puritanical,’ he said, ‘Then I got loose.’”

 In fact, I had four children not three; I abandoned radicalism in 1975, while my marriage dissolved in 1978; I never left my children; never lived in Beverly Hills and never made the statement Blumenthal attributed to me. When I lodged a complaint with the ombudsman of the Washington Post he removed Sidney’s slander from the national edition of the paper. But when Sidney reprinted the same piece in his book Pledging Allegiance, he included it with all of the slanderous and false statements intact.

 I felt the sting of Sidney’s personal slanders for a long time afterwards, since I did not have the access to powerful media like the Washington Post in which to respond. These days, Sidney rarely appears on television without bemoaning “the politics of personal destruction,” which he attributes entirely to the demonic political right, and whose victims he insists are entirely on the political left. This is the same White House operative who invented the term “vast rightwing conspiracy,” habitually refers to Richard Mellon Scaife as its “Daddy Warbucks,” and who led the charge in defaming Clinton’s female accusers. In its Blumenthal incarnation, Hypocrisy also gets a really bad name.

 The Second Thoughts conference that Peter Collier and I organized was a huge success, although it was trashed in the leftwing media by half a dozen journalists, including Alex Cockburn, Christopher Hitchens, Eric Alterman, Jefferson Morley and Todd Gitlin. Twenty years later Peter and I learned from Hitchens that these gentlemen had all met at Christopher’s house prior to the event to plot their journalistic sabotage of our conference.

 In The Clinton Wars, Blumenthal returns to my case, because I introduced Matt Drudge to the lawyer who defended Drudge against Blumenthal’s suit. I am described as funding the lawyer as well. In Blumenthal’s text, the Matt Drudge affair was a sinister manifestation of the vast right wing conspiracy’s efforts to overthrow his President. The puppet-master of these efforts is the philanthropist Richard Mellon Scaife. Two related players are Barbara and Michael Ledeen. I willingly stipulate that I am fond of Dick Scaife, an eminently decent American, and that Barbara and Michael Ledeen are old friends. Here is the entire Blumenthal account of our conspiracy, along with my inter-linear comments:

In July, the Ledeens’ testimony yielded the information that they had arranged through a friend, David Horowitz, for Drudge’s defense to be paid for and handled.

 It is true that Barbara Ledeen called me and said, “You have to help Matt Drudge,” whom I had never met. As Barbara and many other people knew, I had created an “Individual Rights Foundation” which mainly fought speech codes on college campuses, but also defended a liberal feminist under attack from the politically correct left and filed an amicus brief for a leftwing racist, Leonard Jeffries, because he was fired for making a public speech (a violation of his First Amendment rights).

I had no other conversations with Barbara or any other member of Sidney’s conspiracies about the legal defense of Matt Drudge. Following Barbara’s phone call, I had a lunch with Matt Drudge and persuaded him he needed a lawyer. I then set up a meeting with Drudge and my lawyer for the IRF, whom he took on as his counsel. I then created a “defense fund” which raised money through direct mail and Internet appeals to pay the lawyers’ fee. The Ledeens had no hand in these matters whatsoever.

 The next sentence of Blumenthal’s text describes my interest in the case as an instance of Blumenthal-phobia, which his Rosetta stone for explaining any and all opposition he happens to encounter to his political agendas:

Horowitz shared [the Ledeens’] animosity, in his case because of an article I had reported for the Post about a political project of his that became a public embarrassment.

Note please the invention of this “public embarrassment.” I have already described the Second Thoughts conference and the fact that outside the leftwing press (and the press infiltrated by leftwing hatchets) the event was an unmitigated success. The only “public embarrassment” I had from it was from the particular lies for which Sidney was responsible, in particular the claims – reported as facts – that I had abandoned my family along with my principles and fled to the fleshpots of Beverly Hills.

Having concocted this segue, Blumenthal turns in the very next sentence to Scaife orchestrated right-wing conspiracy and my alleged ties to it:

Horowitz now headed a conservative group funded by Scaife, and he would serve as a conduit for Scaife’s underwriting of Drudge’s defense and provision of a lawyer employed by a Scaife-funded front group. [End of Sidney’s discussion of me.]

 Sidney Blumenthal has been characterized as a vulgar Marxist before, for constructing descriptive daisy chains like this. There is little more to this one than a smattering of guilt by association seasoned by a large dollop of ignorance. The lawyer employed the Scaife “front” group would be Drudge’s attorney Manny Klausner and the front group would be my Individual Rights Foundation. The term “front group” suggests that Dick Scaife was the controlling and decision-making power behind the scenes. The fact is that I have had four conversations with Dick Scaife in the 17 years I have received money from his foundation. This money represents about 10% of the total monies that have gone to fund my efforts. Though I would certainly miss them, if Dick should decide to terminate his support, their absence would hardly cripple my operation. I am supported by more than 30,000 individuals and 15 foundations and am confident that if any among them should abandon me, there will be others to fill their place.

But I operate through several entities and programs. The most important of these is the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. I am not even certain that Dick Scaife is familiar with the activities of the Individual Rights Foundation, which was actually funded by his son, David, a liberal, who has not been on speaking terms with him for years. Manny Klausner is on retainer as the executive director of the Individual Rights Foundation which handled the Matt Drudge Defense. But most of the funds that went to Manny Klausner and were earmarked for his legal efforts in behalf of Drudge were raised by the “Matt Drudge Defense Fund,” and were contributed by tens of thousands of individuals and no foundations at all, including Dick Scaife’s. Moreover, 90% of the underwriting for the Drudge legal effort was provided by Klausner himself who in effect worked pro bono on this case. The money we raised barely covered the court costs, expenses for depositions, court costs and travel to Washington DC.

Blumenthal makes a big deal in his book (and in all his self-dramatizations) of the fact that Matt Drudge didn’t call him to fact check the original story that precipitated his libel suit. Here is a passage from the letter Sid’s lawyer wrote to Drudge  when the story appeared, which is reprinted in The Clinton Wars:

 Your action in disseminating these outrageous falsehoods across the country was despicable. You acted with actual malice in that you knew that these allegations were false, but published them anyway. You took no steps to verify your allegations… Indeed, in your cowardice, you never even bothered to check with Mr. and Mrs. Blumenthal before scattering your lies…

Which is a perfect description of Sidney Blumenthal’s journalistic and political m.o.

©2003 FrontPageMag.com

Contact David Horowitz | Read Horowitz's biography

townhall.com

QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEW

13 posted on 06/03/2003 2:53:59 PM PDT by Bubba_Leroy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Outside the topic but can someone tell me if that walking pustule Michael Moore actually authored the highest selling nonfiction book last year as he claimed last weekend? Please say it ain't so!
14 posted on 06/03/2003 2:56:29 PM PDT by thegreatbeast (Quid lucrum istic mihi est?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: thegreatbeast
Michael Moore has never authored or produced anything nonfiction in his life.
15 posted on 06/03/2003 3:06:59 PM PDT by Bubba_Leroy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Bubba_Leroy
Horowitz blowed him up real good!
16 posted on 06/03/2003 4:26:10 PM PDT by friendly
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Blumenthal makes a big deal in his book (and in all his self-dramatizations) of the fact that Matt Drudge didn't call him to fact check the original story that precipitated his libel suit. Here is a passage from the letter Sid's lawyer wrote to Drudge when the story appeared, which is reprinted in The Clinton Wars:

"Your action in disseminating these outrageous falsehoods across the country was despicable. You acted with actual malice in that you knew that these allegations were false, but published them anyway. You took no steps to verify your allegations… Indeed, in your cowardice, you never even bothered to check with Mr. and Mrs. Blumenthal before scattering your lies…"

Which is a perfect description of Sidney Blumenthal's journalistic and political m.o.

LOL, so true.

17 posted on 06/03/2003 9:30:51 PM PDT by Victoria Delsoul
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
Drudge is reporting that Blumenthal is trying to get a left-wing magazine going with backing from the Guardian. Can't find it posted here anywhere.
18 posted on 07/22/2003 12:28:25 PM PDT by Deb (Do these jeans make my tag look big?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MHGinTN
In a perfect world, manipulative people like Sidney Blumenthal would be 'wished into the cornfields' ala Little 'Anthony' from an old Twilight Zone episode. Regarding all the years he did Billy Jeffs and Hillarys bidding/dirty work/lawyering, this shrimp of a human couldn't pass a lie detector test on those years, even if his life depended on it.
19 posted on 07/22/2003 2:33:29 PM PDT by Pagey (Hillary Rotten is a Smug, Holier - Than - Thou Socialist)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson