Posted on 01/09/2011 2:32:27 AM PST by icwhatudo
Her name is Catie Parker and her 15 minutes of fame is upon her. She is a liberal and may have saved Sarah Palin and the Tea Party a huge amount of ill will in the wake of the Arizona shootings. She was the classmate and self described "really good friend" of the Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner. She was also in a band with him. Her comments have set the blog world and media on fire with her description that the shooter was "left wing, quite liberal". This flies in the face of the Palin/Tea Party connection narrative that many in the media and on the internet have been pushing.
Parker, who's comments about the left wing politics of the shooter have been cited in this morning's NYTimes, was one of many who tried to place blame on Sarah Palin for putting out a map that "targeted" districts (including Congresswoman Giffords') where Republicans should focus their election efforts.
Parker describes herself on her MySpace Page as liking Environmentalism and Animal Rights while loathing Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, so it would appear her comments can not easily be dismissed as the ravings of a Tea Party or Palin supporter.
Parker first mentioned her possible connection to the shooter on her twitter account: "Saying Jared Laughner was the gunman. Really hoping that's not the same guy I went to HS with, really good friend. Freaking out right now!!!"
She then realized it was him: "Official I went to high school & college, & was in a band w/ the gunman. I can't even fathom this right now."
Her comments began to get noticed when she tweeted her relationship to an employee of Reuters Media, Anthony De Rosa, who has nearly 4,000 followers on his Twitter site.
De Rosa conducted the first interview with Ms. Parker, asking her confirm the shooter's myspace and YouTube accounts and asked about the shooters state of mind. Parker replied "He was a political radical & met Giffords once before in '07, asked her a question & he told me she was "stupid & unintelligent""
De Rosa then asked the money question: "did he identify himself as a member of the Tea Party?" To which Ms. Parker gave the answer that would stun the mainstream media world..."As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy."
De Rosa then asked: "Was he closely tied to any groups or mainly a loner?" To which Ms. Parker answered: "he was a pot head & into rock like Hendrix,The Doors, Anti-Flag. I haven't seen him in person since '07 in a sign language class"
De Rosa himself came under attack for seeming to lend help against the false narrative that the shooter was somehow connected to Palin. He posted "i'm the furthest thing from a Sarah Palin fan, I'm reporting the facts".
De Rosa then worked to arrange contact with ABC news and Jake Tapper while Ms. Parker started to get overwhelmed with the comment "This is a circus. Good Morning America just called me."
De Rosa has gone on to link to the 40 media requests including the NYTimes, NPR, and PBS that are pouring in for Ms. Parker.
I had a chance to tweet with Ms. Parker and here is a screenshot of our conversation (note-read from bottom up as newer posts are on top):
Unfortunately I did not get a response from Ms. Parker about the quotes from the the IRS plane crash perpetrator Joseph Stack. The media were also pushing the false narrative of a conservative Tea Party type in his case until posters at Free Republic were able to research his writings.
In the case of the Arizona shooter, one would think that these clues...:
having a flag burning video as your favorite video
having Mein Kampf as one of your favorite books
having said "America is a terrorist nation"
having said "America is in two illegal wars"
having said you "Do not trust in God"
having become upset at receiving a Bible when you checked off "no religion" at a military installation
having a drug arrest
having hung out with the "Goth Crowd"
having smoked pot and "wasn't too keen on religion"
...would make it hard for anyone to claim a motivation from conservatives, the Tea Party, or Sarah Palin.
Sadly it wasn't enough. Instead it took a liberal, an honest liberal like Catie Parker, to stop the mob mentality and set the record straight.
BTW, this was a hilarious side comment:
He posted "i'm the furthest thing from a Sarah Palin fan
A small bit of honesty from the MSM as well, heh heh heh.
She has provide detailed info including yearbook photos of herself and the shooter. She has been cited by NY Times and appears set to appear in multiple media outlets.
She needs to read up on Tammy Bruce, and quickly!
Yes, she is honest and a liberal and therefore the last of the Mohicans. She’s due for some serious cognitive dissonance and probably could use a friend. Let’s pray she finds one.
Ping
Dunno... Seems to be a loner/anarchist type... Not many friends, and few of them that will not skitter away like roaches when the light turns on...
As hard as everyone is looking... The whole Innerweb being scoured by all sides... Finding very, very little. An odd thing in this day and age.
@icwhatudo: Thx... Nice, even report.
It’s not all lost though . . . as I flip through my boilerplate list of liberal frames for stories . . . Aha! . . . The shooter was a victim . . . It’s Sarah Palin’s fault because her anti-ObamaCare stance kept this poor disturbed individual from getting the mental health help he needed . . . let’s toss that story out there and see if it sticks any better than the “he was a Tea Partier” boilerplate. Note to journalists: truth is irrelevant, if not completely fictional, and what matters is building a tidal wave of stories repeating the approved talking points.
Yeah, but that is just it- no real social networking (and the punk is young enough to know how) - it leaves us with physical evidence and a reliance upon the integrity of the LEO offices involved...
There doesn't seem to be anything else.
When the Jarod’s name was released, I found his YouTube page before I saw it anywhere.
The slow FR servers kept me from posting it here first, but I followed the Tweets and read Catie Parker’s admission that he was a liberal.
None of this matters to those who tried to blame Palin, Limbaugh, etc. These people will do the exact same thing next time, hoping the shooter will have some connection to conservatism.
Their agenda is to silence us and nothing will stop them.
I received tweets last night ranging from statements that his earlier leanings don’t count because he ranted about gold standard, property rights, etc. later which means he’s not a Leftist anymore, to one which actually made the claim that once a person resorts to violence they are no longer a liberal.
I doubt Ms. Parker’s input is going to have much impact. A lot of those on the left seem to already have their minds made up. But I wish her well and I hope she doesn’t get smeared by the media.
May God Bless her for trying to set the record straight.
All of her posts today, she just invited herself to be a witness for the defense when the trial happens.
She WILL be called. Any defense attorney worth his salt would be writing a subpoena right now!
Since a Federal Judge was killed I suspect the Sheriff is just an observer. I would think the FBI is leading the investigation.
I meant that it won’t have much impact on the media’s slant nor on people in general. I didn’t even think about her having to go to court.
I think Ms. Parker will be getting a pretty rough ride from her fellow liberals...
It has already begun - check DU - keep barf bucket handy, of course...
How long before Ms. Parker is attacked by the left as a Tea Party plant?
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