SF CHRON ON FR: FReep This -- How The Right Wing Is Making Itself Heard

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | January 30, 2003 | Joyce Slaton

[L.N. Smithee]

Something strange happened during the 2000 Gore-Bush election fiasco you may have missed.

CNN, which was running 24-hour special election coverage, hosted a program with conservative columnist Bob Novak shortly after the disputed election results were returned. Novak was adamant that Al Gore should quit trying to steal the election and concede. To bolster his point, he brought up the results of CNN.com's public-opinion poll "Should Al Gore concede?" Poll results showed that a full 89 percent of the thousands of people who had visited CNN.com and voted had agreed -- Gore should give up the ghost.

[American Preservative]

Thanks for posting L.N. Smithee. I hadn't found the article when I looked @midnight.

Here's the article - ping! : )

[an amused spectator]

But, still -- I tried to contact at least a dozen FReepers and right-wing organizations with FReepers in them (including Free Republic.com owner Jim Robinson), and very few of them were willing to talk to me. Why is that? Were they concerned I would misrepresent their views because they feel the media has a liberal bias?

When you start quoting David Allen and William Rivers Pitt like they are reasonable people, and not the pin-wheels-for-eyes extreme Left haters that they are, then I know that you will misrepresent my views, darlin'.

[PJ-Comix]

When you start quoting David Allen and William Rivers Pitt...

Actually she was LIFTING her article from Pitt. He wrote an almost IDENTICAL article as Slayton's but it was two years ago. Maybe Pitt should be awarded Slayton's salary for writing HIS article.

[doug from upland]

Joyce, dear. You didn't call me. I would have loved to talk to you. Didn't anyone warn you about Pitt?

[Chad Fairbanks]

She tried to contact freepers? Bull-pucky. I don't believe it...

If she wants to contact me, she can feel free. Not only will I answer her, but I will answer her with brutal truths... but she wouldn't want to hear that...

Ya hear that, Joyce Slaton? The offer stands - contact me, and we will talk. You may not like what you hear however... My email is on my profile page...

[sweetliberty]

Oh I have read it. How pathetic is it that a liberal journalist has to plagiarize from the likes of Will Pitt? My bet is that Pitt and/or Ritter are behind it. Anything to discredit FR. The funny thing is that Ritter now has zero credibility and Will Pitt never had much to begin with. Fortunately, he isn't smart enough to see that his pitiful little attacks, besides making him look as small as his "heroes," usually have the opposite of their intended effect.

[d14truth]

"...I tried to contact at least a dozen FReepers and right-wing organizations with FReepers in them (including Free Republic.com owner Jim Robinson), and very few of them were willing to talk to me. Why is that?"

Perhaps because her 'bread and butter' come from the San Franciso Chronicle, and most don't 'bite the hand that feeds them'.

[mhking]

Sounds like she's got a personal grudge. Maybe she's been Zotted once too much? ;)

[Chad Fairbanks]

Let's see... Ritter exposed as an alleged sexual predator... FR essentially breaks the story, bringing it to the attention of enough people that it cannot be ignored... Now the feds are looking into it...

Suddenly, Ritter's co-author and FR-Hater William Pitt is being used as a source for hit pieces against FR...

Hmmm... gee... what a coinky-dink...

[justshe]

Just highlighting the obvious....

To obviate the obvious is a way to impact the obversely obvoluted object, no?

[Chad Fairbanks]

See PJ-Comix's Tag Line for more assistance :0)

[mhking]

We're here. We drink beer. And we ain't gonna disappear!

LOL!!

[I'm ALL Right!]

"Most of them are decent human beings, but there's a violent underbelly. Speech is tolerated there that wouldn't be elsewhere."

HAS THIS WOMAN EVER READ DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND?! The "violent underbelly" is alive and well, and thriving there! In fact, it seems that if you aren't radical and "hard-core" enough, you get banned from DU! What a big bunch of garbage her article is. If I had a hard copy, I'd send it to file 13, where it belongs...but I don't want to waste my paper.

[justshe]

Shhh....I'm trying to learn how to play this game of attack by subtext.

[Chad Fairbanks]

See anything written by William Rivers Pitt or the author of this SF Gate article for more assistance in that endeavor ;0)

[sweetliberty]

"There's definitely a sort of hardcore wackjob segment of FReepers," agrees William Rivers Pitt. "Most of them are decent human beings, but there's a violent underbelly. Speech is tolerated there that wouldn't be elsewhere."

Pitt seems to want it both ways, but in my opinion he has a lot of nerve calling what he sees here "hate speech". Anybody that has ever taken so much as a glance at the hate-filled diatribes that are characteristic of the DU would find that statement laughable.

"Most of them are decent human beings"

Poor Will. He just can't make up his mind.

[PJ-Comix]

Suddenly, Ritter's co-author and FR-Hater William Pitt is being used as a source for hit pieces against FR...

Actually Ms Slayton's article was lifted almost directly from a Pitt article on EXACTLY the same topic a couple of years ago.

[dix]

They can call me for a comment anytime.Last week I appeared on a local TV show on behalf of the local Houston Chapter Of Freerepublic, or HAT. I debated two avowed Marxist about the issues of the day. Of course I was outnumbered two to one, and the host was a local Dem activist, but I must say he was pretty fair. By all reports it went pretty well for the home team. Everyone in the studio except for fellow freeper BobbyD including all the production people laughed, and snickered every time I made a comment. I think the highlight of the evening for them was the way I pronounced Nuclear. That’s ok. Most any freeper can handle multiple libs anytime.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Well, no kidding... the liberals havn't had a new idea in so long, it's almost pathetic...

[TLBSHOW]

oh that warning.