Dave Weigel: I Did Not Write What Brad Friedman Claims I Wrote
Lefty Dave Weigel just got a job at the Washington Post covering conservatives. While Weigel and I don’t see eye to eye on policy — and while I would prefer to see someone with conservative leanings (or at least a centrist) covering conservatives — I have developed an impression of Weigel as an honest lefty.
So I decided to contact Weigel after posting this morning about Brad Friedman’s dishonest citation of a Weigel post. Here’s Friedman:
[I]n mid-February of this year, after we’d called out O’Keefe as a liar for misrepresenting himself, Giles admitted to Washington Independent reporter Dave Weigel that the “pimp” concept was added-on with footage that was shot later and edited in. The “gaudy” costume seen in the videos was meant to convey “the whoring out of the American people,” she told him Weigel [sic].
“We never claimed that he went in with a pimp costume,” Giles admitted, “that was b-roll. It was purely b-roll. He was a pimp, I was a prostitute, and we were walking in front of government buildings to show how the government was whoring out the American people.”
In other words, as Giles admitted, and as O’Keefe’s own unauthenticated text-transcripts show, the entire “pimp” concept was added on as an afterthought, and edited in later.
Friedman is here trying to support his fraudulent claim that O’Keefe never posed as a pimp at ACORN. So he cites Weigel as claiming Giles said the “pimp concept” was edited in later as an afterthought.
But that’s not what Giles said. Here is Weigel, who quotes the above Friedman passage, and responds as follows:
In two words: Uh, no. The pimp costume was added as an afterthought, and O’Keefe screwed up in the media blitz after the tapes were released by not correcting the impression that he wore the crazy costume inside ACORN offices. But the videos and transcripts clearly show O’Keefe and Giles seeking extra-legal advice on how to hide prostitution profits from the IRS.
The emphasis is Weigel’s.
Props to Weigel for his honesty. I’d rather read an honest lefty than a dishonest righty.
In the comment section of the linked blog, Friedman says he hasn’t lied about anything.
Apparently.
lee (cae7a3) — 3/25/2010 @ 3:12 amWeigel is more of a smaller-government libertarian than a lefty. He used to write for Reason magazine after all.
Xmas (a269b0) — 3/25/2010 @ 3:57 amBrad Freidman must be a dunce of the highest order. You’ve had him beaten for months it seems and yet he doubles down. (We all know what the definition of “is” is, by the way, Brad!) Brad is the kind of “friend” that would never help you move because he has to watch the latest “Lost” episode. That kind of person dies cold and alone, with no one to comfort them. Leave him to his own devices.
dfbaskwill (c021f2) — 3/25/2010 @ 4:57 amYou know this is why they invented the hyperlink, but for “Black Box” Brad, we don’t need no stinkin’
ian cormac (349188) — 3/25/2010 @ 5:43 amfacts’ to clutter up Teh Narrative
It’s also clear from the interview at CPAC that Giles did with Max Blumenthal that she was only talking about the costume.
daleyrocks (718861) — 3/25/2010 @ 6:02 amI’d rather read an honest lefty than a dishonest righty.
I concur wholeheartedly. My best wishes for Mr. Weigel.
MD in Philly (59a3ad) — 3/25/2010 @ 6:38 am“In the comment section of the linked blog, Friedman says he hasn’t lied about anything.”
Friedman says a lot of things. They mostly turn out to be false. His statements in Weigel’s comment section are a good example.
Patterico (c218bd) — 3/25/2010 @ 6:56 am“honest lefty” = the very definition of an oxymoron.
Dr Carlo Lombardi (cc5c32) — 3/25/2010 @ 8:41 amCarlo, I think it’s sorely tempting for a lefty to think the ends justify awful means, including dishonesty and much worse, but a lot of them don’t lie about it.
In fact, many of my favorite conservatives were once liberals who were too honest with themselves to stay that way after considering the implication of a powerful government wielding too much intrusion and bloat. I think every intelligent liberal eventually gets to that point, and they either ignore it or change their mind or decide it’s OK.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 3/25/2010 @ 11:37 amLiberals lie, ……they lie all the time.
Teetop (1f1551) — 3/25/2010 @ 1:27 pmSo…. Hannah was dressed as the hooker but O’keefe was dressed normally. The header and trailers just had him dressed as a pimp. the body of the video was valid. I don’t see the issue. Does it matter. The context of the video was valid. They [ACORN] were supporting criminal activity.
Alvin691 (70ea2d) — 3/28/2010 @ 12:46 pm[…] friendly to conservatives while inwardly loathing them. And in some cases, Weigel was fair, such as exposing lefty Brad Friedman’s bogus “journalism.”. However Weigel’s leaked emails on JournoList were the smoking gun that he was reporting […]
A New Voice In SD Rostra « SD Rostra (c5e3cf) — 6/30/2010 @ 1:36 pm[…] friendly to conservatives while inwardly loathing them. And in some cases, Weigel was fair, such as exposing lefty Brad Friedman’s bogus “journalism.”. However Weigel’s leaked emails on JournoList were the smoking gun that he was reporting […]
A New Voice In SD Rostra « SD Rostra (c5e3cf) — 6/30/2010 @ 1:36 pm