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Jewish World Review April 16, 2012/ 24 Nissan 5772 Does lying to the media with impunity work? By Jack Kelly
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Who is Hilary Rosen? Prominent Democrats pretend they don't know. "I know three, personally, women named Hilary Rosen," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
The Hilary Rosen Mr. Carney was asked about is the lobbyist and public relations adviser to the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
Oh, that Hilary Rosen. "I have not seen her here very frequently," Mr. Carney said.
According to White House logs, Hilary Rosen has visited there 35 times -- more often than Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (12 ), CIA Director Gen. David Petreaus (9), and Vice President Joe Biden (6) combined.
She's got nothing to do with us, said DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse. "Our contract (for media services) is exclusively with Anita Dunn."
Ms. Rosen works for Ms. Dunn's firm, SKDKnickerbocker. Obama advisers suggested to Ms. Wasserman-Schultz that she hire "two seasoned Democratic female pros, Anita Dunn and Hilary Rosen," for media training, the Wall Street Journal reported in February.
"Hilary Rosen is absolutely not a paid adviser to the DNC or to the Obama campaign, absolutely not," said Executive Director Patrick Gaspard. The DNC has paid $120,000 to Ms. Rosen's firm for a "communications consultant" and a "media consultant."
When Ms. Rosen declared on CNN last Wednesday (4/11) that Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, "has never actually worked a day in her life," she was doing what Democrats customarily do -- turning every issue into a personal attack on Republicans. Her sudden unperson status illustrates the enormous potential for blowback.
Angry responses to Ms. Rosen's remark burned up Twitter that night. Among tens of thousands of tweeters was Ann Romney, who said: "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work."
This was an argument with which Ms. Rosen had expressed sympathy in 2008, when she implied Sarah Palin was a "negligent mother" for running for vice president when she had small children at home.
Before insulting Ms. Romney, Ms. Rosen denied Democrats have accused Republicans of waging a "war on women." This was a brazen lie. Prominent Democrats have sent out dozens of fundraising appeals using that phrase. It's an accusation Ms. Wasserman-Schultz has often made.
Democrats think they can lie with impunity because the news media will cover for them. Ms. Rosen was on CNN to discuss the Romney campaign's claim that 92.3 percent of the jobs lost since Barack Obama became president had been held by women.
CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather described as "fake, but accurate" the forged documents that cost him his job. "Accurate, but fake," asserted liberal "fact checkers" at the Washington Post and Politifact, as they flailed to protect Mr. Obama from that inconvenient fact.
Mr. Romney had the number right, acknowledged Politifact, a creation of the Tampa Bay Times. But Romney's data was "mostly false" because Mr. Obama "cannot be held entirely accountable for the employment picture on the day he took office." "True, but false," said Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post.
"I don't get it," said law professor Ann Althouse, an Obama voter in 2008. "It's true, but nevertheless 'Mostly False,' because... because what? Because Obama isn't responsible for the numbers?! How does that make the assertion 'Mostly False'? The assertion is simply a number, and you've said the number is correct. The conclusion should be 'Completely True.'"
Republicans have enjoyed watching Democrats run like scalded dogs from Hilary Rosen. More heartening for them is how quickly and effectively the Romney campaign responded.
Ann Romney's tweet came within minutes. When DNC officials denied a connection to Ms. Rosen, the Romney campaign reminded reporters of their ties to her firm. When liberal "fact checkers" tried to debunk their job loss statistic, the Romney campaign demanded a correction, and pointed out ties between "experts" Politifact cited and the Democratic Party.
"Presented with an opening, Romney's staff jumped on the controversy with impressive speed, forcing top Obama officials to respond before most people even knew there was a story," said Byron York of the Washington Examiner. "The fracas suggests that Team Romney is determined to aggressively -- really aggressively -- pursue any chance to press an advantage against Obama."
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JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration.
© 2011, Jack Kelly |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
