Latest ‘Breitbarted’ Conservative Video Purports Democratic ‘Thuggery’

The Media Research Center is promoting a new, heavily-edited video that claims to show Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) “intimidat(ing) constituents” at a town hall meeting, with her own hired “thug.”

Calling this an attempt at “Breitbarting” is actually a bit of an insult to Andrew Breitbart, as this is a particularly clumsy effort even on its face. When introduced to actual facts, this bit of video chicanery folds up like an origami umbrella. (h/t Eyeblast)

Here’s the video, complete with “I’m a Thug” soundtrack and subtle black-and-white freeze-frame of Bean’s supposed “hired thug”:

It’s pretty obvious, from the editing, that there’s more here than meets the eye. For example, in that sinister freeze-frame, the so-called “thug” appears to be reading something that’s being shown to him by an audience member. The Congresswoman’s explanation for asking that there be no taping is entirely reasonable.

The truth is even more benign. Sources familiar with the event tell Mediaite that the “thug” from the video was not “hired” by Rep. Bean, but is a library employee who was responsible for security at the event. That event wasn’t a political town hall, either, but rather, an educational forum about credit card debt. According to one source, the video doesn’t show instances of constituents asking the guy with the video to pipe down so they can hear the presentation they came to see.

In that context, the Congresswoman and the library staff seem to have suffered these disruptions rather patiently. Constituents were notified about the forum, held August 12 at the Round Lake Area Public Library, via robocalls. Presumably, most of them showed up to get advice about credit card debt, not to hear Tea Party Activists grind axes about health care reform.

As a member of the press, I’m all in favor of holding politicians accountable, and I get the value of the impromptu interview, but we don’t have the right to disrupt others’ attempts to avail themselves of government resources. I can’t just start hollering questions at the President while he’s in the middle of a speech.

While MRC, and other conservative blogs, seem happy to get their news from a YouTube account identified only as “Gasxbeano,” this is further evidence that the plain old “lamestream media” still has a considerable leg up on their activist counterparts. When you’ve got no name to protect, the facts don’t matter so much.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.