Last time we checked on far-right provocateur Dinesh D’Souza, he was pleading guilty to campaign finance fraud (CNN, 5/20/14) in a scheme to funnel money to a Republican political candidate. Before that, he was peddling a dubious conspiracy movie about Barack Obama during the 2012 presidential campaign, which portrayed Obama as pursuing a radical “anti-colonial” political agenda inspired by his father.
This isn’t exactly an abrupt shift for D’Souza, who blamed the American left for causing the 9/11 attacks–an argument he evidently made in his book, The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11.
In other words, D’Souza has done plenty that would make him someone not to be taken seriously. But not enough, apparently, for ABC News.
On the July 6 episode of the Sunday show This Week, anchor Martha Raddatz introduced a segment by saying he was “the man called the Michael Moore of the right.” Correspondent Jeff Zeleny explained that D’Souza’s new film America is “a strident defense against the country’s critics in historical issues like slavery and land taken from Native Americans and against charges today of the excesses of capitalism and America’s role in the world.” He goes on to call it “new fireworks for the old partisan divide.”
And the show built on that premise by hosting a “debate” between D’Souza and Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson. After laying out the premise of the film, D’Souza shifted to Hillary Clinton, making the argument that the potential Democratic presidential candidate with a long policy record was in fact a radical carrying out the work of community activist Saul Alinsky.
ABC anchor Martha Raddatz closed the segment with this: “It’s a very interesting movie. Everybody should go see it and continue a debate like this.” What debate is that, exactly? Is it the one that says the left caused 9/11? Or the one that suggests Barack Obama is a secret radical?
The Sunday shows do far too little to expand political debates beyond dull Beltway partisanship. And no doubt there are plenty of filmmakers who would value network airtime to promote their work. So why would ABC extend this rare exposure to a crank conspiracy theorist? It’s proof that in the corporate media, there is always plenty of space made available to the far right.
Thank you for reminding me why I stopped considering network television “News” programs as news sources back in the early 1980’s…
Be well.
But the one person that ABC will never, ever have on is the “Michael Moore of the left”.
“The Micheal Moore of the Right” – now lets parse that: the Uber-richt hates Moore, and claims that he lies and makes up all his data. So that would mean the DinkyDink D’Sousa is a liar and makes up all his facts? Sounds about right, or should I say Uber-right?
“So why would ABC extend this rare exposure to a crank conspiracy theorist?”
Maybe Disney has a stake in the distribution?
Say it ain’t so Joe, er Doug!! In america??!! A stake in the heart of the people for sure.
Duh! BECAUSE HE WAS ALREADY IN THE ROLODEX!
“D’Souza shifted to Hillary Clinton, making the argument that the potential Democratic presidential candidate with a long policy record was in fact a radical carrying out the work of community activist Saul Alinsky.”
D’Souza knows damn well it doesn’t matter that this is patently false. Enough that it sets the terms of debate, which excludes the obvious: that Clinton is a warmonger and an agent of the political and capitalist elite.
Michael Moore should sue ABC/Disney for libel. Their knowingly malicious comparison of D’Souza to him suggests Moore is the equivalent of a convicted felon and scofflaw when it comes to campaign finance laws (not to mention money-grubbing narcissist/liar/conspiracy theorist). Michael Moore has been nothing less than scrupulous and factual in his life. As shown in Sicko, he even anonymously (for a while, anyway) helped those who hate him – that’s about as Christian as it comes, for all you far-right wing-nuts out there. In fact, Mr. Moore might never have come to prominence had he not been compelled to protest in person President Reagan’s honoring (in the ’80s) those buried in a Nazi SS officers’ cemetery in Germany. When has a Democratic President done something equally as abhorrent (as abhorrent AND not done by his predecessor, at least) which Mr. D’Souza has protested?