Conservative blogger Breitbart blames NAACP, media for Sherrod scandal
VIDEO - Andrew Breitbart says that his motives to release the video clip were to show that the NAACP was guilty of tolerating racist remarks...
Andrew Breitbart, a well-known conservative blogger, has made headlines for recently his tactics and controversial use of video. He is cited by most news outlets as the primary source of edited video footage of Shirley Sherrod, former USDA’s Georgia director of Rural Development.
The video clip appeared to show Sherrod saying she had not helped a farmer as much as she could have because he was white in the context of her current USDA position. What the video omitted was the context of her comments which went on to repudiate prejudice.
Breitbart told NBC’s Mara Schiavocampo of his reasons for publishing the video clip.
“He says that the point of putting out this video was to expose the hypocrisy in the part of the NAACP,” Schiavocampo said.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW BREITBART
[MSNBCMSN video=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640″ w=”592″ h=”346″ launch_id=”38343674″ id=”msnbc8ecfb5″]
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Breitbart says that his motives were to show that the NAACP was guilty of tolerating racial remarks which would make them hypocrites for chastising the Tea Party for “racist elements” in their organization.
“I feel bad that they made this about her and I feel sorry they made this about her. I’m not sure if that was done because they rushed the judgment,” Breitbart said.
Since the release of the video clip, Sherrod was forced to resign from her position with USDA and the NAACP rebuked her remarks. Now, the USDA says that they may have acted too quickly in response to initial reports and would reconsider the decision to ask for Sherrod’s resignation.
Breitbart does not take responsibility for releasing the video clip, but he blames the media for blowing the situation out of proportion. Additionally, he admitted that he did not see the full tape until this week after he had placed the editing clips on the Internet.
You Might Like
