Congressional Black Caucus: Fox News Is All Powerful

Well, in so many words:

The government is being sometimes “held hostage” by Fox News and other media outlets, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus charged Thursday.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the caucus, said she was concerned that outlets like Fox were creating a culture of “misinformation” that has led to controversies like the one following Shirley Sherrod. 

Lee said on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal”:

When you look at how, not only Fox, but other media outlets — but we focus naturally, because we know how this has evolved with Fox — how many including, sometimes, our government is held hostage, mind you, by the fact that Fox and other media may run wild with snippets and misinformation and create a media frenzy based on half-truths, no-truths.

Sherrod, the director of rural development in Georgia for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), had been fired from that job after video came to light suggesting that she’d purposefully denied assistance to a white farmer. But the full video showed that Sherrod, who is black, was telling a story about overcoming racial prejudice. 

Fantasy aside, as it turns out Fox News did not play a role in Shirley Sherrod's firing at all. They didn't even broadcast the first story about the situation until after she had already resigned.  The first in-depth report didn't air until the morning after.  However, the Congressional Black Caucus traffics in falsehoods on a regular basis so no one should be surprised by Lee's statement.

By the way, I look forward to the day when House caucus membership will be determined not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.