Keeping on with the Barnes / Burkett / Rather axis-of-evil theory (sorry, my nipples insist), there’s this from John Ellis, posted September 11:
If you traveled in certain circles on the East Coast this past summer, the one story you heard over and over again was that Ben Barnes had the goods on George W. Bush’s National Guard record and that CBS News was going to break the story on “60 Minutes.” I must have heard this story four or five times, including once from an investment banker who claimed to have heard it from Barnes himself.
It is well known in Texas that Ben Barnes is not a guy you’d want to hang a story on, so to speak. And now it is well known that the CBS News piece that appeared on “60 Minutes” is based on fraudulent documents and patently false information. CBS News will have to disown this story soon because it just ain’t true.
[…] Ben Barnes is a Kerry fund-raiser in Texas. Leading Democratic operatives had foreknowledge of this story as early as July and were telling friends (and even foes) about it back then. The notion that Karl Rove or Andy Card or Mary Matalin would forge National Guard documents, then secretly have them delivered to Ben Barnes so that he would then take them to Dan Rather so that “60 Minutes” would then do a piece that said that the President of the United States was a slacker who shirked his duty is……(how do I put this?)…… utterly deranged. And everyone knows it.
What we are looking at is a scandal, an attempt by the Democratic Party and a number of its news media megaphones to smear the President of the United States. This is potentially a big scandal; one that might do real damage to the Kerry campaign and cost Dan Rather and his producer their jobs.
But I doubt very seriously that Big Media will devote much, if any, energy to this story. They don’t want to hurt Kerry and they really don’t want to do anything that would damage CBS News. And they certainly don’t want to help Bush in any way, shape or form.
Whether Big Media can make this story disappear is a challenge that the blogosphere will take up with gusto. I’m betting on the bloggers (my emphasis)
Like Nostradamus, this Ellis kid.
And Barnes? Beginning to smell like Texas feet.
(via Allah commenter “max”)
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update: more from Commisar (including links to the Freeper charts); Wizbang’s “suspect” overview; and Michele, who will be modeling the forthcoming protein wisdom t-shirts that no one in particular has been clamoring for.
John Ellis thinks that CBS will retract the story just because it isn’t true. I think that CBS will retract the story only when it becomes obvious that a failure to do so is costing them money. It’s been more than twenty years since CBS news has been concerned with truth.
They won’t retract the story until after the election at the earliest, if ever. I suspect the primary reason they used such documents that are so obviously forged is that they want to create doubt and confusion to counter the SwiftVets and Kerry’s last 20 years in the Senate. They are using the credibility of a major News organization to try and muddy the waters so that the all important swing voters will think Bush and Kerry are about the same on the Security issue. They want people to think something along the lines of “Well, those SwiftVets say all those mean things about Kerry, and there are those Memo’s from CBS that say mean things about Bush, so Bush & Kerry are tied on that issue, but it’s all hype, so I have to pick based on a different issue altogether.” They don’t even really care about money anymore, they are losing advertising money right now, and still defending the memos. Its telling of how desperate they think things are for Kerry that they are willing to do something like this.
Jeff,
I’m No one in particular and I do not appreciate your unathorized use of my name to sell products. I have not, repeat NOT, been clamoring for Michelle Malkin on your t-shirts. (I have been clamoring for Michelle Malkin covered in only whipped cream, however.)
Sorry, wrong Michel(l)e.
I am still clamoring for Michelle Malkin covered only in whipped cream to show up on my door step, however.
And for the love of pete, please stop discussing your nipples.
I think we should start sending care packages to CBS. I think they need fact checking pajamas, and Jeff you are just the guy to start this rolling.
FYI John Ellis is President Bush’s cousin
Yeah, I know, thanks. Believe me, I’m taking all these rumors with a grain of salt. But the timing of this post interested me (vis a vis my Voyager post this morning).