I'll See Your Wingnut "Eyewitness" Rumor And Raise You The Highest Law Enforcement Authority

Despite out-of-state efforts by right wing provocateurs (two peas in a pod) Andrew Breitbart and Mark Williams — disgraced former Tea Party leader who was forced to resign after making offensive racist remarks — to incite violence and pose as SEIU workers and teachers to discredit the union and protesters in Wisconsin, their crude agit-prop antics did not, and will not, take. The usual wingnut propaganda sites geared up the violence-inciting rumor mill; por ejemplo, a self-serving uncorroborated "eyewitness" report of a "female reporter" being "bitch-slapped" and a "senior senator being spat on" made the wingnut blog rounds. Yeah, right:

From "Sykes" to "A savvy insider writes" to "an out of state colleague" to "a friend of mine told me" to "one senator told me" to "one of the freshman (Republican) members" — Republican, eh ... boy, that narrows it down — it's like War And Peace, trying to keep track of all these anonymous sources ... hard to tell if they're second-, third-, fourth- or fifth-person accounts claiming assault and vandalism. But hey, this on-the-scene "eyewitness" reporter says he's known Governor Walker for 15 years but Walker "is different now" having "met" with inanimate concepts instead of with the union reps. It's hard to imagine Walker being any less of an asshole "now" than he was in the past (although Rachel's report puts this notion to the test). But this dude's 15-year acquaintance (?) with Walker says a lot about the Governor — and not in a good way.

Now this is what I call first-rate gumshoe reporting, TRMS-style. Watch and learn, wingnuts ... if you're capable:

Those who practice REAL journalism do not report rumors. It's pretty pathetic when even the Daily Caller's sister publication, National Enquirer, has higher journalistic standards. Typically, when an assault occurs — which is what these incidents, as described, are — the press will not run with alleged "eyewitness" accounts unless they can be independently verified by at least three sources. If not, then they will issue a disclaimer. Even the principals' accounts shouldn't be taken at face value without corroboration. Add to that the suspicious nature of these alleged incidents, i.e., the first sounds suspiciously similar in the particulars (a female reporter assaulted by a mob) to the REAL sexual assault reported against a female CBS correspondent in Cairo. Strike one; not credible. The second alleged incident, of a "senior senator being spat on," again, is almost a carbon copy of the nature of the spitting incident against a black Congressman at a Tea Party rally in D.C. a few summers ago. It should be noted that Andrew Breitbart took an inordinate interest in that event and tried to provide bogus video "evidence" that it did not occur.

Bottom line is, in the sick, bizarro world of Rightwingville, the wingnuts have a habit of regurgitating the same old canards and wild accusations to discredit the Left. They just dress 'em up a bit. Give 'em a new coat of paint to make them appear to be new. But no one who is hip to their games falls for that crap. It's amazing. Once these wingnuts start lying, they can't stop. It's like a sick compulsion. It happens all the fucking time. As far as any incidents or provocations, Wisconsin law enforcement should probably keep an eye on out-of-state provocateurs like Breitbart and Williams. Next time they come to town, the cops should put a tail on them. They'll probably end up in the slammer.

And so, despite the wingnuts' crude provocations, Wisconsin's ultimate law enforcement authority has issued an unusual THANK YOU letter PRAISING THE PROTESTERS' CONDUCT following Saturday's 70,000-strong anti-Walker demonstration. Here it is:

THIS is the REALITY the wingnuts don't want you to know about.