On Halloween, those of you who are Color of Change members like me received an alarming message that started like this:

Remember Andrew Breitbart? He was the man who used selectively-edited video to paint Shirley Sherrod as a racist, to smear the NAACP, and to accuse the Obama administration of reverse racism. It was all a big, premeditated lie.1

Unbelievably, ABC News now plans to have Breitbart participate in their Election Night coverage, despite his history as a deceitful operative who distorts, lies, and race-baits.2

ABC’s decision is a slap in the face to Shirley Sherrod, to Black America, and to everyone who believes in the value of telling the truth. It’s unacceptable. Please join us in calling on ABC News and its parent company Disney to drop their plans to include Breitbart now:

http://colorofchange.org/abc/?id=1290-1020009
(1. Sherrod: Andrew Breitbart is ‘a liar’, CNN, 7-22-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/533?akid=1663.539090.WpOLPS&t=7

2. Failing Upward: Breitbart To Be Featured in ABC’s 2010 Election Coverage, Media Matters, 10-29-10
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/530?akid=1663.539090.WpOLPS&t=9)

On hearing the news that Big Bad Breitbart was being tapped by ABC, Shirley Sherrod’s lawyer had this to say to Media Matters:

“Having him on that show is like rewarding a Klansman — giving a Klansman an award for burning a cross on Shirley Sherrod’s house.”

Word. Thanks to your rapid response, ABC took fright (as they should) and walked back their offer to this racist joker. I mean, seriously, aren’t there any other conservatives in America that ABC can feature that aren’t actual churlish charlatans? ABC was all — um, did we say we’d have that guy on TV? Naw it’s just the internet, y’all! Not good enough for me but at least it’s a start. The internet still counts in my opinion and ABC shouldn’t be offering Breitbart’s b#llsh#t any where humans might hear it if they expect to be taken seriously as a newsroom. Here’s ABC’s weak statement in response to the concerns that they are giving a platform to a lying race-baiting con artist:

The following is attributable to Andrew Morse, Executive Producer, ABC News Digital:

Since conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart announced on his website that he was going to be a participant in ABC’s Town Hall meeting at Arizona State University, there has been considerable consternation and misinformation regarding my decision to ask him to participate in an election night Town Hall event for ABC News Digital. I want to explain what Mr. Breitbart’s role has always been as one of our guests at our digital town hall event:

Mr. Breitbart is not an ABC News analyst.

He is not an ABC News consultant.

He is not, in any way, affiliated with ABC News.

He is not being paid by ABC News.

He has not been asked to analyze the results of the election for ABC News.

Mr. Breitbart will not be a part of the ABC News broadcast coverage, anchored by Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos. For the broadcast coverage, David Muir and Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg will contribute reaction and response gathered from the students and faculty of Arizona State University at an ABC News/Facebook town hall.

He has been invited as one of several guests, from a variety of different political persuasions, to engage with a live, studio audience that will be closely following the election results and participating in an online-only discussion and debate to be moderated by David Muir and Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg on ABCNews.com and Facebook. We will have other guests, as well as a live studio audience and a large audience on ABCNews.com and Facebook, who can question the guests and the audience’s opinions.

Um… he’s not just another guy with an “opinion”. He’s a confirmed discredited racist, straight up. Why would anyone be interested in his opinion?

Finally, here’s what that criminal Andrew Breitbart whined in a long and ranting blog post. I’m only offering a small part because really — NO ONE should be listening to ANYTHING this guy says or does ever again, since he’s shown he can’t be trusted.

In response to the announcement that I would provide my analysis on ABC News from Arizona on election night, like-clockwork, from the George Soros-funded Media Matters to Keith Olbermann to Huffington Post to Daily Kos to Talking Points Memo to Twitter (#boycottABCNEWS), the institutional left began on Friday to inundate ABC News with a wave of partisan objections and unfounded allegations against me.

Make no mistake: this is a calculated “astroturf“ intimidation campaign by the well-funded and frightened-for-their-political-lives institutional left to quash dissenting voices. It’s what they do.

What was ABC News’ response? Not standing up for free speech and the 1st Amendment. Not sticking by their original invitation. Not standing up for diversity of opinion.

Oh boo hoo, Breitbart. Must have been a pretty scary Halloween for you as the ghosts of your past hate-driven lies came back to haunt you in the form of social ostracism. Congratulations to Color of Change and other conscious organizations — and especially you — for speaking out against this outrage. I think we should keep ABC’s feet to the fire on this one. Please sign the CoC letter to ABC encouraging them to ban Breitbart for good and for real this time.

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