Lanny Davis is concerned:
I write columns and post blogs regularly, and I’ve made my share of factual mistakes.
So I do not sit in judgment of someone who goofed. But if you make a factual mistake, there are certain rules of the road that responsible writers and bloggers should follow: (1) immediately correct the error as soon as you find out — and in the same publication; (2) if it was also a personal attack in any way, which turned out to be based on a false statement, then personally apologize — no ifs, ands or buts; and (3) learn a lesson for next time — be more careful.
***Recently, one of the more well-known bloggers, Markos Moulitsas, founder of the liberal blog The Daily Kos, made a mistake in his Sept. 23 column in this newspaper, titled “Blue Dogs, beware,” and did so in the course of making a personal attack on the integrity of a Blue Dog Democrat, Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.). I met Mr. Cooper only once, just recently, but I have known of him for years as someone with an outstanding reputation for honesty, thoughtfulness and open-mindedness — even if some people, including myself, might disagree with him on certain issues.
I would like all of you to help me with a little project. Use the comments here to document every single lie, every bit of complete nonsense, and all the complete and utter falsehoods and bullshit that spewed out of the mouth of Lanny Davis from the start of the 2008 Democratic primary until now. Every single one, with a link to document it. Once we have compiled our dossier, we are going to do everything we can to demand that the Hill publish it. And then Lanny can spend the next six months apologizing, rather than whoring himself out to foreign interests.
If all Democrats were like Lanny Davis, I’d still be writing at Red State.
dmsilev
You need to aim higher with your demands. In the rest of the column, Davis claims that since Markos’s apology was on his blog rather than The Hill, it doesn’t count. Equally, the phrase “I apologize for my mistake” wasn’t nearly demeaning enough. Therefore, to be truly equivalent, Lanny Davis must go on CNN, MSNBC, etc., and issue groveling sniveling apologies for every half-truth, quarter-truth, and outright falsity that he’s spewed forth across the airwaves over the last several years.
-dms
Crashman06
Here are some lies Lanny Davis spewed out during a debate on Democracy Now! while defending the recent coup in Honduras:
Many more here.
The Bearded Blogger
umm…
I think there’s a non-sequitur here… he says bloggers should apologize for factually incorrect personal attacks… Jim Cooper is an insurance industry stooge, and Lanny Davis’s word is not enough of an evidence to the contrary…
in fact, it is probably evidence in favor of the claim
Midnight Marauder
This article might be a good start. It’s about the Honduras coup from a few months ago.
Fact Checking Lanny Davis on Honduras
beltane
I read somewhere that Lanny Davis writes for Newsmax. Is this true?
Davis takes hackery to a whole new level. He and Mark Penn and several other likeminded douchebags were the main reason I could not tolerate the thought of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee. If all Democrats were like them, I’d be on whatever third party bandwagon was rolling through town.
Midnight Marauder
@Crashman06:
Well done. Well done, indeed.
r€nato
So Lanny Davis is vouching for Cooper because he’s heard good things about him, even though he’s only met him in person once:
Is this not the very essence of Villager-ism? “He’s one of us, how DARE you besmirch his reputation, you… you… BLOGGER! Don’t you people know your place?”
Stoic
Sadly, too many of them in Congress are and those that aren’t lost their backbones when Reagan said boo.
Zifnab
Can we just start with the column itself?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/24/771745/-TN-05:-This-is-how-Cooper-supports-the-public-option
Gee, looks to me like he’s supporting a House Bill that specifically excludes the public option. And while it’s all in good fun to “support” a Senate Amendment from your House seat, when the Amendment is unlikely to make it out of committee (it didn’t – http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/29/154454/752), Cooper hasn’t had to make an actual vote on health care in the last 3 months.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/C000754/votes/ So we have no idea what he is for or against in terms of the record that matters. :-p
Crashman06
@Midnight Marauder: Thanks. You blockquoted better than I did, though.
asiangrrlMN
Concerned Village Troll is VERY concerned. I did a little light research, Cole, but I have only come up with the aforementioned link of Davis and Honduras. I will do more later.
Morbo
Does bad prognostication count? If so then his CNN interview was pretty damning evidence. As a bare minimum qualification, he pretty much cherry picks the Massachusetts polling that bolsters his case rather than the one which had Obama ahead by 12 points.
Nylund
I really want to know the secret villager handshake that grants you a lifetime of ass-kissing from all the other villagers after just one single meeting.
Origuy
You’re gonna need that bigger server!
Trinity
Davis is a douchextraordinaire! I’m working on a project Cole but I found a few interesting links on his douchetude.
On EFCA:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/written-by-ceos-for-ceos-dems-pan-biz-friendly-compromise-on-employee-free-choice.php
Glenzilla takes him on:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/radio/2009/03/03/davis/
(transcript provided at bottom of post)
Glenzills gets him again!:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/18/davis/index.html
camchuck
@beltane:
Yes.
Fox too.
southpaw
Are we counting every time he said “Hillary can still win” between the Wisconsin primary and June 2008? Or are we all still playing pretend?
slag
Here’s some fun Lanny Davis Asshattery via C&L: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/lanny-davis-jimmy-carter-really-shamefully. I’d categorize this one under complete nonsense.
Patrick
from http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2008/08?page=3
EdTheRed
Glennzilla has already brought the hammer down on Lanny once this year. (h/t Wonkette)
Glennzilla’s conclusion:
Call it a hunch, but I don’t think Glennzilla is planning to apologize to Lanny anytime soon.
Patrick
Well, that didn’t format right, here are the links:
from http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2008/08?page=3
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/04/09/poison/
You know you are up to no good when the milquetoasts at Swampland headline you with the word, “Poison”
JGabriel
Wait, Davis is calling out calling out Kos, but has no words for John Perry’s call to coup d’etat?
Everyone’s knows this already, but it really can’t be said enough: What a fucking douche.
.
CT Voter
Read more at: Lanny’s response to the “race” speech by Obama
I thought this was rather clever. He implies that Obama knew about the sermons and appointed Wright to his advisory committee, ANYWAY.
Nicely done, hack.
Dr. Squid
Uh, what was the mistake? Lanny Davis looked into Jim Cooper’s soul after one meet and just knew that the Great Orange Satan had to be wrong?
BDeevDad
Al Giordano had a good article:
BDeevDad
sorry, tried to blockquote in a blockquote
Chris
I’d post a few, but I need to save them for my new political biopic, “Danny Lavis: Douchebag for Money” about a liberal Democrat who whores himself out to any client or cause with enough cash, all the while trashing other liberals and Democrats.
Now, if only I can get the rights to that Seinfeld episode where Jerry suspects that guy of converting only to crack jokes about his new faith and its adherents…
JenJen
One of my favorite Lanny Davis moments was when he first made the case for why it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all , if the Superdelegates decided to vote against the will of Democratic Primary voters:
The Superdelegates have always been independent – Feb 2008
Don’t change the rules in the middle of the game, right, Lanny? Oh, and do tell me again how undemocratic Caucuses are, would you?
SFAW
BDeevDad –
Lanny’s an asshole, but predicting a 20% defection rate, and then only getting 15% defection, is not that bad as prognostication goes.
And as to the request to find Lanny’s Lies: GMAFB. It’s not like any of us has enough time to find them all. Might as well ask us to catalogue all the stupidity that Pantload has written.
Comrade Scrutinizer
That was weird.
Cat G
And…he’s soooo whiny. He’s the Eddie Haskell of politics. He’s just a creepy, lying, smarmy, double dealer. He’s willing to sell himself to whomever’s got the coin.
bob
Cheeseburgergate
Lanny Davis, Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2006 (Election Day):
Fearful for his physical safety? Here’s somebody else who was actually there to see Lanny’s “friend” Richard Goodstein in action, trying to provoke violence. Reporter Kenneth in GQ:
Matt Stoller captured video
mclaren
Silly rabbit. Apologies are for Democrats. “Being a Republican means never having to say you’re sorry.”
Batocchio
It was <a href=”http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10614_Page2.html”>”A proposed solution for Fla. and Mich.” that really showed that Lanny wasn’t just an obnoxious, disingenuous scumbag, he was one crappy lawyer at selling “fair”:
I don’t mind Davis advocating for his client, but pretending to be “fair” with such obviously contorted reasoning – and capped with epic fail concern trolling – is just insulting and pathetic.
Wonkette has more links in “Lanny Davis Continues Remarkable Streak Of Douchebaggery,” but summarizes that Lanny Davis “decided it would be fair to give Hillary 77% of Michigan’s delegates.”
benintn
Davis claimed that Obama didn’t have a clear path to electoral victory in March 2008. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lanny-davis/obama-vs-clinton-on-elect_b_90304.html Hardly prescient on his part. Not sure this is inaccurate but the Hillary shilling was a little off. And as we know, the negativity from March to June 2008 made Obama’s work a lot harder than it needed to be.
benintn
Davis claimed the following on May 31, 2008: “After the votes are in from Puerto Rico tomorrow and South Dakota and Montana on Tuesday, neither Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton will be able to make a facts-based case that they represent a significant majority of grass-roots Democrats.”
benintn
Of Fox News’ coverage during the 2008 campaign, Davis said the following:
This despite the relentless coverage of Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, etc. that typified Faux Noise coverage during the latter part of the 2008 primaries.
benintn
Davis blamed the Obama campaign for angering Clinton supporters. This after Davis and other Clinton supporters played up the Tony Rezko connection (repeatedly debunked by Chicago journalists), the Jeremiah Wright connection, etc., etc., in order to destroy Obama’s credibility. Don’t know if this qualifies as inaccurate but it does make him a douchenozzle.
benintn
Greg Sargent (then with TPM) noted that Lanny Davis showed up on MSNBC’s Morning Joe (the same MSNBC that Davis said was unfairly biased toward Obama) to argue that “it’s very hard to criticize Senator Obama without being accused of playing the race card”.
Sargent’s analysis:
“It would have been fair if Davis had said that there have been times where people were too quick to tar Clinton criticisms of Obama as playing the race card, rather than suggesting that this applies across the board.”
benintn
Davis created a straw man of President Obama and Jeremiah Wright by insinuating there’s a moral equivalence between a white preacher supporting the KKK and someone like Jeremiah Wright trying to support equality for African-Americans.
Seems to ignore the reality of racism and centuries of American legal and cultural subjugation of blacks. Again, maybe not inaccurate, but it kinda smacks of douchebaggery.
benintn
Blaming Jimmy Carter for contributing to incivility? Really? Davis thought that Carter was part of the problem for calling out racism at the basis of much Obama antagonism in the South.
benintn
And Lanny Davis helped out Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in writing an anti-healthcare reform editorial in the Wall Street Journal.
He defended Mackey in an interview with TPM’s Brian Beutler.
Davis says the dust up over Mackey’s op-ed is “an example of how we on the left start to mirror the extreme tactics on the right.”
Again, false equivalence…