by David Brock
Yet while the inquiry was a pointless sideshow with respect to the committee’s mandate, in fact it was not without a purpose. “So why was I subpoenaed at all before this committee? I am a longtime friend of Hillary Clinton,” Blumenthal said in a statement after testifying. “It seems obvious that my appearance before this committee was for one reason and one reason only, and that reason is politics.”
Indeed, the questions about Blumenthal’s long-standing relationship with the Clintons, about his educational work at the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Presidential Library, and about his work with our groups, were wholly illegitimate and out-of-bounds. But they were not without a design, and an insidious one at that.
By covering up the transcript, the Republicans are hiding the true nature of the Blumenthal deposition: their partisan attempt to both chill Blumenthal’s right to freely express his own political views and, more broadly, to intimidate our organizations—organizations that have led the way in exposing the fraudulence of the Benghazi investigation itself.
If Democrats had hauled a politically active Republican before a congressional committee and spent hours hectoring the witness about his political and professional associations and activities—“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Democratic Party?”—I can only imagine the hue and cry about the abuse of congressional power we’d have heard from the conservative echo chamber. Yet progressives for the most part stayed silent in the face of this blatant effort to suppress First Amendment rights.
And needless to say, none of the First Amendment champions at the New York Times found this travesty newsworthy.
Our groups have nothing to hide. After the deposition concluded, I publicly offered to give Gowdy a tour of our offices at his convenience. There he would find a hardworking staff committed to providing the public with fact-based information upon which to understand and judge the critical issues of the day—including the tragic deaths of four Americans in Benghazi that have been shamelessly politicized by the Republicans.
Gowdy would also meet people who won’t be thrown off mission or harassed or cowed into standing down by desperate partisans who have nothing to offer voters in the coming election but tired pseudoscandals.
Staying silent in the face of outrageous right-wing misconduct just isn’t our style.
July 8, 2015
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thanks go to Sean Desmond, my editor at Twelve, all of his colleagues there, and to Will Lippincott, my literary agent, for their wise counsel every step of the way to this book’s publication.
In composing the book, I could not have asked for a sharper collaborator than Andy Barr.
Matt Gertz, Eric Hananoki, Hannah Groch-Begley, Isaac Wright, and Sam Ritzman worked hard to ensure the quality and accuracy of the manuscript. Thanks as well to the entire research teams at Media Matters, American Bridge, and Correct the Record, on whose superb published research I’ve drawn.
In my office, special thanks go to David Thau and Haley Link who went above and beyond the call of duty in ensuring a smooth and organized process.
This book is based in part on two speeches I’ve delivered in the past year, one at the Clinton School of Public Affairs in Little Rock, and the other at a Democracy Alliance conference in New Mexico. Those speeches were principally written by Jeff Nussbaum of West Wing Writers and Andy Barr. Eric Burns edited the Clinton School speech, and thanks as well to Skip Rutherford, the Clinton School’s dean, for the invitation to appear. Gara LaMarche and the staff of the Democracy Alliance facilitated the DA address.
A number of friends and colleagues read drafts of the book and made astute suggestions and edits, large and small, including James Alefantis, Bill Smith, Angelo Carusone, Michael Kempner, David Thau, Sidney Blumenthal, Mary Pat Bonner, Jeff Nussbaum, and Bradley Beychok.
I’d like to acknowledge the past and current teams and outside colleagues at Media Matters, American Bridge, and Correct the Record who contributed to the founding and subsequent success of the organizations over the years, especially former Media Matters presidents Eric Burns and Matt Butler, former American Bridge president Rodell Mollineau, Marcia Kuntz, Jamison Foser, Katie Paris, Jon Cowan, Kelly Craighead, Jill Alper, Eric Boehlert, Darrin Bodner, Tate Williams, Lida Masoudpour, Zac Petkanas, Ari Rabin-Havt, Allison Thompson, Matt Gertz, David Bennahum, Adrienne Elrod, Ilyse Hogue, Steve D’Amico, Jeremy Holden, Burns Strider, Phil Singer, Eddie Vale, Jessica Mackler, Sam Ritzman, Isaac Wright, Adrienne Watson, Maggie Williams, Phil Griffin, Sidney Blumenthal, Marc Elias, Jerry Hauser, and Bill Smith.
Special thanks to the current leadership of our teams: Bradley Beychok at Media Matters, Jessica Mackler at American Bridge, Brad Woodhouse at Correct the Record, and John Neffinger at the Franklin Forum; and to Mary Pat Bonner of the Bonner Group and her entire team.
None of these organizations would succeed in their missions without the critical support of a network of organizations and leaders in the progressive movement too numerous to single out. You know who you are.
Thanks to Senators Tom Daschle and Harry Reid, John Podesta, Rob Stein, and President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton for their early support of Media Matters.
Paul Begala, James Carville, Howard Dean, Stephanie Schriock, and Anita Dunn are always there for us. Susan McCue, Joe Conason, Marc Elias, Steve Bing, Susie and Mark Buell, Rob Dyson, Rob McKay, Michael Vachon, Paul Egerman, Patricia Bauman, and Rob Stein have also been important sounding boards over the years.
The boards of directors of these organizations comprise thirty-six stellar individuals committed to our mission. Special thanks to Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the chair of Correct the Record.
These organizations are supported by more than four hundred generous donors without whom we simply could not do the work we do. I’d like to acknowledge, in particular, the ninety trustees who provide the core of this support on an annual basis. Peter Lewis, now deceased, is as responsible as anyone for our achievements.
Thanks to James Alefantis for his friendship.
And to Jack Bury, who kept my spirits up as I toiled away.
David Brock
July 2015
About the Author
David Brock is a widely published author and Democratic activist. In 2004, Brock founded Media Matters, the nation’s premier media watchdog. Following the 2010 elections, Brock founded the Democratic SuperPAC American Bridge, which is one of the largest modern campaign war rooms ever assembled using research, tracking, and rapid response to defeat Republicans. He is the author of five books, including his 2002 best-selling memoir, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative. His writing appears in USA Today, CNN.com, the Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, and Salon.
ALSO BY DAVID BROCK
Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative
The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy
TWELVE was established in August 2005 with the objective of publishing no more than twelve books each year. We strive to publish the singular book, by authors who have a unique perspective and compelling authority. Works that explain our culture; that illuminate, inspire, provoke, and entertain. We seek to establish communities of conversation surrounding our books. Talented authors deserve attention not only from publishers, but from readers as well. To sell the book is only the beginning of our mission. To build avid audiences of readers who are enriched by these works—that is our ultimate purpose.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
<
br /> Introduction: Return to Little Rock
Chapter One: Building the Machine
Chapter Two: How Democrats Got in the Game
Chapter Three: The Party of Koch
Chapter Four: The Scandal Launderers
Chapter Five: Getting Ready for Hillary
Chapter Six: How to Beat Hillary Clinton
Chapter Seven: Showdown at Foggy Bottom
Chapter Eight: How Benghazi Became #Benghazi
Chapter Nine: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Chapter Ten: The Romney-ization of Hillary Clinton
Chapter Eleven: E-mails: The Times Strikes Again
Chapter Twelve: The Haters and the Enablers
Chapter Thirteen: The Coming Battle
Afterword: The House Select Committee on Media Matters
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by David Brock
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by David Brock
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ISBN 978-1-4555-3374-9
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