The phrase, "you just can't make this stuff up," comes to mind when dealing with anything said on Fox & Friends, "the morning happy-talk show that Ailes uses as one of his primary vehicles to inject his venom into the media bloodstream." But the sad reality is that those on Fox & Friends do make stuff up whether it's their own stuff or stuff from other lying, propaganda based websites. Such was the case, in June, when the gang on the curvy couch appeared to source their outrage du jour from "Breitbart," a site not exactly know for a high standard of journalism. The topic was an iteration of another popular Fox & Friends lie, the "Obama Phone," which is just another fanciful right wing lie (cited during this segment) about how those on welfare (read "Black") are getting free phones courtesy of the Obama administration. That just isn't true and neither was Steve Doocy's claim, on Fox & Friends, that the Obama administration will be giving out cars as part of the immigration bill. Geeese, I thought only Oprah did that!
On June 25th, Laura Ingraham was a guest on Fox & Friends. She railed about the "giveaways" in the immigration bill. While she mentioned some goodies for Republican Senators, she cited things sure to get the pitchfork crowd salivating such as "Hollywood," "youth unemployment" (read "Black") "to satisfy Bernie Sanders" (evil socialist from godless Vermont). She didn't mention the largesse that defense contractors will get from the "border surge," She recommended that House Speaker Boehner just focus on border security and forget everything else in the Senate immigration bill. She whined about "the pollution" of the process which is an "insult" to Americans of all racial categories. (Hispanics don't want a path to citizenship?)
Roger Ailes' "attack poodle" Steve Doocy bounced off her "sweeteners" with the comment that "one of these, you're just gonna drop your jaw...remember this lady here with the Obama phone." The melanin challenged Fox & Friends pitchfork crowd must have been drooling after the Drudge video, used before on Fox & Friends, of an African-American woman claiming that she got a free phone from the Obama administration. Doocy said that there is provision in the immigration bill "that could be used to give free cars, motorcycles, scooters, to young people." Video of a nice new car, with "$1.5 billion" superimposed on it, was shown as Doocy said "this could be your new car."
On cue, Dana Perino asked for the "rationale" behind this. On cue Ingraham shouted - wait for it - that Bernie Sanders wouldn't support the bill without this. She claimed that this deal was done behind closed doors with senators saying "what do we have to give Sanders." Doocy shouted "$1.5 billion." Just to be "fair & balanced" she mentioned that GOP Sen. Dean Heller got something for Las Vegas. She bloviated about how the immigration bill will lower wages and increase unemployment. She didn't mention that the CBO says that the bill will decrease the deficit and that according to the conservative, Town Hall, the bill is "pro-business." To make sure you got the message, she said that "Obama phones, Obama cars, this is the way the process works in Washington."
Ingraham's rant was taken almost word for word from Breitbart which focused on the $1.5 million "jobs for youth." They cited the bill's provision about the need for "supportive services such as transportation or child care." (Participants in government funded social service programs frequently get subsidized child care and bus passes - not cars) But here's where Doocy got his propaganda point. Breitbart quoted a GOP senate aide who said ,"the government would need to buy, lease or rent motor vehicles for beneficiaries of the new government handout" and that the provision "could easily be interpreted to mean the money could be spent buying or leasing or renting vehicles for the beneficiaries" and that "appears to give states authority to buy, lease or rent motorcycles, cars and scooters or anything kids want to buy to get to and from a job.”
So there you have it folks. Doocy's information seems to have been sourced from Breitbart which did not claim, as fact, that the immigration bill will provide cars for youth. Rather, they summarized speculation from a GOP SENATE AIDE. Doocy took this speculation and made it fact. Fox & Friends does seem to have a problem with facts. In response to criticism of the infamous Fox & Friends fact about Obama's supposed "madrassah" education, top brass John Moody sent this memo to staff: "For the record: seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC." Guess Doocy didn't read the memo!
Addendum - On the same day that Doocy pimped this propaganda, Politifact gave it a "pants on fire" rating.
Video available at Mediaite.
“So there you have it. If you buy the vehicle-giveaway story, you might as well believe that Marco Rubio chows down on $16 muffins while using his very own Obamaphone to mass-text Friends of Hamas while driving his brand new ObamaCar to work.”
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/06/new-right-wing-obamacars-myth-fox-news
Wait… I think I just answered my own questions.
Oh wait! That’s right. He just makes shit up. Never mind.
Here’s a reminder of one of my bun fights with Steve Doocy from the NewsHounds archives:
http://www.newshounds.us/2011/10/28/why_is_aunty_em_apologizing_to_steve_doocy.php
With all my love,
Aunty Headly Ericann