There's a big mystery afoot in the media world thanks to the recent mugging -- or non-mugging -- of Air America radio talk show host Randi Rhodes. The story started when Rhodes's fellow host Jon Elliott reported on the air that Rhodes had been the victim of a beating while walking her dog. Elliott also went a step further, speculating that the beating might have been carried out by the "right-wing hate machine" as a means of silencing Rhodes (see last item). That seemed unlikely, at best.
But then the story got even stranger when it turned out that Rhodes was never beaten or mugged, not by the right-wing hate machine or anyone else. Evidently, she fell while walking her dog and was hurt. Elliott has apologized for his irresponsible speculation, saying that he was simply upset to hear about a friend's bad luck. No matter how this turns out -- maybe Rhodes got tangled in the leash and fell, maybe she was drinking, maybe she has the beginnings of a bad flu, maybe she slipped on a banana peel left in the street by Glenn Beck -- the way it has played out underscores one of the problems with political rhetoric in the country, and one of the many dangers of irresponsible polarization, whether it comes from the right or the left.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 3)
1. Thank god she wasn't mugged. If she had been then she might just have felt compelled to leave Air America. Because , after all, what is a conservative but someone who was a liberal and was been mugged.
JZeeee at 11:18AM on Oct 17th 2007
2. JZeeee - LOL
alan at 12:06PM on Oct 17th 2007
3. Hope she is OK, as I would prefer no human being comes to harm; comes to their senses, but not to harm.
alan at 12:08PM on Oct 17th 2007
4. I wonder if this Elliot guy needs medication or he's purposely trying to get his listeners into a paranoid frenzy for fun?
Mel at 12:25PM on Oct 17th 2007
5. Jon Elliot is the point of this story . His overstatement , suppositions , and outright lies were blatantly meant to inflame . Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot , he would be calling the perp a bomb throwing Nazi thug . Yet he expects to be afforded leeway because his thuggery is "well intentioned ".
Kevin George at 12:28PM on Oct 17th 2007
6. Kevin - He is wrong, unless the listener was clearly able to tell he was joking and even then his actions are questionable - good place to inert a War of the Worlds reference. I didn't hear the broadcast and can offer no opinion of his tone of voice.
I hope this does not turn into a which-side-is-worse argument.
alan at 1:07PM on Oct 17th 2007
7. This is incrediable. No wonder no one listens to Air America. Like a previous poster said, If someone else like Michael Savage or Rush would have said something like this there would be such a outcry from the mainstream press you could not escape it, But because a liberal says it no harm no foul. I for one an sick and tired of liberals getting away with so many lies and distortions. The press has no creditability at all.
Kenny at 1:55PM on Oct 17th 2007
8. Its a liberal, who really cares.
wils at 2:02PM on Oct 17th 2007
9. What's a Rush?
gmcintyre9000 at 2:36PM on Oct 17th 2007
10. #8
" Its a liberal, who really cares."
It should read "Its a liberal, who really cares about what others might say or think"
or "I really feel your pain!!"
JZeeee at 2:44PM on Oct 17th 2007
11. # of times Jon Elliott & Randi Rhodes have had to apologize for false statements: 1.
# of times Bill O'Reilly has had to apologize for (or at the very least retract) false statements: ummm...is it possible to even count that high?
PurpleChef at 1:39PM on Oct 22nd 2007
12. #5 You are right it is about this idiot. Also about what he represents. I'm actually surprised that this got any news at all! Being a Liberal said it. Which brings me to #11, when O'Reilly is wrong, or any conservative for that matter it's on the Front headlines of every left wing paper and drive by media.
hckey07 at 4:18PM on Oct 17th 2007
13. Purple chef: aren't you forgetting RRs not funny bit re shooting the President ? Well I guess that's not so much a false statement as a incredibly stupid attempt at humor , but still in keeping with the "progressive spirit" .
Kevin George at 4:41PM on Oct 17th 2007
14. Please PurpleChef, can you provide one instant where O'Reilly has made up a false statement out of thin air? I've heard him repeat information that later turned out to be wrong, and then later heard him correct - on air - his earlier statement.
BTW, you know if you repeat anything from Media Matters, or a similar web site, no one will believe you.
jrae at 4:52PM on Oct 17th 2007
15. #8 = There's your George Bush style compassionate conservative for you!!
David S. at 5:47PM on Oct 17th 2007