In surprising news Sunday night, Breitbart “News” (that still cracks us up) reporter Michelle Fields and sphincter-at-large Ben Shapiro said they are leaving the august bastion of rightwing journalism. Following the alleged assault of Fields by Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Cory Lewandowski last week, Fields and Shapiro say they’re leaving because Breitbart management has had its lips too tightly wrapped around Donald Trump’s entirely adequately-sized penis to issue more than the most cursory mumbles of support for Fields. So maybe not such a surprise; Fields simply escaped before her literal-minded Breitbart bosses could obtain an actual bus to throw her under.
Imagination my surprise when I woke up Monday morning to discover that someone at Breitbart had actually developed standards and something resembling ethics- something no reasonable person would ever have accused Ben Shapiro of possessing. Michelle Fields is just guilty by association- she works for Breitbart, which automatically reduces her journalistic credibility to something closely resembling zero. That in no way should be taken to me she’s not worthy of being treated with dignity and respect…and not assaulted by the manager of a Presidential campaign. That her employee effectively tossed her under the bus only serves to illustrate Breitbart’s less about news and journalistic credibility than it is about access and self-preservation.
I’m not about to soft-pedal Cory Lewandowski’s thuggish assault on Ms. Fields, because it was every bit of that. Campaign managers shouldn’t be able to manhandle (read: “assault”) journalists (again, Breitbart…but whatever….) without consequences…especially as Ms. Fields was left with bruises on at least one arm. That’s unacceptable under any conceivable circumstance.
Making matters worse was that Breitbart kinda sorta came down on Lewandowski’s side…and why wouldn’t they, right? When you’re a journalistic-ethics-free Right-wing propaganda/scandal rag, should anyone really think it appropriate to use “ethics” and “Breitbart” in the same sentence?
I deplore Breitbart and the cheap yellow journalism that stand as its hallmark. My disdain aside, Ms. Field deserved better- from Lewandowski AND Breitbart, and I hope that she’ll receive justice in whatever form that takes. This appears to be a case of the “old boy’s club” taking care of its own, but there’s more to it than that. If Lewandowski isn’t held accountable, and Breitbart is allowed to get away with treating an employee with such dismissiveness, what does that say about the role of women on the Far Right? Do the words spoken about equality hold any meaning…or are they as cheap as the propaganda and disinformation they peddle?
As if there’s any doubt about the answer to that question….
