UPDATED... please see comment section for reaction from Wayne. I think if he says he didn't intend to slander the tea party activists and only meant the radical violent rogue militias, we should take him at his word.
However, Wayne has typically been a pretty fair journalist for the most part. His news stories are pretty good and informative and explain all sides. He, not Paul Burka, is the pinnacle of the Texas news industry right now. He'd be the go to guy. Or he was...
I don't know what has gotten into Wayne lately, but when he goes on MSNBC and CNN... which seems to be part of his contract these days... he just seems really off his game. He goes on these shows and just hams it up for these liberal msm talking heads, telling them the kinds of things they want to hear. I watched him on Rachel Maddow the other day and thought for sure I was watching some Keith Olbermann want-to-be. I guess with the newsroom getting cut, he is trying to be more controversial to stay relevant.
Yesterday Wayne went on CNN and lumped teaparty protests in with violent shootings. MQSullivan tweeted about it right after it happened (link)...
Did I just hear @WayneSlater on TV comparing Texas taxpayer groups to a vile, 89-yr-old supremist in DC? His lunacy is showing.
Newsbusters added a lengthy blog about it (link). Excerpt follows...
Dallas Morning News’s Wayne Slater become one of the first pundits after the shootings at the Holocaust Museum on Wednesday to hint that there was a connection to mainstream conservative activists. On CNN Newsroom, about two hours after the story broke, Slater linked this incident and the murder of abortionist George Tiller with “anti-tax secessionists in Texas,” his label for Tea Party protesters.
Wayne, losing credibility with every cable news appearance. Dial it back a tinge, man. Step away from the left fringe. You might also want to apologize for these comments you made yesterday on CNN and commit yourself to a few week long moratorium on these cable appearances.
Thanks for the pub, but I made no mention of the tea party protesters on CNN, only of the “anti-tax secessionists in Texas” – the Republic of Texas, a militia whose members were engaged in a shootout with authorities in West Texas over secession. Although the recent violent episodes are all different, they share one thing in common – violence committed in the name of radical ideology (the Holocaust denier, the doctor killer, the Army recruiting shooter) All are homegrown terrorists motivated by a radical ideology, all fed by various toxic underground echo chambers. In some cases, they overlap – as in the abortion doctor killer who was also connected to the Montana militia.
ReplyDeleteWhoever is responsible for writing this blog headline has little credibility. All I can vouch for is what I say, not what some headline writer for some other disreputable outfit erroneously writes. To paraphase el Rushbo, you can't believe the non-mainstream media.
Cheers, my friend. Love your blog.
My, my... someone's feeling a little sensitive this morning.
ReplyDeleteA word of advice, Wayne. Try the words, "I apologize" instead. What you said was stupid and irresponsible.
Thanks for coming on, Wayne. I think you're the leader of Texas political reporting right now, but I still do think you may have slightly goofed on this one. It can happen on live television.
ReplyDeleteI do accept your explanation fully, though. I think you would have a better read on what your words about anti-tax secessionists meant than anyone else. If you're talking about the crazy armed separatists, I see your point 100%, but if you had been talking about the tea party people you would have been stepping over the line. If you say you were not talking about the tea party protests, I believe you and everyone else should, too.
The shooter was a leftist "truther" who hates Bush, hates "neo-cons," and hates McCain: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-722-Conservative-Politics-Examiner~y2009m6d10-Holocaust-Museum-shooter-von-Brunn-a-911-truther-who-hated-neocons-Bush-McCain
ReplyDeleteThe shooter was a registered Democrat. Wayne is showing his bias, and KBH used Wayne Slater's article in her fundraising letter today.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense.