An amazing exchange this morning summed up best by Hot Air’s Morrissey:

Soledad O’Brien and her CNN panel manage to stumble into Contessa Brewer territory in this appearance by attempting to paint Breitbart.com editor-in-chief Joel Pollak as a racist for making a point about Barack Obama’s support for a proponent of “critical race theory” during his days at Harvard Law School. Joel ends up in an argument with a woefully unprepared O’Brien on the theory itself, but the actual facepalm moment goes to one of her panelists, who asks Joel why he’s so afraid of black people…

Frankly, it’s clear that no one at CNN does critical thinking, on race theory or anything else. The point of Andrew’s final project isn’t so much to make Obama’s early radical ties clear; it’s to point out how the media tried to keep them quiet. This uninformed attack from O’Brien and most of the CNN panel is a great demonstration of the very point that Andrew wanted to make with these videos. All they needed to say — and what Holmes tried to say at one point — is that plenty of people toy with radicalism in college, but drop those passions when they get into the real world, and that college activism isn’t terribly germane twenty years later with a term as President already in place. They fell into the trap set by Andrew and Joel, and somewhere Andrew is enjoying a mighty laugh over it.

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  1. Pat_S says:

    From Discoverthenetworks.org, A Guide to the Political Left, on Derrick Bell and Critical Race Theory:

    Born in November 1930, Derrick Bell may be considered the founder, or at least the godfather, of “Critical Race Theory,” an academic tradition in which race plays the same role as class plays in the Marxist paradigm.

    Quoting Derrick Bell:

    “Despite undeniable progress for many, no African Americans are insulated from incidents of racial discrimination. Our careers, even our lives, are threatened because of our color.”

    “[T]he racism that made slavery feasible is far from dead . . . and the civil rights gains, so hard won, are being steadily eroded.”
    “… few whites are ready to actively promote civil

    “Black people will never gain full equality in this country. … African Americans must confront and conquer the otherwise deadening reality of our permanent subordinate status.”

    • Maynard says:

      It’s interesting to watch the way that anchor spins the narrative in a way that sounds so normal and reasonable: Bell was a tenured professor, so he must be okay, and anyone that suggests otherwise is apparently acting from nefarious motives. And Obama was a student; it’s perfectly normal for a student to embrace a professor. And none of this is new; we reported it all in 2008. What’s the big deal?

      So it’s demanded that we accept the legitimacy and decency of Bell and his disciples; this in the context of Bell’s movement that denied the legitimacy and decency of those that disagreed with him, and pledged to destroy the existing framework. Seems we can’t get away from that double standard.

      Joel Pollak is clear in pointing out how the CNN narrative is a fantasy. Bell was obsessed with race and built an intellectual framework to justify a never-ending race war. Young Obama thought that idea was just peachy. CNN systematically neglected to report any historical incidents that deviated from their hagiographic narrative.

      What will the practical impact of Breitbart’s revelations be? I wonder. We all love a good narrative. The Obama narrative has become, to so many people, an article of faith. And faith can’t be dislodged by facts.

  2. LJZumpano says:

    I really want someone to ask Soledad if she happened to be at that rally in 1987. she was at Harvard around that time.

  3. Shifra says:

    In the spirit of Andrew Breitbart, I propose the following: Every time a Lib mentions “contraception,” immediately scream KEYSTONE PIPELINE! KEYSTONE PIPELINE! (Btw, Ricky Santorum, thanks so much (not) for allowing the Leftist scum to change the narrative. Swell job! Now get off the stage!!!) TAMS, this is #WAR !

    • LJZumpano says:

      look out world, Shifra is fired up!! ♥

    • naga5 says:

      #war. i like that, shifra.
      and (snark level 11) i think we can all be thankful that joel pollak would never stoop so low or sublimate his fear so deep as to even associate himself with those of color. like his wife. jay thomas, from an asian guy to a white guy, take your “why are you afraid of black people?” meme and stuff it.
      thanks, i feel better.
      and that’s why it is #war. we can’t let the media get away with this again.
      rick

  4. LucyLadley says:

    I am now officially a Joel Pollak fan. What a professional & brilliant man. I feel much more informed thanks to this research being released.

    • imacat says:

      I agree, Lucy! Joel held his composure and responded perfectly despite the insults, accusations, and patronizing tone of Soledad and her “white guy” panel partner.

      • SoCalGal says:

        It’s Jay Thomas. He used to have a TV show, and now I believe he has a talk show out of New York. Supposedly a comedian. Joe Pollak ripped Soledad O’Brien a new one. I love it.

        Andrew–war (whispering)

        • Nemesister says:

          Soledad O’Brien is too dumb and full of herself to understand she had a new one ripped on national TV. OMG I would have reached through that screen and slapped her silly!

  5. Gregger71 says:

    Joel Pollak did a great job keeping his cool but I think we was still way too nice, which the left counts on. If the liberals on that show can call him racist and uninformed, why couldn’t he come right out and say what he means to O’Brien:

    “You are visibly upset and uncomfortable with this conversation because you are a political hack working to re-elect Barack Obama. Stop with the pretense that CNN is an objective news source. You’re not fooling anyone anymore.”

    I know it’s easy for me to write this in a calm environment from my laptop, but I’d like conservatives like Pollak to take some lessons from Allen West and start really calling these people out for what they really are. They hate us anyway, so what will it hurt?

  6. Maynard says:

    On a related note, Tammy played that old “…my Muslim faith…” blooper today. What’s interesting about that is the way the anchor rushes to correct Obama, quickly smoothing over the gaffe lest there be any misunderstanding. Contrast this to the way Soledad and crew flail and flail and flail to push Pollak into a gaffe. Yep, these people are hell-bent to make sure you know the TRVTH, and never mind the damn facts.

  7. longhorn mama says:

    The dumb cow Soledad had to have the definition of Critical Race Theory whispered into her ear straight from wikipedia. And then they tried to scrub the wikipedia entry but Breitbart’s people had already screen capped it. I wonder if Pollak is afraid of his gorgeous black wife? ROFLMAO! #IAmAndrewBreitbart #VetThePrez

    See all the details on Breitbart’s site.

  8. greenlantern2011 says:

    I thought I saw Pollack biting his lips throughout much of the melee like someone who is either trying not to laugh/smile, or consciously saying to himself: “Just let them hang themselves”.

  9. sandyl says:

    Once again the left argues a point, and by arguing the point actually proves the point. Point Taken!!

  10. lawmom90 says:

    I was so in awe of this interview/segment. I don’t watch that channel, but I did catch the video after someone tweeted it. Soledad O’Brien will not learn from this, but we all watched Joel Pollak calmly take her apart, in the tradition of Breitbart. He was classy and a gentleman, but landed blows like a prizefighter. It was very impressive.

  11. […] CHALLENGE MEDIA ASSERTIONS, AND KEEP TO YOUR MESSAGE. Many of you have probably come across a story about Soledad O’Brien and her CNN panel attempting to paint Breitbart.com editor-in-chief …for making a point about Barack Obama’s support for a proponent of “critical race theory” […]

  12. SoCalGal says:

    What a sarcastic be-atch.

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