Barney Frank, American Hero?

BadgerPundit never expected to call Massachusetts representative Barney Frank an American hero, but in the case of l'affaire Eason Jordan, there is no other way to put it.  Like most Americans, I have long since stopped watching CNN due to the network's leftward tilting coverage, preachy liberalism, and dishonest attacks on the Bush administration.  So Eason Jordan's paranoid beliefs are news to me...they are also properly news to all Americans who continue to believe that CNN (under Jordan at least) is both an honest and trustworthy source for television news.

For those who have been living under a rock, Eason Jordan was until last week the editorial head of CNN's news division.  Appearing about two weeks ago on a panel in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Jordan accused American soldiers in Iraq of deliberately targeting and killing journalists in Iraq.  Of course, Jordan had absolutely no evidence, other than the conspiratorial rantings of unidentified acquaintances on the radical left, to substantiate this outrageous slander against the honor of American soldiers.  Jordan would never have had the guts to level these inflammatory and unsubstantiated charges overtly on CNN; the heat from the viewer revolt would have been far too intense.

So instead, Eason Jordan thought he would take his paranoid distrust of the American military, and his obvious opposition to both the Iraq war and the Bush Administration, before a friendly crowd of anti-American opinion leaders in Europe.  Far off the camera, Mr. Jordan was free to undermine American political objectives by catering to European prejudices and tossing off casual damaging slanders without any pretext of proof.

Fortunately for America, and the honor of our fighting forces, Eason Jordan sat on the same panel with Rep. Barney Frank.  Jordan might have expected a friendly audience for his lies from Frank, since Frank is one of the most reliably liberal members of the U.S. Congress.  To his everlasting credit, however, Frank sprang immediately at Eason's comments, challenging their implications and demanding that Jordan document specific incidents to back up his claims.  Since Jordan had not one scintilla of actual evidence, Frank's challenge forced him to back off his comments almost immediately.

Frank's evident outrage at Jordan's calumny of U.S. troops played a major role in generating the subsequent interest in the controversy, first in the blogsphere, and then in the conventional press.  And now, Frank's timely challenge has forced CNN to fire Eason.  Barney Frank's demand for proof limited the damage from Jordan's initial remarks, and led to Jordan's final comeuppance. 

Frank's example shows that genuine patriotism belongs to neither left nor right;  although Frank himself opposed the Iraq war, he refused to countenance unsupported attacks on the honor of American soldiers, who serve in Iraq because of duty, not their individual political beliefs.  In America, vigorous opposition to political leaders is a precious, vital, and time-honored right; scurrilous attacks on brave men and and women doing their duty are not.  Frank, unlike Eason Jordan, clearly understands the difference, and deserves the thanks of all Americans.

So now, Eason Jordan is gone at CNN.  But remember, all of Eason Jordan's friends and political allies still work there.  Therefore, watch CNN at your own risk.  As a whole, the network continues to be dominated at the top by 1960s retreads haunted by the ghosts of Vietnam, who see My Lai in every military action and reflexively regard all American soldiers as baby killers, war criminals, psychopaths, and barbarians.  No wonder this group of Mao-worshiping journalists and SDS washouts found John Kerry as their natural champion in the last election.  And no wonder they are beneath our contempt.  Send a message in the most effective manner you can, by never tuning your TV to CNN.

Comments

[phelony jones]

I can't read his name without converting it to one of our favorite west coast liberal's misspeak: Salomon Barney Frank. Although she was completely serious at the time...

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