O'Keefe, conservative groups defend (bogus) DHHS video (Maine)

[jpak]

http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/1073095

AUGUSTA — The conservative advocacy groups behind the secretly recorded interview at the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday defended their decision to aggressively promote the video despite criticism that it is designed to mislead the public about the occurrence of welfare fraud.

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Similar controversy has struck O'Keefe's 3-minute DHHS trailer, a sensational compilation of the interview's most controversial moments that includes cut-aways showing the actor wearing an outrageous Gaelic costume. The costume was not worn during the actual interview.

The trailer also omits key events in the 49-minute DHHS interview.

The trailer shows the DHHS employee attempting to assist the actor, despite his obviously dubious qualifications for benefits. However, it does not show a senior DHHS manager questioning the man and ultimately telling him that he'll be denied MaineCare.

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[rfranklin]

1. Doesn't matter...many will believe them because it feels good...

The same reason they lover forwarding those bogus right wing emails.

[gratuitous]

2. Scumbags gotta be scum

I just don't quite get why media outlets feel compelled to pass along the slime drippings from the O'Keefe machine as if it was actual "news." Yes, government, unlike business, can't just refuse service to a customer. Any citizen is perfectly free to apply for government benefits; they just may not qualify for those benefits. A business, by contrast, can throw someone out of its establishment for being too drunk or too rowdy or smelling bad or just because the manager doesn't like his tie.

This distinction is lost on far too many people who are paid to know better.