What Shirley Sherrod Was Really Saying

Reader Comments
Back to blog

"If I was Shirley in one of those calls before getting fired I would have mentioned mistake being made. Seems logical to me." -Bill Hedges.
What a stupid remark!! Obviously, she did give her side of the story before being fired. Her boss at the USDA needed proof of her story's accuracy before rehiring her. Much was at stake. Of course, once this proof materialized, she was offered her job back. Now she's suing Andrew Breitbart and rightly so!! And stop braying like a donkey about FOX "doing nothing wrong." They've been race baiting since before Obama was even elected. The coverage of the story, in which they jumped to conclusions before even getting Sherrod's side of the story, was disgraceful. They used the story because it fit their racist narrative of the Obama Administration. They used the story to cause racial hysteria as with all their race related stories. And by the way, none of the voters reported the Black Panthers for voter intimidation because the incident took place in one of Philidelphia's all black districts. Fear was not a factor in this issue. These mostly Black voters ignored them and didn't care about their presence at the polls.
TomW. When was the last time a white person was subject to the same circumstances as Sherrod was with the Breitbart's edited video. Were that to happen to them I'm sure they'd be reinstated too.

steve of IL 7:00PM July 30, 2010

The RIGHT “defame Shirley Sherrod ”.
How do you figure that. You was not specific !
If I was Shirley in one of those calls before getting fired I would have mentioned mistake being made. Seems logical to me.
That person who doctored the tape is only guilty person I know of. You have conspiracy information ? Heard nothing of it. Fox did play the doctored tape, then corrected story when found out was doctored.
Heard there may be ‘race calling’ new media writers list against right. Rangel has more problems. CNN in search of someone to discuss Shirley’s deal.
But The RIGHT “defame Shirley Sherrod ” not getting that.
I say let it all hang not your limited request.

Bill Hedges of MO 12:14PM July 23, 2010

This is all BS. If it was a white guy, he would be gone for good guilty or not, no matter how he tried to explain himself. End of story.

TomW of WA 12:13PM July 23, 2010

Here's what you're left with.
1. Breitbart and Fox ran with a video without performing due diligence (obtaining the full recording). As a former investigator/detective for more than 15 years I observe that both organizations are savvy enough to have figured out that if they ran a story they knew to be false, it would soon blow up in their face and have the opposite of the alleged hoped for effect. Obviously, their actions while "unprofessional", were not racist.
2. The NAACP, who had the "full" recording in their possession, made the same "rush to judgment" - almost like a lynch mob. A good question to be asked might be, how Breitbart obtained an edited video from the NAACP in the first place.
3. The White House, scrambling to get ahead of the story, made the same mistakes and overreacted. Not unusual for politicians of any color.
Finally, I note that Ms. Sherrod has received well deserved apologies from all the above mentioned parties.
Maybe it's time to move on - I'm sure there's blood in the water somewhere else.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 12:03PM July 23, 2010

Hey Mark, I have seen this very comment on multiple boards, so is this what you do , write 1 comment and paste it on every board . Obviously you are a Soares hack who is blinded by the truth. Is this what the left has to offer, was this comment emailed to you this morming with instructions to paste it everywhere you can, to make it look like something more than it is??
Let the truth be told - is correct, however your version is called fiction.

Jim of NY 11:39AM July 23, 2010

The right cannot live with the understanding that they have defamed an innocent woman, so they must continue to defame Shirley Sherrod to feel that the evil they are doing can be "justified."
It would be easier to just LET GO, tell the truth, do what is right, and not WORRY about how to justify your own wickedness.

Jack Selvia of OH 10:57AM July 23, 2010

She is not just squicky clean, ask her about the 150,000. her and her husband recieved each ! From law suit, ask how her and her husbands community Businses after 15 years of none us came up with 13 million all of a sudden ??????????

jerrbarn of LA 9:23AM July 23, 2010

Shirley Sherrod has not been offered her job back. No matter how Mary Kate's very first sentence goes. And that fact is a very big part of this ongoing story.
She had been the Ag Dept's Director of Rural Development for Georgia until a few days ago. At present, Tom Vilsack says he's "reconsidering" offering her that job back.
What Vilsack has done is to offer many teary apologies and offer a completely different, made-up job ... to solve the racism problem within USDA.
Vilsack is no doubt hoping she'll take the offer, so he doesn't have to reverse his action.
So it's not yet time to smile and say, well it all worked out ok. Those apologies don't mean zilch when Vilsack has not righted the wrong he did to Shirley Sherrod. He needs to put his money where his mouth is.
Let's watch and see how well Tom Vilsack does with his "learning moment".

Stephen Voss 2:06AM July 23, 2010

Out of context my you know what. She deserved to get fired on the simple premise that had a white person said it they would have been fired and an uproar started by Al "I'm shrinking" Sharpton & Jesse "I don't work"Jackson.

No. 1 Equalizer of ME 1:48AM July 23, 2010

mark of NJ, what liberal news blog to you write for !! if not the only thing in life you listen to is ABC,CNN,CBS and all the the Liberal talk show host !! Many americans black and white can see the SUPER liberal Obama is, the tea party (black and white and Latino) does not care if he is green with big yellow spots !! He is still a SURPER LIBERAL, take from the working Americans and give to lazy Americans. Cut the military to the bear Mins. Take away what the world has known as marriage sense the begin of time! He will go down in history as worse than Jimmy Carter at running the US into the ground......And this from a union, democrat that is begin to feel more and more stupid for letting America becoming the laughing stock of the world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jerrbarn of LA 9:10PM July 22, 2010