You'd think an image of a man violently covering a frightened woman's mouth, accompanied with the words, "He’s decided to become a father…right-wing Republicans want to make sure he does", would be considered mildly extreme, right?
Not extreme enough for Huffington Post contributor and pro-Obama blogger, Erin Kotecki Vest, who posted the image to her Facebook page.
Tony Katz reports:
Progressive blogger Erin Kotecki Vest posted the photo on her Facebook page. When asked if she was saying that the GOP condones rape, she replied: (and gave her permission to be quoted)
"Tony I am saying – and you can quote me – that the GOP is making sure rapists become fathers. Just like this graphic says. i did not say the GOP condones rape. I said the GOP is making sure rapists become fathers. Which is a FACT based on the GOP party platform as written, drafted and accepted"
Vest doesn’t come out directly to confirm what the photo says, side stepping that obvious reality by saying that the GOP is making sure rapists become fathers. By any standard, this is not low. This is disgusting.
It is an incredible leap of logic to travel in one's mind from somebody supporting a pro-life platform, to an assertion that Republicans want rapists to become fathers.
The fact that Vest is peddling such ridiculous imagery is important. Aside from being a prolific blogger for the Huffington Post, she also serves as Social Media Director for BlogHer, Inc., an organization that President Obama recently spoke to.
Vest can also be seen on the Barack Obama campaign website, touting the President's healthcare reform. Her post there is being used to promote the Obama message for an organization called Parents For Obama. In addition to being a Huffington Post contributor, Vest's full bio states that she provides commentary for CNN, and that she has also been responsible for "briefing the White House and members of Congress on how to reach and engage with women online". Those briefings included White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, members of the administration's new media team, and Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
While re-posting an image on Facebook does not translate to supporting the message, Vest has staked her claim by writing, "the GOP is making sure rapists become fathers". And while Vest insists that this doesn't mean she believes Republicans condone the act of rape itself, another liberal blogger comes to her aid in the commentary section. Jodi Lynn Jacobson pulls few punches when she says this:
The GOP does condone rape. They do condone forced pregnancy.
Jacobson is also a Huffington Post contributor, and according to her bio has been quoted extensively by such media outlets as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the blog RH Reality Check, a site devoted to 'reproductive justice' and fighting "reckless rhetoric" used by abortion opponents.
RH Reality Check operates with the support of the United Nations Foundation, a group founded and funded by CNN media mogul Ted Turner. The UN Foundation began with a $1 billion donation from Turner, and they in turn, have contributed heavily to other pro-abortion organizations.
And now the Editor-in-Chief of that blog, charged with combating reckless rhetoric, is spouting off about how Republicans condone rape.
Is there anything more reckless? This is hardly a good example of the 'new tone' we've heard so much about, but have rarely seen practiced by liberals. Vest and Jacobson are two very accomplished liberal bloggers with an obvious penchant for hatred toward their opposition.
Rusty can be reached at the Mental Recession
