While we aren’t fans of Jimmy Hoffa, we are fans of getting the most accurate version of a reported story out even if that story is not in our favor. Truth telling, not bearing false witness, like not stealing, is fundamental to good reporting.
It has come to our attention that a recent Jimmy Hoffa ‘call to violence’ sounds more like a ‘get out the vote’ speech with the use of some uncivil and even violent rhetoric. FOX News released a clip of Hoffa’s Detroit speech on Monday. Left out of the clip was the entire context of Hoffa’s speech. It has been reported by some that FOX News has used the entire clip in their TV show, but what is making the rounds on the internet is the edited version.
Let’s be clear, “Let’s take these son of bitches out” is way over the top, so much so that Mr. Hoffa should resign from his union leadership position. If a conservative leader had said anything similar, he would be packing his bags today.
By editing the speech, FOX is giving Hoffa and his supporters cover. They can rightly say, “The speech was edited.”
This is how Hoffa’s remarks are currently being reported by most Conservative news organizations (Section in bold is my doing and is the most pertinent piece. It sounds like violent rhetoric with a violent call to action; Chicago style:
“We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war,” Jimmy Hoffa Jr. said to a heavily union crowd.
“President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let’s take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong,” Hoffa added.
For the edited video you can check it out here and another version here, or really any Conservative website that is reporting it. The edited video is now widely distributed. Now, let’s revisit the bolded section when it is left unedited:
President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. And President Obama, we want one thing: jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s what we’re going to tell him. He’s gonna be [stutter] and when he sees what we’re doing here, he will be inspired. But he needs help. And you know what? Everybody here’s got to vote. If we go back, and we keep the eye on the prize. Let’s take these son of a bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.
No doubt Hoffa was spouting violent rhetoric, and his SOB comment doesn’t help his case, but he has the call to vote on his side. FOX News needs to release the unedited version of the clip, if they haven’t already done so, and start using the quotation with “Everybody here’s got to vote” in it. For the full unedited quote check out ABC News.
Will any of this matter? Probably not. Now here comes the liberal hypocrisy. If a Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann had used similar language, and we should hope they don’t, TEA Partiers would come out in droves to defend the speech being a “vote them out of office speech.” When I first read the edited quotation, it made my blood boil. The full context changed my perspective a little no matter how much I can’t stand Liberals like Jimmy Hoffa. An army of voters taking America back is exactly what the TEA Party called for in 2010. The TEA Party just didn’t used foul language.
