What is the Jeff Gannon story, really? It's about the grassroots rising up, organizing, and getting into the mainstream media with the story they want talked about. It's an amazing thing to watch, really.
Think about it for a moment.
How many people have contributed pieces to this story? Think about all the research that has been done by so many people. Think about the blogs, who came together and gave that research a platform. Think about the members of Congress who picked up, ran with it, and started asking the White House for some accountability. Think about the blogs that hosted all clips of Gannon's ridiculous "questions" putting a picture to the words and telling the story.
And then what happened. The mainstream media started to at least talk about it. Three weeks ago, this wasn't on anyone's radar screen. In the first month of this Administration, we've stood up and had an impact. We've gotten the story back, and it’s on our terms. A group of individuals all over the nation, using the Internet to work collectively. And the best part is that the story is starting to turn our way.
Think about Rep. Louise Slaughter. She went on mainstream media and stood her ground and skipped the spin and talked about the issues. Think about the few reporters who have now picked the story up a bit and are starting to really write it. Think about watching John on TV last night, not talking about how crappy blogs are that they went after this guy's personal life (it was his business life and how no one in the White House seemed to notice it, but hey, don't let the facts get in the way of good spin), but talking about how Jeff Gannon is a White House propaganda plant.
Think about how much time and energy has been going into this story and look what it has become. Sure, Gannon's all over the media saying how horrible his life is since this started. Don't buy it. He was a propaganda artist from the get go. (And the blogs have nicely ripped his story to shreds.) So why is he doing it then?
Well, I personally think that he has something to hide. Or something to hide for someone in the White House who still has a job today. The real story hasn't even started yet.
- Why hasn't the Valerie Plame case been brought to prosecution? Someone leaked her name, and that was a crime. The list of possible criminals is pretty short. Why haven't we seen justice?
- How did Jeff Gannon, a man who wasn't even a "journalist" two years earlier, get right into the middle of all of this? Who gave him access to the CIA documents? Did he tell everything he knew to the Justice Department?
Someone in the White House put political gain for the President ahead of our national security, exposing an undercover CIA agent who operated covertly in the Arab world. In the middle of a war in the Mideast, someone in the White House diminished our nation's intelligence gathering capability. A crime against our national security at a time of war was committed. And someone needs to be held accountable.
-- Rob in Baltimore
