I've been reading about the smear campaign centering on Shirley Sherrod, who recently was forced to resign from the Department of Agriculture for being "racist."

Fox News and Tea Party activists said Sherrod, in her speech "lamented land being sold to a white man" and "racism was invented by elites to keep poor down" and Andrew Breitbart said on his Tea Party website "NAACP awards racism:  Federal appointee brags about discriminating against whites, says she can't get fired from government jobs." 

This was from a small snippet of a 40+ minute speech that was spliced and editted in the most egregious way.  Conservative mouthpieces like Bill O'Reiley and crew called for her immediate resignation.

I don't know what offends me more, the intentional smearing and misrepresentation of what was said by a federal appointee to undermine the Obama administration or the administration's knee jerk reaction to outcry from people with no ethics or credibility in accepting Sherrod's resignation.

I watched the speech that Sherrod got pilloried over.  I didn't care for the speech.  It was long and rambling.  It told a boring anecdotal story that was supposed to inspire and teach a lesson to her audience.  In context, it was supposed to be a story of transformation.  Out of context it made the speaker and the audience into racists celebrating their racism.

Seriously... fuck the far right for their tactics and agenda.  Fuck the current administration for not having the gear to take these tactics for exactly what they're worth... bullshit.  In accepting Sherrod's resignation, bullshit smear campaigns like this one have been reinforced by its success.

The irony of the Tea Party defending themselves against allegations of racism by aggresively accusing black people and groups of  racism is not lost on me.