The Mudflats

Conservative documentary filmmaker John Ziegler was in town to do a special screening of his new film “Media Malpractice – How Obama Got Elected and Palin was Targeted.” It’s been a while since I infiltrated a Palin event, so I decided to slip in and join the festivities.

There seemed to be 300ish people there, I’d guess.  I think they’d been hoping for more, as the theatre was only about half full.  Clearly this was the base.  The base of the base.

Bob & Mark of the “Bob & Mark Show” were there as emcees.  Eddie Burke was there too, sitting in the audience with a pile of t-shirts.  As a matter of fact, before I went in, he was in the lobby engaged in a conversation with an Asian woman about how off-base Grace Jang was with her op-ed piece yesterday, and how she just didn’t “get it.”

Bob and Mark explained to us how we were about to witness John Ziegler’s “labor of love” which will illustrate for us just how the mainstream media went after “our governor….our girl…and how they tore her apart.”  Those last three words were emphasized with lots of dramatic flourish.

Then they introduced the special guests in the audience.  First was Chuck Heath, Jr., Palin’s brother.  But he wasn’t there.  Next was Chuck Heath, Sr. who was thanked for nurturing the governor.  And finally, Todd.  He was clad in a dark jacket and a black baseball cap, and looked like he was trying very hard to be inconspicuous.  He quickly popped up when he was acknowledged, but then slid all the way down in his seat until only the black baseball cap was visible from behind.  Then Eddie Burke, who seemed to not quite know where he fit in the scheme of things, dashed up and gave Todd an “Eddie Burke Show” t-shirt.

~~Todd Palin and his new Eddie Burke t-shirt~~

And now we were ready to meet the filmmaker, but not before Bob Lester urged us all to purchase a copy of the dvd after the show, and send it to our “liberal friends.”

Enter John Ziegler.  It’s kind of funny to see people who come to visit Alaska in any sort of official capacity.  Mostly they look like they have no idea how to act, or what to say.  Sort of like they’re visiting a foreign country, and they’re on stage at the same time.  Ziegler explained to us that his purpose in creating the film was (and I quote) “I decided to dedicate my life to constructing a story to correct the historical record.”

Then he proceeded to list all the media sources that were “in the tank” for Obama, and when The View was mentioned, there was a loud “BOOOOOOOOOO” which eminated from Eddie Burke.  Ziegler told us how important this screening was, and that it might even be the most important one of all, and that “If anyone is going to get the truth it would be the good people of Alaska.”  I tried not to smile.

The film was basically one long interview with Sarah Palin, snipped up into little bits, and interspersed with lots of clips of political commentary from various media sources during the campaign.  Ziegler went out of his way to say that he wasn’t pandering to the base, but that he really wanted to convince people in the middle and on the left that the Obama coronation and the Palin hatchet job was something we all needed to rally around.  So here are the talking points.

Obama is a crooked politician who was annointed in the living room of his BFF, “unrepentant terrorist” Bill Ayers.  Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement made it possible for him to be elected and he is now “beholden” to her.  He created his own “presidential seal.”   Reverend Wright is evil.  Michelle Obama is unpatriotic. The mainstream media was totally focused on undoing Sarah Palin, who is actually more qualified than Obama.

Somehow, we were supposed to believe that the media glossed over the whole Reverend Wright fiasco, and the Bill Ayers association.  They supposedly never mentioned Joe Biden’s “Obama will be tested” gaffe and suddenly the heroes of the day for conservatives were Geraldine Ferraro, and Bill and Hillary Clinton who seemed to be the only ones brave enough to speak truth to power.  We also revisited Joe the Plumber, and the dreaded “spread the wealth around” comment.  Keep in mind that the premise of the movie is that none of this was covered by the mainstream media.

One of the favorite subjects of mockery was Obama’s speech on race relations.  They played a couple clips from the speech, and they showed media reaction which was favorable.  It actually made me smile.  I thought it was a great speech, and so did basically everyone else….except John Ziegler apparently.  The film sank to its ultimate low point when they bashed Obama’s visit to his dying grandmother.  ”Did we mention that she ‘helped raise him?’” the voice asked.  This was followed by clips from four or five rapid fire commentators reporting on Obama’s trip saying “to visit his dying grandmother who helped raise him” over and over.  This was followed by a couple clips from interviews with Obama about that visit.  This was supposed to disgust us.

I found it kind of funny at how many points in the film, they were showing some of my favorite parts of the campaign, and accompanying them with scary music, and distorted graphics.

Then, enter Sarah Palin, or as Ziegler described her “a one woman thunderbolt.”  Then there was a scary clip of wolves, bounding through the snow, (that’s the media) ready to pounce and kill on sight.

Everything that Sarah Palin said, so the story goes, was “taken out of context, or completely misunderstood.”  Here again, I found myself looking at the clips they were playing of the Katie Couric interview and the Charlie Gibson interview, and thinking to myself, “this is not helping your case.”  There were more than a few times I had to hold back the giggles.   Tina Fey is the Anti-Christ by the way.

They actually played the clip of Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live where she used Palin’s exact words verbatim.  It was one of her funniest moments and she didn’t even have to write it!  And then they played the clip of Sarh Palin saying the exact same thing.  Classic.

Then the interview with Palin herself. (cue the sad piano music that played whenever Palin was on the screen)  I remember when Ziegler came to Alaska to interview her in Wasilla.  And there she was in her pink suit with her shiny black gogo boots.  He showed her various clips of people reacting to things she had said and then asked her to react back.  When shown the Gibson interview where he asked her what she thought of the Bush Doctrine, and she asked, “His world view?”  Palin looked up from the monitor and said,  “What the heck was wrong with that answer?  Ask anyone in the Bush administration and they would have given the same answer.”   Had there been something around to bang my head on, I would have indulged.  Instead I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from shouting, “No, they wouldn’t have because even people in the Bush administration know what the Bush Doctrine is!  It’s pre-emptive war, not just what Bush happens to think about stuff!!”   It was hard.

Then there was the red leather jacket interview about what she said to the second grader who asked what the vice president does.  Palin explained that the VP was the head of the senate, and helped make policy decisions that affected families.  This had most of the country aghast, realizing that she still really didn’t have a handle on what the duties of the VP are.  Then the film voice explains that the reason she gave an incorrect answer was that she was speaking to a child.  “What was she going to say?”  that the Vice President sits around and “waits for people to die?” the voice asked.  If theatre-goers had been listening carefully they would have heard my chin hit the floor.

Oh, and of course, we were treated to a discussion of the infamous “pallin’ around with terrorists” rallies.  Seems that all those things people were yelling like “Kill him!” and “Terrorist!” weren’t true at all, and Joe Biden is actually the one who traveled around the country whipping up the hate.  After a while it started to feel like I’d gotten a deep injection of novacaine right into the frontal lobes.

Next clip was Katie Couric talking about the “what do you read” question.  And yes, they played the whole interaction with Katie Couric, somehow imagining this would look good for Palin.   Couric was shown being interviewed later, and said that she was surprised that nobody followed up with that question.  Flash to Palin saying in her best mean girl voice, “Because you’re not the center of everybody’s universe. Maybe THAT’s why nobody followed up!”  Then we were told that Palin’s interview debacles were the result of her fear that they would try to “trap her on the abortion issue,” and that she was rightfully “paranoid.”  I never quite figured that one out.

Meanwhile, of course, Obama was being featured on magazine covers that were “literally glowing.”  And after the election, all anybody wanted to talk about was race.  Then we were shown pictures of African American commentators who were almost moved to tears, and Jesse Jackson who was.  Again, we were supposed to feel completely disgusted by all this.

Then came clips of Obama supporters who couldn’t answer questions about who was in control of the congress.  Because all Obama supporters are stupid, and all McCain supporters are smart.

After what seemed like hours, the documentary mercifully ended.  All in all, I found it to be fairly unremarkable.  Sort of an “Oh God, do we have to go through all this again?” tour.   If someone had set a super hard-core Obama filmmaker in a room full of clips and said, “Pick out all the ones that make the media look like they’re picking on Obama, and that make McCain and Palin look good, then string them all together and insert bits of an interview with Obama talking about how unfair it all is, and wrap up with McCain Palin supporters looking stupid”  they’d have come up with the same sort of thing.

Then we were treated to a Q&A, in which Ziegler acted as though he were bestowing the magnanimous gift of his own time and presence.  He was short with people who were thanking him, and only took about 5 questions, leaving many hands in the air.

Here’s where he talked about how he’s appealing to everyone, and not just the conservative base.  Why, he’s only given money to Democratic candidates, we hear.  Well only one candidate.  And it’s a guy he knows.  And he disagrees with him on policy but gave him money because he felt like he had to.  But at least it allows him to claim neutrality in his film.

“What about the birth certificate?”  We knew that one was coming.  Here’s the reason it wasn’t included in the film.  Are you ready?  (clears throat)  “Knowing Obama” and his people, Ziegler believes that he is withholding information, whatever it may be, in order to keep that question “out there” so that the people who bring it up “look like nut jobs.”  I wondered in a devilish moment what would have happened if I had raised my hand and asked, “So, “knowing Sarah Palin” do you think that the reason she never released her medical records is that she’s withholding information whatever that may be, in order to keep that question “out there” so that the people who bring it up look like nut jobs?”   I bet it would have been amusing.

On the way out the door, back into the sane world, I saw Ziegler signing copies of the dvd which were available for purchase. I may have been able to resist head-banging and snarky question asking, but I simply could not resist getting a shot of the filmmaker with Brian, thanks to the assistance of an anonymous Mudflatter.

Brian the Moose and John Ziegler

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