Newspaper Picks Up Bogus ABC Piece, Says Bill Wants "Economic Slowdown"
February 1, 2008 -- 6:32 PM EST // //
Okay, the zombie lie marches on. The bogus ABC/Drudge story saying Bill Clinton wants to "slow down our economy" gets picked up by a Philadelphia newspaper and mutates into grotesque parody:
Bill Clinton Wants An Economic SlowdownYep -- now Bill "wants an economic slowdown." And this is now "his plan." And of course the supporting evidence is the original absurd out-of-context quote, which is featured at the top of the story, just like in the ABC original.Former President Bill Clinton was in Denver, Colo. yesterday campaigning for his wife, Hillary, and arguing that the government should put the brakes on the economy for the sake of the planet.
"We just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions 'cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren," Mr. Clinton told the crowd.
The former president blamed the overactive economic nature of industrialized nations for increased greenhouse gases. But Mr. Clinton understood his plan was not without problems.
Let's remember what happened here. The blogosphere prevented this story from gaining serious traction by swiftly knocking it down. Whatever dissemination this falsehood does get is the fault of more traditional outlets like ABC and the above paper. Just so we have that clear.
Special thanks to TPM Reader DOK for sending this in.
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