On the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), I asked Andrew Breitbart and film director Steve Bannon what would make their upcoming video "exposing" Occupy Wall Street successful despite being panned by critics and audiences for their previous work, "The Undefeated" by about Sarah Palin.
Breitbart immediately went off.
Breitbart: Who's Andrew Metcalf, I want to see, this is always a fun gesture, is that your name?
Me: Yes that's my name, I just checked IMDB and ["The Undefeated"] got a 1.7; on Rotten Tomatoes it got a 0 percent.
Breitbart: Who do you work for?
Lady sitting next to me: Crooks and Liars!
Breitbart: Crooks and Liars, that's it, it's a radical left-wing website, he can answer for himself, the way you've presented yourself you represent Occupy very well.
Me: I'm actually asking a legitimate question, about one of your previous movies being panned by both critics and audiences. What's going to make this one any different?
At that point, Steve Bannon took over and notified me that the Sarah Palin flick did have a broad audience in DVD sales and pay-per-view orders. He said the movie was well-received by conservative critics and there wasn't one factual error in it.
Bannon: Professional entertainment critics, yes, they went after the film quite harshly, just like they did her... I showed the... the useful idiots of the entertainment business that completely vilified and eviscerated a woman that has a track record as a performer that actually stands for a populist agenda... you kind of asked it in a snarky way, but it is a legitimate question.
Then Breitbart butted back in and spoke about Brandon Darby, a former community organizer who exposed a small group of protesters to the FBI who were planning to infiltrate the Republican National Convention in 2008. He said the liberal media had attempted to vilify Darby.
Breitbart: The left needs to demonize him because they don't want to tell the world what he's about.
Me: Aren't you doing the same thing with this [Occupy Wall Street film]?
Breitbart: Let me finish...
Me: You're demonizing a large group of people as well...
Breitbart: I'm going to finish! I'm going to finish! The movies that have been made about him have been praised by the media. The movies made to destroy him have been made by the media. If you can't accept the premise that you're in bed with a mainstream media that is left of center that wants to destroy people who are good and decent like Sarah Palin and the movies that are made to defend them when they can't defend themselves, you're not going to get it.
Me: Wouldn't you consider your media completely biased?
Breitbart: Of course it is!
*loud cheers from audience*
I thought it was funny that he called Crooks and Liars a radical, left-wing website, but then later on associated me with the mainstream media. Thanks, Breitbart. You always know how to attack a person, rather than answer a question.
