Jon Elliott Needs Help
I hope Randi Rhodes gets well soon. A nasty spill can really mess you up.
Who I also hope gets well soon is Air America’s Jon Elliott who wondered aloud if Rhodes’ accident while walking her dog wasn’t actually a right-wing hate crime:
Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.
“Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?” he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. “Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”
A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan’s 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.
Such knee-jerk hysteria could be the symptom of more serious mental problems. At least Elliot apologized [via Michelle Malkin].
“Air America Host Randi Rhodes Wasn’t Mugged”
“No, Randi Rhodes Was Not Attacked by a Fanatical ‘Reich Winger’”
Elliot has already apologized.
Air America released a statement saying that “the reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded.” Elliott followed that up with a retraction.
“I shouldn’t have speculated based on hearsay that Randi Rhodes had been mugged and that it may have been an attack from a right wing hate machine. I apologize for jumping to conclusions based on an emotional reaction,” he said in a written statement.