Demagogue

In recent months, conservative firebrand David Horowitz has been pushing his phony "academic bill of rights," seeking to neuter liberal professors at the nation's colleges and universities. Horowitz' tendency to shade or twist the truth showed at a January hearing that was held by a legislative committee in Pennsylvania.

In this article in On Campus, Barbara McKenna explains:

At the hearing, Rep. Larry Curry, Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan committee, asked Horowitz about a story he has been repeating in speeches and interviews for over a year, that a Pennsylvania State University biology professor showed his class Michael Moore’s documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11” in the days before the 2004 election.

Horowitz’s source, apparently, was a posting on one of his spinoffs, the studentsforacademicfreedom.com Web site. Trouble is, Horowitz has never provided any evidence that the screening occurred, and no other independent source has been able to verify it.

“The concern I have,” said Rep. Curry, “is over the lack of good evidence—the vagueness being presented in both the resolution [H.R. 177] and the statements we’re hearing. In one instance on your Web site, you have a long story about the showing of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’ Now we know that it didn’t happen. Will you retract the story?”

“We took it off the Web site days ago,” Horowitz answered, adding, “Michael Moore has been shown to be a liar.”

“But you asserted it as true and didn’t correct it,” Curry persisted.

“So what!” Horowitz barked, exclaiming that he couldn’t be expected to fact-check Web postings.