What goes around comes around and Republican spinmeister Andrew Breitbart is about to learn that the hard way.

Former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) official Shirley Sherrod is suing Breitbart for releasing a heavily edited video that led to Sherrod's dismissal from her post.

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The scandalously edited video appeared to show Sherrod describing how she discriminated against a white farmer. Once news of the video hit Fox News, Sherrod was quickly denounced by everyone from the White House to Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP, and then she was fired.

Once folks viewed the unedited version of the footage, though, it was clear that Sherrod was actually talking about racial reconciliation. Sherrod talked about how she overcame her initial feelings and helped to save the farm of a white farmer. The pair eventually became friends.

By the time the true purpose of the speech was aired out, the damage was already done. In the suit, Sherrod said the video irreparably damaged her reputation. The USDA offered Sherrod another job, but she declined the position. Sherrod also reconciled with the NAACP.

Shamefully, even after the heavily edited video was exposed, Breitbart continued to try and smear Sherrod, Media Matters reported, claiming that Sherrod's suit was filed because he's exposed some sort of fraud in the Pigford V. Glickman case filed by thousands of black farmers who were discriminated against by the federal government. Sherrod and her family were one of the claimants in the case.

On his website, Breitbart released a statement denying the accusations against him:

"Mr. Breitbart categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech and, to reiterate, looks forward to exercising his full and broad discovery rights," the statement said.

Clearly, Breitbart has not learned a thing.




Sherrod's story highlighted the fears of those in our nation who are being fed stories about reverse racism as the country's first black president sits in the White House.

Remember the charges from a former Justice Department lawyer–turned–conservative–advocate that voting discrimination charges against the New Black Panther Party were not pursued because the civil rights of white Americans are not protected?

Evidence to the contrary quickly discredited that story.

The case exposed how cuts to media have left it vulnerable to doctored stories like the one Breitbart first pushed on his own website. In all of the hysteria, no one bothered to look at the original source material. The media doesn't have time anymore.



But lost in this was the damage to Sherrod and her reputation.

This is a woman who has worked with poor farmers of all shades in rural parts of this country. She did not deserve to be forced to resign in disgrace, after toiling in the shadows for so long.

There are real human casualties to the lies being pushed by some of these conservatives groups. The media should be a gateway to keep conservative and left-leaning groups honest.

Since Sherrod was failed by the media and her government employer, maybe she can find some justice in the courts.

She deserves it.