Mercer Exploits Ambush "Journalism"

One of the first things you learn in Journalism School is how to conduct an interview. It's one of the basics. Cutting to the chase, essentially call the subject and arrange an appointment - that could be in their office, at your location, on the street, but you arrange to meet - like professionals. You write down your questions and go to the interview prepared. You ask, he/she answers, and you document your subject's response.

In Ambush journalism, practiced by many wannabe's and arrogant uneducated morons with a microphone or camera and a notion that they are "doing something", the subject is literally ambushed on the street or in a hallway or ... on a sidewalk, and questions are shouted at him or her. When the subject, not knowing who the unidentified ambusher is (he could be an assassin, a bill collector, a process server ...) walks away, the ambusher jumps up and down and points at the subject yelling "Did you see that? Did you see that?"

This practice is at best childish and paints the ambusher as an amatuerish fool. At worst it is destructive to the institution of  journalism. The ambusher has accomplished nothing more than to make himself (or herself) look beligerant, obnoxious, unruly, unschooled and unintelligent. Even seasoned reporters sometimes pull this stunt, and they always end up looking bad. It happened the other day when Mitt Romney was visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Poland. Reports shouted belligerent questions that clearly could have waited for a better opportunity. So when the security detail shooed the reporters away, they used THAT to try to make Romney look bad. The result was a non story that should have got them fired. But what's even worse than a cheap shot "journalist" trying to punch below the belt is a cheap shot politician trying to capitalize on that stupidity. Enter Gabriela Saucedo Mercer. Ms. Mercer is trying to blow an ambush of her Democratic opponent, incumbent Raul Grijalva, into a five alarm fire. In the process she paints herself as she really is - a hateful, dissolusioned little despot hungry for power. In this case, apparently, because no details of date time or circumstance are given, Grijalva is in the parking lot on his way from a press conference. What conference, where it was and what it was about are unknown. Apparently the ISSUE is not important here. Only getting the animal boxed in a corner and watching it hiss is what the "journalist" wants us to see. In the video entitled "Mexican Reconquista Slob, Congressman Raul Grijalva Evades Border Security Question," the ambusher meanders around a loaded question ... "Last year the Justice Department reported that young adults aged 12 to 17 used illicit drugs..." Grijalva is listening intently for the question's meaning - he has offered this "journalist" his opportunity to ask an intelligent question."much of which came to ..." and then Grijalva asks "what does this have to do with our press conference?" The ambusher continues, "I just want to know, are you commited to sealing the border against the influx of illegal drugs?" After a pause, Grijalva says, "I am." Then he walks away. Question answered. But Ms Mercer has another opinion. "Excuse me? It has to do with drug trafficking that enters our country through our sovereign borders......Listen to the end did I hear an F-bomb dropped by our representative? Oh my! " Well, maybe someone somewhere did say something. Maybe not. But he answered the question. Regardless, she is very very excited about the outside possibility that someone said the F word ... "Did anybody hear him drop the F-bomb? Or am I hearing things?" she says in comments, and wow, are the comments full of hatred, all encouraged by Saucedo Mercer. "Este burro, como me hace reir!" says one commenter. "This clown is such a dirt bag!" says another. You can hear the pitchforks rattling in the crowd, the fires burning in their eyes.  Any dissent to Mercer's point of view is likely banned. That is a given. But that she would energize and condone such animosity is almost bizarre if not surreal. So goes the ways of the Tea Party. Hatred Lies and Fear are their chief weaponry. Without them they would only have facts, and we know how much the Tea Party hates fact.