NY Mag film critic tweets phony anti-Palin Thatcher story (Update – tweet removed)
on March 16, 2013
38 Comments
Some myths live on regardless of the facts, and when it comes to Sarah Palin, they live on with a fury.
Palin's speech at CPAC today set off a tirade by a film critic for New York Magazine Bilge Ebiri:
And he tweeted a quote supposedly attributing to Margaret Thatcher a refusal to meet Palin because Palin is "nuts" [note - since tweet now removed, it will not show up as normal Twitter embed]:If Sarah Palin didn't exist, some sick, sadistic fuck would have had to invent her.
— Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri) March 16, 2013
I don't respond to most anti-Palin hysteria, but this looked familiar. The story was false, as I wrote on June 14, 2011, So Now All These People Will Apologize To Sarah Palin About Margaret Thatcher, Right?:"Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts."
— Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri) March 16, 2013
A week ago The Guardian reported that Margaret Thatcher was refusing to meet with Sarah Palin, attributing a quote to an “ally” of Thatcher as follows:A reader at Gateway Pundit confirmed a similar denial from The Margaret Thatcher Foundation. I can't say I'm surprised Ebiri was misinformed, since the Thatcher quote remains widely cited despite the truth. I repeatedly tweeted Ebiri informing him it was a hoax and he should withdraw the quote:Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.The blogosphere, including some conservative and libertarian haters of Palin, erupted in joy, with loads of snark and derision directed at Palin. It turns out that the Guardian story was a hoax, as reported by Nile Gardiner:I have spoken to Lady Thatcher’s Private Office regarding the story, and they confirm that the attack on Sarah Palin definitely did not come from her office, and in no way reflects her views. As a former aide to Margaret Thatcher myself, I can attest that this kind of thinking is entirely alien to her, and that such remarks would never be made by her office. She has always warmly welcomed like-minded figures in the United States, and has in the past met with numerous US presidential candidates and political dignitaries when they have visited London. But at the age of 85 she is now able to receive very few visitors at all. There was never any snub of Sarah Palin by Lady Thatcher’s office. However, there has been a great deal of mischief-making and unpleasantness from sections of the liberal press in a vain and futile attempt to use Margaret Thatcher’s name to smear a major US politician.
