Tracking the "tracker".

Hang with me tonight people, I am still a little down because my homie, Usain Bolt, finally lost a race. Hey, all good things must come to an end. Here is hoping that Usain starts training again and stops living the good life off of the track.

And, speaking of track. Tonight I want to talk about some folks they call "trackers".
Seems that these kinds of folks go around calling out other folks who are doing wrong by tracking them down. It's usually done with a camera or a microphone present to embarrass the trackee (Is there such a word?) Andrew Breitbart and his crew made this type of gorilla media tactic famous when they used it to bring down the folks over at Acorn. The folks over at Radio Rwanda frequently use this tactic as well, to bring down their ideological enemies and black people. The O'Reilly folks tracked down Dr. Boyce Watkin's boss at Syracuse University, and my man could not survive the public scrutiny that followed. Radio Rwanda went after William Ayers as well, sticking a camera in the man's face while he tried to go about his daily life.

So now, the latest tracking tactic comes at the expense of the Media Matters folks. But, unfortunately for the tracker, it looks like he picked on the wrong people to go after.

"Wednesday afternoon as our building held an ice cream social in the lobby, a young man showed up at Media Matters office armed with a camera. Positioning himself outside our office, he proceeded to ask people leaving the building what is was like to work for George Soros.

I decided to go have a conversation with him:

"I would like to note, no matter how many times Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly says it, George Soros has never made a contribution to Media Matters. However if he would like to make a contribution, he can do so at MediaMatters.org.

There is nothing wrong with tracking -- Media Matters regularly sends trackers to conservative events -- but if you are going to track, perhaps it would be a good idea to come prepared with more than a single question based on a false premise. And when you are confronted with your own questions, have a better answer than rubbing your nose and mumbling."

Let me also add to what the Media Matters folks say about tracking: it can be a dangerous thing. And you track people at your own risk. The very first time one of these clowns sticks a camera or a microphone in my face or in my space, I guarantee you that it will be on You Tube for all the wrong reasons. Trust me, it will have nothing to do with what I have to say.

If you want to score cheap political points by sticking a camera in someones face when he or she is unaware that you are coming, you might want to tell whoever it is that you are working for to give you a little extra something in your pocket for battle pay. Because the next person you go tracking might be your last.

*Pic from The Brad Blog.