Ethics

Chastain's Silly Defense of False Quotations

By Ed Brayton

I wrote the other day about Worldnutdaily columnist Jane Chastain passing on the fake quote from James Madison that we hear so often. I also posted a comment on her blog pointing out that it was fake and, unsurprisingly, she misses the point completely and offers an absurd rationalization for why it's okay. This is absolutely routine behavior for religious right apologists.

I pointed her to David Barton's statement about a number of false quotes that he passed on in his original book, The Myth of Separation, just to show her that even the guy who made the quote popular now admits that it has never been found anywhere in Madison's actual writings or speeches. In response, she credulously repeats Barton's lame excuses for the fake quotes, but first she falsely calls Barton a historian:

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on April 14, 2009 (boomark / email).