Civil Rights Icon John Lewis: Snowden’s Actions In Line With Gandhi, Thoreau

[MADem]

163. No--he said that about the MARCH ON WASHINGTON. That was the TOPIC of the interview.

And he said that in his press release. His press release is telling us the reporter "conflated." Yet you want to believe the completely unknown reporter, who is affiliated with a news outlet that has an agenda that is wrapped around Snowden, and not the civil rights leader, who has been a known quantity to us all for fifty years now.

You just don't have a right to your own "facts," here.

Surely you aren't calling Lewis a liar? That is what your last paragraph is smelling like. If Lewis didn't have a problem with this "story" that the "reporter" wrote, he wouldn't have written a press release to correct the record.

But he DID write a press release. He's mad, because that guy's article MISREPRESENTED his words, his context, and his meaning. That's why his release started out with this: News reports about my interview with The Guardian are misleading, and they do not reflect my complete opinion. Let me be clear. I do not agree with what Mr. Snowden did.

This is plain English: I never praised Mr. Snowden or said his actions rise to those of Mohandas Gandhi or other civil rights leaders.

This, too, is plain English: At the end of an interview about the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I was asked what I thought about Mr. Snowden’s actions. I said he has a right as an individual to act according to the dictates of his conscience, but he must be prepared to pay the price for taking that action.

Trying to infer that "some people say" and "He could say" comments, which are discriptive, somehow rise to the level of endorsement is flat-out absurd, particularly in light of Lewis's press release.

You just can't pretzel your way out of this. Lewis thinks Snowden needs to face the music. He doesn't think the guy is Ghandi, either. Lewis says that the article was MISLEADING and does not reflect his full views. He's not a fan of Snowden's actions.

You will just have to live with that. It's what it is.