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The Right Hook, a weekly segment which covers the machinations of the right wing, from the Republican Party to the Tea Party Patriots, and beyond. By Chris Bennett

After last week’s Right Hook, the Shirley Sherrod story broke. As you recall, the NAACP formally labeled elements of the Tea Party as racist. In response, Andrew Breitbart pimped yet another of his out-of-context video edits. This one purported to show Shirley Sherrod, the Georgia Director of Rural Development, making racist statements.

In context, Ms. Sherrod explained how she overcame her own racist views earlier in her career in order to help a white farmer keep his land. However, the out-of-context video had already gone viral. Ms. Sherrod was pilloried in the media and forced to resign. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack apologized, as did President Obama. Now, Sherrod is considering a job offer to become a deputy director in the USDA’s office of advocacy and outreach. However, after the Administration folded to the right wing media, progressives can await the next manufactured controversy from the right.

Upcoming on August 28th, the Prom King and Queen of the Tea Party, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are scheduled to appear with Ted Nugent on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally. August 28th happens to be the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech which the civil rights leader also gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Beck claims there is no coincidence. Beck claims the event will be a “non-political” rally. This event will be about as non-political as Tea Party rallies are non-racist. And with the National Rifle Association sponsoring the event, the political symbolism is already pointed– straight at the legacies of Abraham Lincoln and Dr. King, two American leaders shot to death by radicalized gunmen.

In California two Sundays ago, gun-toting convicted felon and anti-government zealot Byron Williams loaded his mother’s pick-up truck with a handgun, rifle, and shotgun, strapped on his body armor and drove west toward San Francisco. Williams’ destination was the San Francisco ACLU and the progressive Tides Foundation. Once there, Williams intended to kill as many employees as possible. Luckily, the California Highway Patrol stopped Williams for drunken driving on Interstate 580 in Oakland. A 12-minute gun battle ensued. Officers shot Williams in areas of his body not covered by armor. How did this would-be domestic terrorist become obsessed with the Tides Foundation? According to Media Matters, Glenn Beck is the only TV talking head who regularly vilifies the organization. Beck has mentioned the Tides Foundation 30 times since 2009, and several times in the last month. Sarah Palin is already one year out from her resignation as governor of Alaska. Palin promised us that her resignation would allow her to advance the interests of the state of Alaska. No such luck, America. On the opposite side of the country, Palin has endorsed New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte for the U.S. Senate. A new survey by Public Policy Polling announced that among N.H. moderates– the state’s largest voting bloc– Democrat Paul Hodes has expanded his lead over Ayotte from just 8 points to 21 points since April. It’s a sign from God, Sarah. Go back “North, to the Future.”