Looney left-wing talker Randi Rhodes of Air America apparently claimed to friends this weekend that she had been mugged. Quicker than you could show solidarity with Hugo Chavez, her fellow host Jon Elliott hinted that right-wingers had attacked Ms. Rhodes because they felt threatened by her unlistened-to show on a bankrupt radio network:

“Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?” he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. “Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”

It turns out that Rhodes was a klutz rather than a victim. Rather than being assaulted by Rush Limbaugh fans, she fell while walking her dog, her lawyer and police now say. So, unless her dog is a German shepherd, it’s unlikely he was part of a vast right-wing conspiracy.

Rhodes’ lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she’s not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a “hate crime.”

But why the confusion? Why did Elliott spring into conservative-bashing action on the air? Did Rhodes lie to them? That’s the only conclusion I can come to. If so, did she really think she could pull off her conspiracy scenario?

She’s supposed to be back on the air on Thursday, sans a few toofies.

UPDATE: Elliott has now apologized for going all conspiracy on this. Unexplained still, though, is where the notion of an assault came from. From the AP story it still seems the confusion/distortion started with Rhodes (my emphasis added):

Rhodes was injured after she was floored by someone _ or something _ as she strolled the streets of Manhattan’s Murray Hill district around 8 p.m., but wasn’t sure herself what sent her tumbling to the pavement.

“She hit her head on the street and was disoriented,” Gaulin said. “She’s not sure what happened. She didn’t see anything.” He added that she never reported the incident to police.

The question remains: What did she tell Elliott, or her friends who later spoke to Elliott, that made them assume an assault had been committed? Perhaps she’ll tell us on Thursday.