Originally Posted By Dabob2 What - was Fox too liberal for him? <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/rick_santorum_now_a_columnist_at_birther_website_world_net_daily/" target="_blank">http://www.salon.com/2012/12/0...t_daily/</a> Note that this is not just a right-wing site, but a bona fide right wing nutso site. They push birtherism, secret-Muslimism, the-UN-is-out-to-destroy-us-ism, and as the Salon piece notes, "occasionally dipping a toe into white nationalism." Note that Santorum came in second in this year's GOP primary, which for the last 40 years, with the single exception of 2000, has meant going on to get the nomination the next time around. What the hell is up with the GOP?? We hear noises from a few quarters that they realize they need to moderate both their message and their policy... but there's an opposite strain that seems easily as strong that holds that they need to double down on the "purity" and frankly, on the crazy. This is going to be quite the internal battle. For a funny take, check out Rachel Maddow, nailing it. You can call it snarky, but a). who deserves snark if not Santorum and WND? and b). you have to laugh at this, or else you'd cry when you realize this guy has an excellent chance of being the nominee in 2016. Or has he just ruined his chances? Will it actually RAISE his cred with the base, who tends to be who turns out for primary votes? Or is this just too off the rails, ensuring no votes from even semi-moderates? <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/rachel-maddow-rick-santorum_n_2236728.html?utm_hp_ref=media" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...ef=media</a>
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan This is actually a perfect fit for him. The readership is nuts and so is he.
Originally Posted By ecdc I love how when you go to WND, there's a "news" section and an "opinion" section, because clearly at that site, those are separate things.... Sure.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost If he turns out to be the nominee in 2016, I think I'd like to run for President as a Democrat.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan What is wrong with these people?<< They started with a valid premise, that the mainstream media was rather liberal in its coverage at times. That perhaps there was another side to some stories, the conservative view, that wasn't getting its full due. But sites like WND have become the thing they supposedly hated -- one sided, lop-sided propaganda machines. Rather than challenging their reader's world view by, you know, facts and stuff occasionally, it's all opinion, all the time. Everything tilted through a far right funhouse mirror. I used to have a long commute. Eventually I was listening to right wing talk radio. And after awhile, you do start to see the world through that prism. And it's grown far worse now than it was back in the 90's. It's depressing how little actual news coverage there is to be found.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <But sites like WND have become the thing they supposedly hated -- one sided, lop-sided propaganda machines.> WND is really worse than that, even. It's Conspiracy Central. Demonstrably untrue stuff. Not just "lower tax rates help the economy" (arguable, depending on who's getting the breaks and from-what-rate-to-what-new-rate); not even "lower tax rates for the wealthy create jobs" (recently debunked by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service and belied by our own recent history, but I can see some people continuing to believe it); it's "Obama is a communist who wants to redistribute your hard-earned dollars to America-hating layabouts and turn us into a Soviet-style state." Fox and some talk radio and certain websites are one sided, lop-sided propaganda machines. WND is something else again, and I'm pretty shocked anyone who wants to be considered mainstream at all would take a job there, even as "guest columnist."
Originally Posted By ecdc Is it possible Santorum doesn't know what he's gotten into? I imagine people like him get bombarded with requests and perhaps they offered him enough money or painted a rosy picture of what they do? I'm not saying this is the case, I'm just wondering. We can forget just how much of a bubble people who have myriads of aides and assistants and have their entire lives scheduled out can be in.
Originally Posted By ecdc See also, Mitt Romney being shocked he lost, or people who go on the Daily Show not knowing it's a fake news show.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Is it possible Santorum doesn't know what he's gotten into? I imagine people like him get bombarded with requests and perhaps they offered him enough money or painted a rosy picture of what they do?> Possible, but geez - if you're going to have your name associated with something, it's basic due diligence to look into that something. It wouldn't take more than a cursory look around their site, either. Of course, this is a guy who "read" that "I think it’s seven or eight of the California system of universities don’t even teach an American history course. It’s not even available to be taught." In reality, of course, the UC system not only offers American history (except at the SF medical school), it REQUIRES American history. But he read that it didn't, and immediately repeated it. Wonder if he read it on WND?
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>if you're going to have your name associated with something<< Santorum's name as been associated with worse. LOL
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Of course, this is a guy who "read" that "I think it’s seven or eight of the California system of universities don’t even teach an American history course. It’s not even available to be taught."<< I'm pretty sure he's a fan of WND. And the right wing radio screamers, and Fox and "Media Research Center." It's through this filter he views the world, which was apparent by idiotic statements such as the "California universities don't teach history" nonsense. If it was Aunt Betty Lou forwarding that stuff by email, that's one thing. But for a former/future presidential candidate to be this divorced from reality is really pathetic and scary.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Absolutely. I'm hoping that WND is so far on the fringe that it provides fodder aplenty when Santorum inevitably throws his hat in the ring for 2016. If it doesn't hurt him in the primaries (which it should, but may not, depending on who's dominating the GOP a few years from now), it should certainly hurt him in the general election.
