I swear to God, it’s like the paper remembers that one, perfect high that it got from torpedoing then-Senator George Allen’s re-election run in 2006, and has been chasing the dragon ever since:
- 2009: You all remember the McDonnell/Deeds gubernatorial contest, yes? You also remember how the WaPo went so all-in on pushing an absurd story that Jim Geraghty started calling it the Washington Bob McDonnell’s Thesis.
- 2011: The Rick Perry nonsense with regard to the name of a ranch that his family rented hunting rights to. Notice how that didn’t blow up after all?
And now we have this silly little hit piece on Marco Rubio’s story regarding his parents, which is not just so inaccurate that it’s being smacked down by other newspapers; it’s so inaccurate that it’s being smacked down by the newspaper’s own columnists. The problem? The guy who wrote the article – which implied that Rubio habitually lied about when his parents fled Cuba without actually giving proof that Rubio habitually lied about when his parents fled Cuba – is himself an apologist for the Castro regime (h/T: Erick Erickson) who was apparently willing to use Birther agitprop* (I have another word for it, but it’s unprintable). Actually, the real problem for the Washington Post is that Marco Rubio is a young, engaging, excellent rhetorician and politician who has inexplicably picked the wrong party to belong to; couple that with a certain bitter frustration that their side’s young, engaging, etc. etc. who they helped elect President in 2008 has turned out to be neither an excellent rhetorician or politician and you can understand their actions. Well, that and the chimerical nostalgia of how the paper was able to change the news in 2006.
Seriously, guys? The first step to fighting an addiction is to admit that you have one.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*Seriously, folks, as I’ve said before:
…if your definition of ‘natural-born citizen’ means that you have to question the eligibility of this guy…
…then let me be the first to inform you: YOU ARE CURRENTLY FROLICKING IN THE ENDLESS, SUN-LIT PLAINS OF STUPIDITY.
I was listening to Tony Kornheiser’s little “news” segment on his so-called sports talk radio program. Mr. Tony, a former WP sports writer, went on a good five minutes on how this could kill Rubio’s career – as if it was the story of the day and he’s an expert in the politics of Florida’s Cuban community. Nevermind, Ghaddaffi’s bloody corpse was paraded all over the internet and Hillary Clinton is gloating about it.
No, Moe. Cast your mind farther back.
Much of the media dynamic for the last several decades is based on the fact that (in their own eyes) Kathy has the head of a President on her trophy wall, while Pinch has no such prize to show. The Post has been trying to replicate the triumph, with a few minor successes like Sen. Allen, but mostly not accomplishing its goal; the Times has been trying to catch up.
Regards,
Ric