Tucker Carlson said on his program last night that what I wrote in my Huff Post blog "Live From New York...Vote for Hillary!" was a "conspiracy theory." He claimed the idea that some Republicans are rooting for Hillary was "deranged."
First off, I didn't say all Republicans are acting on a desire to see Hillary get the nomination. But it's a fact, not a conspiracy theory, that some are. Here's Rush Limbaugh explicitly saying so to guest host Laura Ingraham on the O'Reilly Factor four days ago.
INGRAHAM: Rush, I understand that the Rush Limbaugh audience is mobilizing in Texas for Hillary. Am I hearing that right?
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: ...I am urging people -- I am using a phrase -- the Republicans -- our nominee is chosen. It's John McCain. Texas is open. And I want Hillary to stay in this, Laura. This is too good a soap opera. We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically, and it's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it and don't have the stomach for it.
And here's Glenn Beck this past October talking about why it's not a bad idea for Republicans to help nominate Hillary:
Glenn Beck: So how do you motivate your base to come out and vote if you`re on the right? Enter Hillary Clinton.
To the Republican base, Hillary -- Hillary is a giant "get out and vote" campaign provided absolutely free by the Democratic Party. .... All of Hillary`s high negatives help Republicans.
Now this is hardly an organized effort worth calling the Justice Department over, after all there were no steroids involved. But it certainly is worth noting. I also stand by the idea that in the case of
SNL it's worth remembering that someone with their own POV is writing that stuff. People think because it's comedy it's benign and reactive, like the Hannah Montana craze. But with political comedy there's always a choice being made by someone, even if it's a scene where Hillary announces that in an attempt to gain the critical "I'll do whatever my kids want because it's not worth the hassle of arguing with them" vote her running mate is Miley Cyrus.
My last thought is about the accusation, by Carlson, of perpetuating a conspiracy theory. When did this become the worst thing? We've just gone through seven years of non-stop actual bona-fide conspiracy theories and the phrase never comes up. No word or words have been this denigrated since "liberal" or "Freedom (just by Bush)."
The only conspiracy theory that's clearly in the clouds is the 9-11 theories we hear. But that's understandable given how traumatic the whole event was. Conspiracy theories always follow tragedies; Kennedy assassination, Pearl Harbor, AIDS...
So even though I was pushing a conspiracy theory, let's give them a cautious measured chance again. Remember the early seventies? Nixon, The Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor... those were good times for tracking shady cryptic evil behavior. Let's bring em back gang!
Posted March 7, 2008 | 09:49 AM (EST)