Blogger Andrew Sullivan capped a lengthy endorsement of Ron Paul on Wednesday with a brief, four-letter message for Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
Sullivan, always an iconoclast on the right, praised Paul for being a "decent fellow" and for his desire to cut down on America's defense spending and global military footprint. But he also had some sharp words for Fox News:
The constant refrain on Fox News that this man has "zero chance" of being the nominee is a propagandistic lie. Nationally, Paul is third in the polls at 9.7 percent. In Iowa, he may win. In New Hampshire, it is Paul, not Gingrich, who is rising this week as Romney drifts down. He's at 19 percent, compared with Gingrich's 24. He is the third option for the GOP. And I believe an Obama-Paul campaign would do us all a service.
At the end of the piece, he wrote: "Oh, and fuck you, Roger Ailes."
It was the second time in recent weeks that Sullivan has criticized Ailes and Fox News for their handling of Paul. Last week, he wrote, "A Paul win in Iowa would completely discombobulate Fox News. That's good enough reason in and of itself to vote for him. Any restoration of decent, intelligent conservatism must start with a weakening of Ailes."
Sullivan has tangled with Fox News before. In 2010, he harshly criticized Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and said he had been banned from the network. (He also works as a columnist for the Sunday Times, which, like Fox News, is owned by Rupert Murdoch.)