Columnist Cristina Corbin has wandered dangerously far away from the wingnut campground we know as Fox News. She authored an article today that is certain to inspire a spit-take or two from the Tea Bagger contingent. The article achieves something that is rarely seen at Fox – it approaches the truth about the Tea Crusaders:
“[W]hile organizers have held the tour as a way to stay front-and-center as a political force, the rallies have also attracted the kinds of mistruths, exaggerations and conspiracy theories that make Tea Party leaders cringe.”
This may be the first acknowledgment by anyone at Fox that the Tea Crusades are the epicenter of right-wing hysteria, delusion, and dishonesty. Corbin accurately reports that these events have hosted some of the fringiest characters this side of Heaven’s Gate. From those who are convinced that Obama is a socialist or Muslim, to those who carry signs associating him with Hitler, to those who doubt his citizenship, Corbin documents the lunatic stylings of a movement that began when a bunch of commodity traders chafed at having to pay taxes even with representation.
Unfortunately, Corbin falls short on a couple of measures. First, she asserts that the Tea Party leaders “cringe” at being associated with the cracked tea pots. To the contrary, they are commonly in full agreement with them and often encouraged them. Dick Armey, the head of FreedomWorks, a Tea Party sponsor, was a vociferous opponent of the so-called “death panels” that never existed except in the minds of the gullible and the liars.
Secondly, Corbin fails to point out that most of the conspiracy theories that infected the Tea brains were heavily disseminated and promoted by the very news enterprise that signs her paycheck. It is impossible to ignore the part that Glenn Beck has played in promulgating the notion that Obama is some kind of Manchurian candidate who aspires to destroy America. And Beck is supported by his colleagues Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Neil Cavuto, Brit Hume, etc. A real journalist would have included that angle in the story. But, of course, a real journalist wouldn’t be working for Fox News.
Still, it is interesting to see Fox publish a column that at least attempts to represent a slice of reality. It will also be interesting to see how long Corbin has a job there.
I’m just wondering whether she wasn’t recruited to do the story – dictated to her – as a kind of damage control, though at this point “belated” doesn’t begin to describe her dilemma. Put it out there in mild, punch-pulling terms, minimizing if not separating the protected class (leaders, other FOX employees) from the actual mischief makers. It’s as if these followers invented the “mistruths” she speaks of and are not merely parroting what those leaders proclaim. If all this is true, Corbin served precisely the purpose intended.