We understand from Paul he's getting a lot of hate mail from the usual suspects. As of about a half hour ago, this was his count:
"9/11 conspiracists: 17We would humbly ask any and all of you, after you've seen the article, to drop Paul an email at paul.farhi@washpost.com (he's definitely looking at his inbox) to let him know how you feel about the article. Thanks from the Hackwhackers.
Media-bias complainers: 12
Miscellaneous kooks: 125"
BONUS: Bob Somerby at Daily Howler has a similar take.
You see the problem is this feels like a ruse by the Republican Party. Acting as though it's Trump that brought the Fringe into Mainstream Republican Party ignores the work done by Dinesh D'Felon, Ann Coutler, Rush Limpballs, Mark Levin, Michael Savage Weiner and so many other right-wing nut jobs who've been pounding away, getting louder and louder since the John Birch Society, Nixon's Southern Strategy and Reagan's Revolution.
ReplyDeleteTrump has been saying the most odious Right-Wing beliefs outloud, but it's not like he's getting this from some 8-bit dos powered conservative website. Right-Wingers have been conditioned for years to believe what Trump is saying.
For someone who has been reading the Post for (giving away my age) about half a century, I can safely say this kind of piece is rarer than hen's teeth. While it may not be an all- encompassing analysis, it's a refreshing change from the "both siderism" of this paper and ,IMO, to be applauded. Thanks for the comment, as always, Gene.
ReplyDeleteSure. I don't read bezos bugle ;) so I'll defer to your take on the piece.
DeleteLong time subscriber to Wash Po. At your urging, I sent an email to Mr. Farhi, having read the article and appreciated its appearance in my paper. This is where things get weird--he wrote me back and appreciated that the paper had intelligent readers. I'm glad he's humble enough to be appreciative and not stuck on himself like many Post writers have been. But... but I want him to feel that the paper has a million smart readers and that there are millions of sane, involved citizens. Otherwise it is End Times.
ReplyDeleteAs you can imagine, articles like Farhi's bring out hordes of angry commenters. Unfortunately, many of those who would agree with him don't bother writing in and reinforcing the reality that, yes, there are many, many of us who "sane, involved citizens." We hope (and think) he does appreciate this reality. So, we're very happy that you took the time to write him (and us!).
ReplyDelete