Calling All Wingnuts

I’ve got a mini-troll infestation.  Given the fact that I call talk radio -  the den of dens for all trolls - I’m not surprised.  As such, for now, I’ve decided not to screen out quasi-civil troll comments.  Instead, to a certain extent, I might even engage them here and there…

This is one of those times.  No audio for this - just facts.  On of my most discussed (here, at Kos, FireDogLake and at Booman) posts was “Rush Limbaugh Chickened Out” - perceptions of how that call went are all over the place.  Let me address the issues most commonly raised… 

First of all, I’m amazed at the lack of critical thinking.  Because I’m sure most people did not actually read the article that prompted the conversation, here’s the key excerpt:

Democrats have taken more money from lobbyists than Republicans during the past 15 years, according to an independent analysis of campaign contributions.

Since the 1990 election cycle, Democrats have accepted more than $53 million from lobbyists while Republicans have taken more than $48 million for their election campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Data provided by the nonpartisan group also shows that when Democrats controlled Congress in the early 1990s, they consistently hauled in more than 70 percent of the town’s lobbyist money. The group is a leading critic of Texas Republican Rep. Tom DeLay’s ties to lobbyists.

So what happened is this:  CRP compiled data.  The Washington Times cherry-picked the data to take a cheap shot at Democrats…  manipulated statistics is all it was…

That was editorial content disguised as news.

Further - I didn’t get a chance to say it - because Rush chickened out - but the total they are looking at - over 15 years - is about $100 million…  that’s a pittance - broken down amongst the 434 congressional seats, it works out to about $15,000 per year per member.  At a time when House seats are going for 1-2 million and Senate seats cost about 6 million…  well, that’s just spit in the ocean…

And no - the NYTime and Washington Post are not run by cult leaders.  They don’t get funding from cult leaders.  I’ve got plenty of problems of my own with those two newspapers (and the rest of the traditional media), but they don’t have this problem - or anything even close to it.  The Washington Times owes its existence to the Moonies…  and that’s a straight up fact.

By the way - did you know that George Bush senior has gone on trips around the world to proselytize for the Reverend Moon?  don’t take my word for it - run a google search.

The Moonies have contributed between $2 and $3 billion to right wing causes - the Reverend Moon dwarfs anything ANY funder (including George Soros) has done on the left.  Moon’s even bailed out Jerry Falwells “college” - Liberty University…

So yeah, you trolls that come over here should really be more aware of who your daddy’s are…