Right-wing blogosphere, where tabloids serve as credible news sources
Published
No attack is too stupid for the right.
The right-wing blogosphere is seizing on a Canada Free Press column by Fred Dardick, which attacks President Obama as a “hypocrite” for “partying like rock royalty.” Dardick lists various musicians who have “made the pilgrimage to the White House to entertain Obama and friends” and comes to the conclusion that “the price for one of these events could easily top $75K. With over 27 concerts hosted thus far, the total cost to taxpayers is in the millions of dollars.” Dardick gives no indication of how he came up with this number, but he goes on to say, “The executive branch does not provide detailed information regarding entertainment expenses, however, it has been estimated the Obamas spent at least $10 million on 'drunken White House parties' in 2009 alone.”
It has? Who estimated that? Oh, that's right, the Globe (yes, the tabloid):
Wow! With sourcing like that, you'd think Dardick would be laughed out of the blogosphere. You'd be wrong.
Fox Nation was so impressed with Dardick's research that it declared his column to be a “report” and splashed it across its homepage:
Unsurprisingly, Dumbest Man on the Internet finalist Jim Hoft saw Fox Nation and was outraged by Obama's “drunken” extravagances. Hoft linked Dardick's analysis to Obama's call for “sacrifice” during hard economic times to back up Dardick's claim that Obama is a free-spending “hypocrite” who is “giving Marie Antoinette a run for her money when it comes to spending national treasure on personal luxuries.” Off with his head!
And, you know if Fox Nation and Hoft are on the story, then Fox & Friends, too, wouldn't be far behind. Indeed, on the June 8 broadcast, co-host Brian Kilmeade asked, “Did you know we're paying for Paul McCartney to perform at the White House? Why is President Obama spending your hard-earned tax dollars like a rock star on rock stars, when Americans are barely getting by? Hmmm?” His morning buddy, Steve Doocy, quipped, " Hey Jude, I want a receipt."
This is what it has come to. The right-wing is so desperate to attack Obama that they'll actually resort to citing tabloids as credible research. Wait till they hear that space aliens endorsed Obama for president! Maybe then they'll finally figure out the real reason Obama's NASA budget proposed tabling plans to go to Mars.
From the June 8 broadcast of Fox News' Fox & Friends: