SlowpokeBlog

Someone needs to come up with a name for this phenomenon of wingnuts inventing urban legends about Democratic politicians that filter up through the mainstream media, only to become conventional wisdom. Just a few weeks ago, Nancy Pelosi was the target of one of these contrived scandals when the House Sergeant-at-Arms put in a request for a plane that can hold enough fuel to reach California. Some Republican lawmakers brought up the possibility of her flying on a Boeing 757, and by the time the media finished its gang bang, half the country believed she had requested a luxury jet. Now, a little BS nugget on the Drudge Report falsely claiming that Hillary was trying to speak in a fake southern accent has become the latest fabricated smear to spread far and wide. In short, she was quoting a hymn. Before you do anything else, go here and get the straight dope. Watch the video clip. Then ponder why the hell Drudge has so much power to dictate the national conversation.

This stuff, while totally stupid, is extremely powerful. The smears are all too believable because they fit into peoples' preconceptions about politicians; they are too delicious not to swallow. While few Americans are probably aware of the Bush administration's purge of U.S. Attorneys who wouldn't play their partisan game (according to Media Matters, ABC and NBC have yet to report on the story), everyone is sure to hear that Hillary spoke in a southern drawl. It's the kind of character-oriented story that's easy to understand, and easy for the cable news channels to cover. And it's completely antithetical to the cause of democracy.