So the Washington Post hires a guy - David Weigel - to "cover" the "conservative movement". The fact that the editors felt such a column needed to exist speaks quite clearly to the fact that there are no conservatives inside the newsroom - after all, if you could see a somewhat rare, occasionally interesting, but overall dull and violent animal on a daily basis, you wouldn't feel it necessary to have it studied and reported on.
But the editors obviously do not understand the conservative mind, and believe that most of their readership did not either. To be fair, they felt us at least worthy of examination, and like an exotic animal caged in a zoo, they decided to observe us.
But with the interest level (both inside the newsroom and in their perception, outside) in the conservative movement so low, they decided that mediocre talent was all that was necessary. So, with little investigation, effort, or thought, they hired a fellow named David Weigel to cover the the conservative movement "from the inside".
But the question that now begs to be asked is: Did the folks that hired Weigel realize that he was a raging, white-hot, hate-filled liberal, and thus put him on this beat to discredit the Republican animal? Or, like most of their reporting and editorializing, did they act without doing even the smallest bit of research?
Here is Weigel, apologizing for being an asshole - he starts out with a confession:
I'm a member of an off-the-record list-serv called "Journolist," founded by my colleague Ezra Klein.
What is Journolist? Glad you asked:
A secret society of Republican-hating journalists, who happen to control most of the mainstream media outlets in America today. They exist in an echo chamber, hearing their prejudices ratified by like-thinking contemporaries, and then presume to speak for the majority of Americans.
From an insider at Journolist:
"There is probably general agreement on the stupidity of today’s GOP”...
Which is why Weigel made, and is now apologizing for (but refusing to retract most of) these comments:
"This would be a vastly better world to live in if Matt Drudge decided to handle his emotional problems more responsibly, and set himself on fire."
"I'd politely encourage everyone to think twice about rewarding the Examiner with any traffic or links for a while. I know the temptation is high to follow up hot hot Byron York scoops, but please resist it."
"It's all very amusing to me. Two hundred screaming Ron Paul fanatics couldn't get their man into the Fox News New Hampshire GOP debate, but Fox News is pumping around the clock to get Paultard Tea Party people on TV."
And this is the man the WaPo gave the job of reporting on the conservative movement. So what it is? Did Weigel lie to his bosses to get the job? Did the Washington Post want to discredit the Right, and thus put a plant in their paper? Or, in the perception of the editorial staff of the WaPo, is Weigel's reporting - if you call wishing death on Drudge "reporting" - an accurate read on the Right?
Let's just say this is why the mainstream media is going belly-up faster than the fish who swallowed the hook. Let's also point out this is why conservatives needed to create their own media outlets - the Rush Limbaughs, for example - to get an unfiltered message out.
And let us say this is the last time we'll ever link to Weigel. In his own parlance, I am thinking twice about rewarding this douchebag with any traffic....
UPDATE: Ann Althouse points out is Weigel who has set himself on fire. Ah, sweet karma....
UPDATE II: No need to worry about links, as Douchebag David Weigel has resigned. Still doesn't address the big problem of how to cover that freakish breed of American known as the "conservative"...
UPDATE III: Over at the Campaign Spot, some thoughts on Weigel, and Journo-List
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