NYTimes, Alan Grayson - Problem Child

The Times did an unfortunate hit piece on Rep. Alan Grayson. Salon did one last week, after the Rep called a female lobbiest a K-Street whore. The Times piece ended with a nice comment by Barney Frank, but the New York Times wrote the book on good journalism (I know, I know) and so they also know that very people make it to the end of an article anyway.

In the very fourth paragraph, they call Grayson a "wingnut." "Mr. Grayson could be the latest incarnation of what in the American political idiom is known as a wing nut."

I know each side thinks they're right, I know that's the very definition of partisanship. But really? Rush Limbaugh is a wingnut, not because he is a loud voice on the right, but because he is actually really scary. This is a man who despite his October 12th mea culpa, is roundly regarded as openly racist. Now, I mean, the far right is a believer of the aristocratic elite, but is racism, really a defendable political ideology? Shouldn't racism be condemned as a matter of course?

The Times cites Grayson "Then, appearing on MSNBC, he said of former Vice President Dick Cheney: “I have trouble listening to what he says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he’s talking.”

Again, this is loud rhetoric, but Dick Cheney actually believes in the value of torture. Ask him. There is no hiding, no obfuscation, no exageration: Cheney believes in torture. That may not make him a vampire, though his involvement in Haliburton and government contracting might make him one, but why should Grayson be condemned for a comment that aptly sums up what any rational person ought to know. Dick Cheney is a dangerous man, and for all intents and purposes has some really filthy, disgusting ideas.

The Times also cites Grayson: "“If you get sick, America, the Republicans’ health care plan is this: Die quickly.” This was the remark that Barney Frank, bless his heart, thought was spot on. And it's the type of rhetoric that America needs to hear more of. It's the type of rhetoric that would shame the Republicans who oppose healthcare reform to do one of two things: 1) Explain why they don't believe that (forcing them to spout factually incorrect data-contrived to make their point, thereby digging themselves deeper or 2) Force the more moderate Republicans to get on board.

Anyway, in true Times fashion, I'll save my apology for the last paragraph. The article isn't that bad. It does say some nice things about Grayson, and being a Problem Child isn't always a bad thing. Buuuuut....no. Fortunately, the American Left does have an outlet now--as opposed to 9 years ago, when the internet was really just a toddler.

I'll close with a Grayson quote I got from Think Progress:

“Rush Limbaugh is a has-been hypocrite loser, who craves attention. His
right-wing lunacy sounds like Mikhail Gorbachev, extolling the virtues of
communism. Limbaugh actually was more lucid when he was a drug addict. If
America ever did 1% of what he wanted us to do, then we’d all need pain
killers.”