Because the mainstream media loves Andrew Sullivan’s willingness to say what they would like to in order to the destroy the right, the media props him up — even when he spreads unfounded gossip no one else could ever get away with. For years, and with no evidence whatsoever, Sullivan mercilessly attacked the parentage of Gov. Sarah Palin’s son Trig. It was all about using lies to freak-show her family into a political liability. The media ate it up.
Now Sullivan is doing the same to the Catholic Church – spreading gossip based on zero evidence or reporting that Pope Benedict is gay and currently engaged in a secret homosexual relationship. Sullivan went a step further on Chris Matthews’ Sunday show. Now he’s claiming that “many” of the Cardinals about to pick the next Pope are gay.
So here you have a nationally known figure spreading unfounded gossip to attack the Church, and what’s the media’s reaction? Is Sullivan criticized, shunned, or admonished? Does he even receive some pushback? Nope. Just as the media did with the Palin smears, once again they’re happy to aid and abet this latest round of unfounded attacks.
The Daily Download is supposed to be a site that reports on media. All they do with this Sullivan post, though, is play his gossip-stenographer — help to spread his smears. There’s not a word of criticism about Sullivan’s methods or the veracity of his claims. The author of the piece, Chad Sinclair, actually goes so far as to identify Sullivan as a “conservative political commentator,” when the whole world knows he is not. The Daily Download isn’t reporting; they’re engaging in link-love.
You think Daily Download would simply pass along a clip of some conspiracy theorist questioning Obama’s birthplace?
Of course not. But the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict are fair game.
There is absolutely no difference between Sullivan’s methods and a “birther” who claims President Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii. Well, there is one difference — how Daily Download and the rest of the media aid and abet Sullivan.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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