Quote:
Originally Posted by Caligulette
The Washington Times is owned by the Moonies. It is not taken seriously in general. Mostly because of stuff like this.
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I agree, especially if you mean "taken seriously by people of even moderate intelligence and decency". But (i) that doesn't mean it isn't a core element of the American right wing; and (ii)that is very different from its not having a serious effect. The Times has played a significant and effective role in laundering Rovian spin points into the mainstream media over the past 9-10 years in particular. And I say Rovian because I mean the sort of things too crazy, paranoid, violent, racist or plain stupid to be directly presented through (even!) a GOP presser -- the stuff really intended to inflame the hate-base.
The pipeline from the Times to the right-blogs and syndicated columnists to the cable news panels at CNN and MSNBC was a well-organized and successful project for years. Pundits and news readers who would have agreed that they didn't take the Washington Times seriously would end up parroting their spin points (at least in the form of "Questions are being asked about..."), no doubt without even knowing their origins.