Free Republic

It was simply without precedent. The case of a prominent politician sending embarrassing messages, combined with the hijacking of a press conference by a combative, high-profile conservative journalist. Except that the bizarre Anthony Weiner-Andrew Breitbart dust-up at Manhattan’s Sheraton Hotel isn’t without precedent at all. In fact, six decades ago, history witnessed an eerily similar altercation at a Philadelphia hotel news conference about a politician’s inappropriate communications—and his own confrontation with the Andrew Breitbart of his day.

Quoth Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on September 15, 2008 on the Huffington Post in criticism of Governor Sarah Palin: Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that “some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/governor-palins-reading-l_b_126478.html?page=32&show_comment_id=15725640#comment_15725640 Yet the same Robert F Kennedy, to my knowledge, hasn't said boo about Bill...

Scully wrote the speech [Palin's acceptance speech] largely before Palin was selected. Which makes sense. But the parts that seemed tailored specifically to her? Who wrote those? Specifically, the line about small towns, and how they grow great people? That line, as was revealed this week, was written by a very bigoted columnist named Westbrook Pegler. That line seems like a landmine of unintentional readings: it was written by a racist, about a man who became president when the old man before him died. Not really a single good interpretation there, right? Well either someone more wacky and right-wing than...