Fred Hiatt is concerned.

Fred Hiatt has recently published op-eds from Dick Cheney warning us of the dangers of avoiding torture, John Bolton warning of the dangers of negotiating with foreign countries, and David J. Kramer warning of the dangers of discontinuing an expensive missile defense program that doesn't work.

For a change, he's got Jim Sleeper warning liberals that they need to take the teabaggers seriously.

The WaPo's hands are not clean in the health care debate.

A flier describing the events, which Ms. Weymouth said had been issued by the marketing department and had never been vetted by her, had promised corporate sponsors conversation ("Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No."). Sponsors were asked to pay $25,000 to attend an event, or underwrite a series of 11 for $250,000.

The July 21 event, focusing on health care reform, had "guaranteed" a "collegial evening" with health industry advocates, Post journalists covering the field and administration officials involved with its policies.

Just for the halibut, I've submitted my own question for Mr. Sleeper:

Hi Jim,

You say "Racism is only one of many factors driving the backlash against the president in town hall meetings and in demonstrations on Capitol Hill." You then mention the example of the swiftboaters.

The link between these two things is that both were ginned up and funded by GOP operatives. FreedomWorks and American for Prosperity ("Patients United") are behind the teabagger protests, and along with FOX News promoted the 9/12 event.

Fish got to swim, birds got to fly, and Republicans scare seniors with lies about health care. Why do should we talk about these confused protesters at all? The corporate media happily ignored far larger protests against the war in Iraq. Not only were those anti-war protesters more focused, they were actually right on the facts.

Focusing on the astroturfing serves only the interests of the corporations that have a stake in the status quo. We ought to be talking about the fact that we spend more than any other country per capita on health care, yet are only 37th in terms of results.
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UPDATE: Jim Sleeper took my question, and here is his answer:

Jim Sleeper: Well, here's the rub, as I feel it: On the one hand, you're right to say that we should pay more attention to the skilled demagoguery that gets at people's hurts and fears and riles them up. And there's little question in my mind that that's mainly what FOX News exists to do and what certain media personalities there and elsewhere love to do.

On the other hand, the hurts and fears are real. They pre-existed FOX and even the WW II media demagogue Father McCloughlin and, later, Senator Joe McCarthy. So we have to concentrate more on what makes people so vulnerable to the snake-oil salesmen in the first place. My column was an attempt to warn us not to focus on the symptoms (even though they're often deep and powerful) but on the even-deeper causes. The rabble-rousers actually arrive rather late in all this, I think.

It seems we are talking a bit at cross purposes here. I'm saying we should dismiss the astroturfing for what it is. We should take careful note of the importance that the Washington Post attaches to it, and examine how the paper is otherwise covering the healthcare debate.

I should clarify who the cobag tag refers to in my post: Fred Hiatt.


Jim Sleeper seems to be a decent guy.

Jim Sleeper: I'm not conservative (I'd like a single-payer, universal health care system, like Canada's!), and neither I nor other liberals had any role in the silence of the President of the United States.

This issue of race in politics is one of his specialities.

Fred Hiatt, on the other hand, is as subtle and sharp as a sledgehammer. We don't see mention of the actual numbers that matter in the healthcare debate on the pages of the Washington Post. Or how other countries do it better. I've gotten more information about health care in other countries from my own comments section than I have from the WaPo.

But an editorial saying don't dismiss the teabaggers? Fred Hiatt will publish that in a D.C. Villager minute. Not to mention, an ad from FOX accusing its rivals of failing to adequately hype FOX's own astroturfing.

UPDATE II: Correction!

This was my comment in response to Jim Sleeper's correction. But I suppose it should be above the fold, and such as. I don't think you can pull up this post and not see the comments, but here it is:

Thanks for stopping by with correction, Jim. I don't get the hard copy edition of the Post, and assumed that anything listed under Opinions fell into Hiatt's bailiwick.

I grew up in D.C. reading the Washington Post, and I find it immensely disappointing these days. Ultimately, responsibility for the paper goes to the publishers, Donald Graham and now Katharine Weymouth.

In light of K.W.'s ham fisted attempt to sell access, it doesn't appear as if things are improving anytime soon.

To add to this, I have probably tended to overstate Fred Hiatt's power at the Post. And he wouldn't be there doing his thing if the publishers didn't want him to.

And here's more Somerby: Less than half what we spend, despite the therapy—and the baby-sitters! Does anyone have any idea how that works? We read the Post and the Times every day. We’ve never seen the slightest attempt to work through this giant conundrum.
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