Washington Post Now Has So Many Crank Conservative Columnists That They Cannot Even Agree on Which Cranky Conservative to Support

Maybe the WP Will Hire Even More Cranky Conservatives to Break the Tie

Conservatism sells.  That is indisputable.  Conservative are far more passionate than any other group about their political beliefs, a passion that results from the fact they believe their views come directly from the Almighty, that they are the only moral views in the universe and that any opposition views are those of pure evil.  As a result they spend money on their cause, support newspapers that support their cause, attend conventions that support their cause, listen to pontificating talk radio that supports their cause and try to mask reality to support their cause.

No one know this more than the Washington Post, as noted here earlier a once great newspaper.  The Post is now reduced to trying to emulate the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal in a level of pandering to Conservatives that the Journal has already achieved.  And so the Post employees columnists, whom they hope will attract to the Post the money that the right wing lavishes on those who agree with them. 

The current rage of the opinion managers of the Post was  to support the candidacy of Mitt Romney and so they elevated a Romney apologist, Jennifer Rubin to the forefront.  Now they want some support for Rick Santorum.  So we have Michael Gerson, former Bush administration official lauding Rick Santorum as a “compassionate” person.

he is the Republican candidate who addresses the struggles of blue-collar workers and the need for greater economic mobility. He talks not only of the rights of the individual but also of the health of social institutions, particularly the family. He draws out the public consequences of a belief in human dignity — a pro-life view applied to the unborn and to victims of AIDS in Africa.

How does Mr. Santorum get to be the person who addresses the concerns of blue collar workers?  Well his grandfather was a miner.  Yep, that sure qualifies him as spokesman.  Oh yes, forget about the millions he made peddling influence in Washington once he was trounced in a re-election bid.  Here, from the real reporting the Post occasionally indulges in is the real Mr. Santorum

In the Senate, for example, he played a pivotal role in advancing the controversial K Street Project, a highly organized effort to pressure industry groups and lobbying firms to hire Republicans for influential jobs and punish those who brought in Democrats. ­Santorum oversaw regular Tuesday meetings with lobbyists in which he solicited their views on pending legislation and discussed potential jobs, according to documents and news reports and a lobbyist who attended the meetings.

After losing a reelection bid in 2006, he capitalized on his congressional experience by beginning a profitable career on K Street as an adviser to industry groups and lobbying firms, disclosure records show.

The ever wrong George Will focuses on Mr. Santorum as a help to the Republican ticket in Pennsylvania

Even if Santorum is not nominated, he might galvanize a constituency that makes him a vice presidential choice. For Obama, getting to 270 electoral votes without Pennsylvania’s 20 is problematic.

But then there is that one thing in Mr. Santorum’s past which even Mr. Will cannot ignore

Yes, in 2006, a ghastly year for Republicans (who lost 30 seats and control of the House, and six Senate seats), Santorum lost by 17 points in his bid for a third term. But, then, Richard Nixon was defeated for governor of California six years before being elected president, carrying California.

U, see Mr. Will, a two term Senator who lost re-election by 17 points is really not the person to bring Pennsylvania to Republicans.  And really, do you think anyone ever benefits from being compared in a favorable way to Richard Nixon?

Rounding out the trio of hacks is Charles Krauthamer.  Mr. Krauthamer was also once fairly thoughtful, but his blind unyielding hatred of Mr. Obama has rendered him pathetic.  But this does not stop the Post from publishing him and his screed on how great Rick Santorum would be as a nominee or as Mr. Krauthamer calls him, a worthy challenger.

He is the first challenger to be plausibly presidential: knowledgeable, articulate, experienced, of stable character and authentic ideology.

Really, that is a direct quote.  The only conclusion one can come to is that Mr. Krauthamer is closely following the election, on the election he is following is in some alternate reality.  There are a lot of adjectives to describe Mr. Stantorum, "stable character" isn't one of them.

So what is really going on here.  It is basically human nature.  These columnists want someone other than Mr. Romney.  They want a true Conservative.  So they are willing to suspend belief, ignore those qualities of Mr. Santorum that are in conflict with what they want and view only qualities which they ascribe to Mr. Santorum.  They have the right to do this, but they do not have the right to publish this fantasy in a major newspaper, and one is left with the question of why such a newspaper would let them do so.

Oh yes, for the money.  We temporarily forgot.