Posted 9:12 AM by Scoobie Davis

The American Spectator Boys Are At It Again

Since George Gilder bought The American Spectator, many of the writers during the bad old days at the Spectator--the 1990’s--are writing for an online journal, The American Prowler. One would think that with David Brock’s revelations about the old Spectator’s total lack of journalistic ethics (see also my March 26 entry), there would be some thoughtful reflection on the part of the old Spectator staff. No such luck. The hard right in the 1990’s not only attacked Bill Clinton but his family; for instance, on his short-lived television show, Rush Limbaugh asked, "Did you know there's a White House dog?" Then he showed a picture Chelsea Clinton to his audience (which responded with mocking laughter). After some people, such as Representative David Bonior expressed outrage, Limbaugh claimed it was a accident; James Retter proved this was a lie in his book Anatomy of a Scandal. In today’s Prowler, they printed responses to a contest to name Bill Clinton’s new dog. One of the reader responses the Prowler published was, “How about Chelsea, Oops, he already has a dog by that name!” At least some people in the current administration know about the Spectator’s legacy; in an attempt to marginalize The New Republic, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly responding to a question about an article in TNR he hadn’t read, quipped, "In fact, I haven't read The American Spectator, The National Enquirer, or The New Republic since I've been back [from Asia]. But I'm glad to see that hack journalism is alive and well."