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For a while, before the presidential campaign, conservatives on Fox News and talk radio had an idea: the economy wasn't that bad, but Americans had been led to believe it was, thanks to an elaborate conspiracy involving the media and Democrats.
After the election, high-profile conservatives, including Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove, publicly described a new theory: an elaborate conspiracy involving the media and Democrats is still working to convince Americans the economy is in bad shape, so as to help Barack Obama appear even more impressive when conditions turn around.
This week, we have yet another conspiracy theory, this time from Rush Limbaugh, who's just delusional enough to believe Democrats, most notably Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), deliberately created the global economic crisis for partisan gain.
Here's how Limbaugh's conspiracy theory goes: Schumer caused on run on IndyMac bank in California this summer, in order to create a feeling of financial panic amongst the public. Democrats then capitalized on this panic with electoral wins in the White House and Congress. The purpose of gaining this power, according to Limbaugh, was to nationalize U.S. industries:
"Who's benefiting? Aside from the people being bailed out. The Democrat [sic] Party and Barack Obama are benefiting.
"They got elected, they increased their numbers in the House, they increased their numbers in the Senate, they got the White House now, and they've got a crisis that people think can only be fixed with the all-mighty and powerful government interceding to save this or to save that, when in fact, the government is going to nationalize the automobile industry. It's going to nationalize some banks. It's going to nationalize the mortgage industry, and may end up nationalizing the automobile industry."
Keep in mind, this isn't just some poor man ranting on a street corner; this is a well-paid, well-connected conservative media personality.
It just doesn't occur to any of these clowns that the economy really is in awful shape, and Bush's conservative economic policies fueled the crisis. Since reality couldn't possibly be true, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Rove, and others concoct these bizarre ideas about conspiracies to help them make sense of the world. It's kind of sad, really.
Krugman added, "Why does such stuff flourish? Probably because there is no punishment for it -- as long as you're on the right, and I mean right, side."
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