Sullivan at TNR and the rise of zombie right-wing spinmesieters

In a post at Ezra's place ostensibly about long-standing right-wing health care hack Betsey McGaughey the comments turn to the man who first gave McGaughey credibility, Andrew Sullivan.

Sullivan was the editor of The New Republic from 1991 to 1996 and a commenter notes Sullivan's impressive run of mendacity,

Sullivan published the McCaughey hack job, made a national figure out of Camille Paglia, devoted an entire issue to promoting The Bell Curve and gave Stephen Glass his start in journalism, and all within a two-year span.

That's really quite a record. It's amazing that nearly 20 years after we were first subjected to Betsey McGaughey's gross distortions of liberal health care reform she's back as if no one has learned anything in the passing years. These right-wing zombies keep coming back, year after year. I'm not sure what the proverbial silver bullet is but perhaps with the rise of new media we'll better be able to keep these propogandists in check.

We're watching you Harry and Louise.

Marc Ambinder has more on McGaughey. Suffice it to say that if the eminently even-handed and fair Ambinder is mentioning you along side Dick Cheney as a person who had the "Most destructive effect on public discourse..." you're as bad as us left-wing bloggers advertise.