Matt Drudge’s popular right-leaning news aggregator “Drudge
Report” received some criticism for its overt posting of multiple anti-Gingrich stories in
January. Some say Drudge’s motives were subject to scrutiny for his persona
ties to Mitt Romney’s campaign manager Matt Rhoades. Regardless of Drudge’s
motives, his highly-trafficked site likely aided in Gingrich’s second collapse
in the polls. Today, Drudge is at it again—this time the
target is Rick Santorum and controversial comments he made about Satan and his
designs on America.
Drudge aside, Santorum’s comments are… interesting. “Satan
has his sights on the United States of America,” said
Santorum in 2008. “Satan is attacking the great institutions of America,
using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack
all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition.”
Drudge also notes that Santorum made these controversial
comments when he told an audience at Ave Maria University in Florida “If you
were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?” Santorum answered his
own question: “he attacks all of us and he attacks all of our institutions.”
It’s not entirely clear if Santorum is rhetorically invoking
Old Scratch or sincerely questioning the Devil’s designs on us all.
Drudge’s exclusive has made its way to the desk of the
influential arbiter of Republican political opinion, talk show host Rush
Limbaugh who today said that Santorum “will have to answer” for his comments.
Rush attributed the oppo that dug up these comments from 2008 to the left-leaning
organization Think Progress but it was on Drudge that he saw it first.
If Drudge is going to get into the campaigning business, he’s
going to have to start reporting “in kind” contributions to the Romney
campaign. Regardless of how these comments impact the Santorum campaign, the allegiance
of the Drudge Report has become flagrant and impossible to dismiss.
Maybe Drudge is hoping for a Deputy Press Secretary posting
in the Romney Administration.
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