Howard's End

One of the ironies of the scandal surrounding Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham is that it leaving the door open for even more repugnant Republicans to vie for what is considered a "safe" GOP seat in the California 50th.

One of the first names to come up as a successor to the far right wing Duke is a guy who makes the Duke look like Michael Moore, former state assemblyman, Howard Kaloogian.

Kaloogian is both slick and sleazy. Since his exit from the state assembly in 2000 he has been trounced in the Republican Senatorial primary and become involved in all sorts of high profile "astroturf" type organizations and events.

His most recent foray into manufacturing right wing news is the "Truth Tour" sponsored by his Move America Forward organization. The "Truth Tour" consists of a group of right wing radio personalities broadcasting stories that describe American victories in the War on Terrorism in Iraq.

Even Fox News has trouble keeping a straight face reporting this story. They do try and keep it balanced, but who better to spot right wing propaganda masquerading as news than Fox itself? Fox features a pretty withering critique of the Truth Tour, from a left-leaner:

"This is the most pathetic thing I've heard in a long time. They should be ashamed of themselves," Peter Beinart, editor of left-leaning The New Republic magazine, said.

"They have no idea what journalism is, and to pretend they are journalists is laughable," Beinart said. "You do not achieve victory by not facing reality. I think these are the kinds of people that will lead us to lose there."

More on Howard and his pals later.