HERE COMES THE STUPID

Are the mainstream media and the right going to work together over the next few news cycles to make America believe something that simply isn't so?

First, here's a new Politico story. Following that will be gasps of horror from the right -- gasps I fear are going to be echoed by chin-scratching mainstream pundits any minute now.

Politico:

The vast new left-wing conspiracy sets its tone every morning at 8:45 a.m., when officials from more than 20 labor, environmental and other Democratic-leaning groups dial into a private conference call hosted by two left-leaning Washington organizations.

The "8:45 A.M. call," as it's referred to by members, began three weeks ago, and it marks a new level in coordination by the White House's allies....

The call is hosted by Progressive Media, a project of the CAP Action Fund and the Media Matters Action Fund.... White House officials do not take part in the calls....

A gasp of horror from Allahpundit at Hot Air:

We're only six weeks into Obama's term, ... and already I've lost count of the number of "What if Bush or McCain did it?" moments we've had.... Consider this the capper, as the thought of dozens of cogs in the "right-wing noise machine" turning daily in unison on a White House axle would warrant a Very Special Episode indeed of "Countdown" ... What'll be the next "What if Bush did it" moment?

And from Kim Priestap at Wizbang:

I know conservatives are not remotely as organized as these folks, but I think it's because conservatives just don't think the way liberals and leftists do. Liberals in general, especially the folks involved in these conference calls, are very much collectivized in their thought and actions....

Since conservatives are so much more individualized, they are much slower on the uptake when it comes to organizing and collectivizing in order to get their message out. Thinking and acting as a collective is simply not how we're wired.

Conservatives would never do anything like this? And if they did, liberals would be shouting about it from the housetops?

Give me a break. I take you back to the June 6, 2001, issue of USA Today:

President Bush's tax cut finally has passed, but there's no time for the true believers in this downtown conference room to celebrate.

Grover Norquist calls on a White House official, who rises to thank more than 100 conservative activists for their help in passing the sort of sweeping tax relief this group has been pursuing for years at weekly strategy sessions known as "the Wednesday Meeting."

But the agenda is full with other issues as well: confirming conservative judges. Battling curbs on guns. Boosting Republican congressional hopefuls. And, of course, cutting more taxes.

This nondescript room in an L Street office building is the incubator for Bush's political strategy....

Bush has been sending a representative to the Wednesday Meeting for two years, since before he formally announced his presidential candidacy. Now a White House aide attends each week. Vice President Cheney sends his own representative. So do GOP congressional leaders, right-leaning think tanks, conservative advocacy groups and some like-minded K Street lobbyists.

The meeting has been valuable to the White House because it is the political equivalent of one-stop shopping. By making a single pitch, the administration can generate pressure on members of Congress, calls to radio talk shows and political buzz from dozens of grassroots organizations....

Please tell me we're not going to hear that this liberal conference call is some sort of unprecedented and therefore very sinister attempt at coordination on behalf of an administration's policies. Sorry -- it's neither new nor sinister, and anyone who tells the public it's either of those things is deliberately making people stupider.