THE FOOD EQUIVALENT OF BRANSON, MISSOURI

This would seem foolhardy....

If you like steak but wish it were more conservative, then Tea Partier and 50s crooner Pat Boone has a new line of mail order meats that you should probably take a look at.

Boone, who was last seen launching the Beverly Hills Tea Party in September, is once again taking his brand of conservatism to unexpected places. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Boone has partnered with Oklahoma businessman J.W. Roth to launch "Pat Boone All-American Meats," with the motto "a taste of what makes us great."

... According to the site, 5% of the proceeds will go to Christian conservative organizations that "help feed and sustain those in need." ... According to the Sun-Times, "the business also will partner with other groups, including Focus on the Family and the Parents Television Council" and "expects to appeal to Christian, conservative women over age 55." ...

... but, um, remember W Ketchup? That ridiculous product that emerged from the right-o-sphere in 2004 when Teresa Heinz's husband, John Kerry, was the Democratic presidential nominee?

Well, somehow it's managed to stay in business.

I Googled W Ketchup and expected to encounter 404s, but the site is still up. The copyright date reads 2010. The order form appears to be in working order. And the "news" page? Well, it's as timely as today's wingnut headlines:

W Ketchup Calls on Congress to Impeach Obama
October 25, 2010

W Ketchup Calls on Americans to Replace Congress
October 4, 2010

W Ketchup Demands the Senate Reject the Nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court
August 3, 2010

W Ketchup Calls on Kerry to Resign
July 28, 2010

W Ketchup Urges Americans to Defeat Obamacare by Buying Gold
April 27, 2010

Gold? Yup. There's also a bit of birtherism from 2008. Beckish and teabaggy, the W Ketchup guys are (although they do have an odd penchant for hanging out at the Harvard Club).

So Boone's steak business might have a long life, too -- it seems the right-wing rubes never get tired of the old liberal-baiting material, just the way the folks who go to Branson, Missouri, never get tired of the vocal stylings of Andy Williams. And I'm sure there's quite a bit of overlap in the clientele.