Right-Wing Blogger Hijacks Patrick Swayze's Death

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 2:31 PM on September 15, 2009.

I pay no attention to celebrity-related news, so it never occurred to me to read the Washington Post's obituary of actor Patrick Swayze. But the Media Research Center's Tim Graham checked it out, and found evidence that "the Washington Post is a liberal newspaper."

[T]oday's Adam Bernstein obituary for Patrick Swayze begins obviously by noting his big hits "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing," but doesn't get to "Red Dawn" until paragraph 23. Even then, Bernstein wrongly suggests he had a supporting role. [...]

"Red Dawn" was not a prestigious film, but it was a breakout lead role for Swayze, and a completely shocking product coming out of a Hollywood: a movie about American teens fighting a resistance against a Soviet invasion of the United States.

There are clearly no fortysomething Reaganites working in the Washington Post newsroom.

Jamison Foser responded, "I'm not kidding. Graham really wrote that. It actually happened."

Just think, if you're not reading conservative blogs, you're missing out on all kinds of fascinating insights you probably won't find anywhere else.

Ed note: for more on the significance of Red Dawn in the modern conservative worldview, see Brad Reed's classic, "What a Cheesy 1980s Teen-Flick Can Teach Us About the Bush Doctrine."

Tagged as: republicans, right-wing, washington post, swayze, patrick swayze

Steve Benen is "blogger in chief" of the popular Washington Monthly online blog, Political Animal. His background includes publishing The Carpetbagger Report, and writing for a variety of publications, including Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, the Huffington Post, and The Guardian. He has also appeared on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show," Air America Radio's "Sam Seder Show," and XM Radio's "POTUS '08."