Extremism Goes Mainstream

Trying to get a jump on the 2008 election, an American conservative has written an unauthorized bio on Hillary Clinton which claims (among other things) that her pregnancy with Chelsea was the result of a rape committed by Bill. Bizarre claims like these are common in extreme right-wing circles (another popular one holds that Hillary is secretly a lesbian). What is a bit more disturbing in this case is the support the book is receiving from such supposedly mainstream conservative institutions as Drudge Report and the National Review. It’s a shame that American conservatives feel such an all-pervasive need to maintain their own power that they are willing to promote the baseless accusations of fringe reactionaries.