Birthers, Racists, Sexists and Homophobes: 13 Toxic Endorsers of GOP Presidential Candidates

http://www.alternet.org/election2012/154578/birthers%2C_racists%2C_sexists_and_homophobes%3A_13_toxic_endorsers_of_gop_presidential_candidates/

A man, the ancient fable tells us, is known by the company he keeps. In a presidential primary, the endorsement game is one of the great spectator sports. Every four years comes the parade of politicians, preachers and a smattering of politically inclined demi-gods of popular culture stepping forward to endorse one or another of the presidential candidates.

Some are positioning themselves for a prime slot in what they hope will be a future administration. Others are making a statement to the folks back home about the authenticity of their ideological credentials. A few have designs on the levers of creative destruction in their own political party. And that's before we get to the washed-up rock 'n' rollers and comedians who are clearly just looking for a gig, or relevance, or both.

What's stunning about this year's crop of endorsers of Republican presidential candidates is the torrent of venom, mendacity and absurdity that spills from their mouths and pens -- not to mention the fact that most of these endorsements have been warmly received, and none have been rejected. There's also a peculiar dichotomy of styles represented: They either hail from the priggish, uptight wing of the party that loathes popular culture as coarse and sinful, or they represent that coarse and sex-laden culture. The thing they have in common? Hatred -- of somebody who's not like them.

The Obama campaign may have a Bill Maher problem, but compared to the smorgasboard of slander and contempt on display by the GOP's great wits, Maher's garden-variety misogyny seems almost quaint. That the corporate media have failed to note most of these quotes -- or to challenge the candidates on accepting the support of these luminaries -- speaks less to any willful complicity than to the fact that "hatefully insane" has become the new normal.