Taibbi on the summer of their discontent

Matt Taibbi, a perennial fave at Maison Chez Nous, has a long, thoughtful post about the Tea Party candidates in particular, and the summer in general. It's worth the ten minutes it will take to read it, and makes a number of points.

One is that the Tea Party crowd seems to have won this election cycle. He cites several examples, saying this about McCain (my emphasis):

In Arizona, John McCain trounced a Tea Party candidate named J.D. Hayworth by over 30 points in a primary race that was largely interpreted by the media as a repudiation of Tea Party values. I'm not sure they're right about that. McCain had to spend $20 million to fight off Hayworth – a staggering number for a Senate race – and beyond that, he had to bend himself completely ass-backwards issue-wise in order to maintain what’s left of his cred with right-wing voters.

That $20 million figure surprised me. Matt goes on to review the summer:

In fact if you follow Fox News and the Limbaugh/Hannity afternoon radio crew, this summer’s blowout has almost seemed like an intentional echo of the notorious Radio Rwanda broadcasts “warning” Hutus that they were about to be attacked and killed by conspiring Tutsis, broadcasts that led to massacres of Tutsis by Hutus acting in “self-defense.” A sample of some of the stuff we’ve seen and heard on the air this year:

[insert well-phrased list here]

Taibbi doesn't believe that Fox and friends are trying to inspire race war — he chalks up their agitprop to "material expediency: overcoming the real threat of new financial regulations after the crash, winning elections, and making TV profits." But his catalog is telling.

The analysis is well considered; check it out. I especially like his ending suggestion, since it parallels one of mine:

I'm beginning to wonder why effective boycotts against these hate-media channels, and particularly Fox, haven’t been organized yet. Why not just pick out one Fox advertiser at random and make an example out of it? How about Subaru and their unintentionally comic “Love” slogan? I actually like their cars, but what the f---? How about Pep Boys and that annoying logo of theirs? Just to prove that it can be done, I’d like to see at least one firm get blown out of business as a consequence of financially supporting the network that is telling America that its black president wants to kill white babies. Isn't that at least the first move here? It's beginning to strike me that sitting by and doing nothing about this madness is not a terribly responsible way to behave.

Rule 17: When there are many, start with one and stick with it. Shamelessly stolen from Walter Reuther, whose UAW always struck just one automaker per negotiating season; and almost always won.

Hint: This would make a perfect action opportunity for some organizer. From Matt's lips to your ears.

GP

UPDATE: From MG1 in the comments, foxnewsboycott.com. The list of advertisers is divided: A–L here, and M–Z here.

The boycott main page suggests McDonalds, but I don't see them on the list. So how how about a suggestions contest? The ideal candidate is high-profile and deserving. Suggestions welcome; reasons appreciated. Thanks!