FOX is suing Robin Carnahan for hurting Chris Wallace's 'private self-esteem and dignity'

You can't make this up.

Last week, Robin Carnahan began running an ad, which featured Chris Wallace asking Roy Blunt some tough questions, as reported by Jake Wagman:

The new ad by Carnahan shows a four-year old clip of Blunt being interviewed by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.

At the time, Blunt — who rose through the ranks of GOP leadership with help from an alliance with Tom DeLay — was fighting to replace DeLay as Majority Leader.

Blunt’s ties to lobbyist became a key issue in the tussle, which he eventually lost to Ohio Republican John Boehner.

“You have to show you’re the party of reform,” Wallace says to Blunt in the clip, as it’s replayed on the Carnahan ad. “But some question whether you are the man to do that.”

But, FOX, the GOP network, freaked out:

However, Fox News appears to have some concerns about the ad — it was taken down by YouTube, replaced with a message that said the clip had been pulled “due to a copyright claim by Fox News Network."

Seriously, YouTube??? But, get this: The ad that FOX hates is still running on t.v. stations throughout Missouri. No YouTube, but it's being broadcast across Missouri.

Anyway, it gets better. FOX is now suing Carnahan over the ad. Not kidding:

The suit, which says that Wallace won every major broadcast news award, claims the Carnahan ad 'intruded upon [Chris] Wallace’s private self-esteem and dignity; and caused him emotional or mental distress and suffering."

Who knew Chris Wallace was such a delicate little flower?

FOX will do anything for Blunt and other GOPers -- even file a lawsuit that makes its leading reporter sound like a thin-skinned, fragile prima donna.

Meanwhile, Robin is undaunted. She's keeping the ad on the air. Her press secretary, Linden Zakula, sent this statement:

We stand behind our ad and will continue to tell the truth about Congressman Roy Blunt’s attempt to slip a secret provision into the Homeland Security Act to benefit tobacco giant Philip Morris, while he was dating the company’s lobbyist. It’s unclear why Fox News refuses to stand by its own content that simply asked questions about Congressman Blunt’s Washington record and ties to convicted felon lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Congressman Blunt’s 14 year record of wasteful spending, corruption and sticking it to the middle class represents the very worst of Washington: he does not deserve a promotion to the Senate.

That's true.

More at FiredUp Missouri.

We set up an ActBlue page for Robin here. If you contribute, your paying for an ad that ticks off Roy Blunt and FOX News. What a deal. But, be advised: Your also paying to damage Chris Wallace's very fragile ego.

UPDATE @ 6:15 PM: Media Matters notes that the PAC of News Corp., the parent of FOX News, donated $10,000 to Roy Blunt -- and none to Robin, of course. Now, FOX is suing his opponent. The complaint is below. The biggest joke is in paragraph 18, wherein FOX News purports to have objectivity:

18. Defendant’s unauthorized use of the FNS Interview footage in its Carnahan Ad also devalues the original work. FNC is a news organization that has not endorsed a candidate in the 2010 Missouri senatorial race. The value of its news reporting is based in part upon the public’s faith in the accuracy and integrity of those reports. By including the FNS Interview in an advertisement endorsing a specific political candidate, Defendant harmed the value of the original work by compromising its apparent objectivity.

The lawsuit should be thrown out for that alone.FOX News lawsuit against Robin Carnahan