Jessica Pressler of New York Magazine assesses whether the rant by CNBC reporter Rick Santelli two weeks ago about the Obama bailout plan was part of a right-wing conspiracy, as has been speculated on blogs this weekend.
Pressler writes, “Contacted by Daily Intel, CNBC offered the following statement:
“‘Rick Santell’s comment clearly struck a nerve among a large portion of American citizens and sparked a debate, which is something Rick has done for more than ten years on CNBC. To try and make it about anything more than that is ridiculous and without basis in fact.’
“Further pressed, spokesperson Brian Steel said: ‘There could be a right-wing conspiracy, but there’s no basis in fact that Rick has any involvement.’
“Which would seem to support Glenn Reynolds (who says the protests predate Santelli) in his contention that: ‘[M]odern technology allows a bunch of people who don’t know each other to coordinate a nationwide campaign ‘suspiciously’ well.” Is Santelli a fellow traveler? Probably. Was his rant part of a brilliantly planned PR blitz? Probably not.”
Read more here.
