In a story for tomorrow's Washington Post, writer Eli Saslow reveals that white supremacist groups opposed to Obama are attracting new members online. The story frustrates me to no end, because it is one small facet of a much larger and more insidious story that I've been trying to get the MSM to cover for months now. Here is the headline, byline and lead graf of the Post story:

Hate Groups' Newest Target
White Supremacists Report an Increase in Visits to Their Web Sites
By Eli Saslow Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 22, 2008; Page A06

Sen. Barack Obama's historic victory in the Democratic primaries, celebrated in America and across much of the world as a symbol of racial progress and cultural unity, has also sparked an increase in racist and white supremacist activity, mainly on the Internet, according to leaders of hate groups and the organizations that track them.

Big deal, you say. No. It's even bigger than that.

Everyone knows the GOP is trying to steal the election by swiftboating Obama. But how are they actually doing it? What are the mechanics of smearing played out now in real time? Where did the "Muslim" rumor start? Who's pushing the Rezko and Ayers smears? Who's trying to tie Obama to Hamas?

There is a media conspiracy you very probably don't know much about, but I have documented one small part of it and will tell you what I know. I believe it is the key to understanding GOP tactics in the coming general election.

First, you need to understand that I am no conspiracy enthusiast. I believe Booth, Oswald, Ray and Sirhan each acted alone.

The conspiracy I speak of involves a concerted effort by the Far Right to generate smears about Barack Obama and push them from fringe media into mainstream press accounts. It is a conscious effort involving hundreds of online websites, powerful players in the Christian Right such as James Dobson and willing pawns in broadcast and print.

I sent emails in late March to several prominent journalists. The recipients included Michael Isikoff of Newseek, Mike Allen of Politico, and Pete Jackson of the Associated Press bureau in Pittsburgh. All of them expressed an initial interest that soon fizzled and never resulted in a story. Isikoff, in particular, led me to believe I needed to do more legwork before he would look into it. This is the last email I sent him on the subject:

Michael,

Thank you for hearing me out.

WHAT THIS EMAIL CONTAINS:
1. My contact information
2. An overview of what I've found
3. A summary of what I think it all means
4. A specific example of the viral transmission of a malicious lie about Obama from its source in the extremist underground through three other media, where it finally emerged in the reader comments in the online Washington Post


-------------------------------------
1. My contact info
xxxxx xxxxxx
St Louis MO
314-xxx-xxxx

-------------------------------------
2. What I've found In short, I've traced one of the many conduits of manufactured paranoia about Sen. Obama from its source in extremist groups through Radical Right media to mainstream media. The individuals involved in passing along this particular lie include a Pennsylvania man who describes himself as running a private investigations firm composed of ex-military and ex-CIA but who, in fact, sponsors articles describing Muslims as "apes" and Sen. Obama as "Barack Hussein Osama Obama"; the host of a nationally syndicated Christian Right radio program available to 1,100 stations including U.S. military; and a conservative who describes himself as "currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police."

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS - PLEASE REC