Man, I wish the left would make up their mind — based on the round-up of ad hominem attacks that have come over the transom recently, it’s almost impossible to tell which hate group I’m supposed to be a part of this week:

• Frank Rich of the New York Times: “The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York” — October 31st, 2009.

• Disgraced former New York Times editor Howell Raines in a surprise return to his old haunt on Monday, as paraphrased by Timeswatch: “‘Conservative’ Wins Elections Now Like ‘Segregation’ Did Pre-1960.”

• Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos, February 2nd: “I’m putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic  world.”

And an oldie but a goodie:

• President Harry Truman “Likens Dewy To Hitler As Fascists’ Tool”, New York Times, October 26, 1948, adding, “A Republican victory on election day will bring a Fascistic threat to American freedom that is even more dangerous than the perils from communism and extreme right ‘crackpots,’ President Truman asserted here tonight.”

To be fair, it is true that in recent years, the Republican party has sought to make itself more diverse and inclusive. And based upon the above headlines, I’d say the Strawman-American group in its myriad of forms is exceedingly well represented there.