Wingnut Land: Is PBO’s Library Going to Destroy Ronald Reagan’s Boyhood Home?
Courageous and Bold rightwing media types have uncovered the biggest mostest scandal of all time—President Obummer’s plan to have his presidential library built upon the boyhood home of Republican Saint, Ronald Reagan. (h/t Balloon Juice)
From Media Matters:
Based on flimsy evidence and leaps of logic, conservative media outlets are pretending that, in the words of Newsmax, “Reagan’s Childhood Home to Become Parking Lot for Obama’s Library.” But the story doesn’t pass the smell test.
The “childhood home” is an apartment Reagan lived in for less than a year as a young child, and its planned demolition is part of an expansion by the University of Chicago that has nothing to do with President Obama’s presidential library. Obama hasn’t chosen which state his presidential library will eventually be in, let alone where people will need to park for it. Further, Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney has declared the story “false.”
While easily dismissed, the story serves as an illustrative example of the way the conservative echo chamber can twist facts and turn baseless speculation into their controversy du jour.
Some backstory: In 2004, The University of Chicago purchased an apartment building near its campus that future president Ronald Reagan lived in for less than a year when he was four. The University recently announced their intention to demolish the building as part of a plan to provide parking for their expanding medical campus.
Attempts to preserve the building as a historic landmark were rejected by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks because it “is not associated with Mr. Reagan during his active and productive years.”
While the story sparked mild interest among conservative outlets in December, it was given new life this week thanks to a WashingtonTimes.com Communities column by Republican activist William J. Kelly, who, without any concrete evidence, managed to tie the destruction of the building to President Obama’s potential future library. (The Times states that content in its Communities section is “not edited by The Washington Times. The opinions of Communities writers do not necessarily reflect nor are they endorsed by the Washington Times.”)
This is Very Serious journamalism yall. And of course the lamestream media won’t report on this.