I wish I'd invented that quote, but it was Democratic strategist Paul Begala, speaking of FOX News' conservative bias. Hell, that's like saying the DNC has a liberal bias. FOX News is a propaganda arm of the Republican party, period. And it's about time the Democrats stood up to FOX and said they're no longer going to enable the network's racist, homophobic, sexist agenda. And that's what Democrats did when they canceled a planned presidential primary debate to be hosted by FOX this summer. Begala has more:

As a loyal Democrat and paid commentator on CNN, I am hopelessly biased -- but at least I admit it. The folks at Fox News, on the other hand, are just as hopelessly biased -- and they deny it. While I openly admit that I love all things Clinton, think House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is strong and brave, see Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as Harry Truman reincarnated and don't believe George W. Bush would know the truth if it bit him on the ass, Fox insults our intelligence by feigning fairness....



For those who need reminding of Fox's agenda -- using its "fair and balanced" credibility to smear Democrats and help Republicans -- here's the bill of particulars:



* Fox News' founder and guiding genius, Roger Ailes, was the chief media strategist for President George H.W. Bush. When you have a Republican political consultant running a news network, don't be surprised if that network becomes a propaganda tool for the Republican Party.

* After the 2006 elections, Fox Senior Vice President John Moody sent a memo to news staff instructing them: "Be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents ... thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled Congress."

* Robert Greenwald's film "Outfoxed" exposed 33 similar memos from Moody before the 2004 elections. On Bush: "His political courage and tactical cunning are worth noting in our reporting through the day." On Iraq: "Do not fall into the easy trap of mourning the loss of U.S. lives and asking out loud 'Why are we there?'"

* Fox's Iraq coverage was so biased that a university study showed 80 percent of Fox viewers believed one of these three falsehoods: Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11; WMDs were found in Iraq; or most of the world supported Bush's Iraq war. Fox is entitled to its own opinions, but not its own facts.

* Fox hired George W. Bush's first cousin, John Ellis, to chair its Election Night desk in 2000. Not surprisingly, Ellis spoke with Bush five times that night, and Fox was the first network to "call" Florida for Bush.

* Fox identified alleged pervert and GOP Congressman Mark Foley of Florida as a Democrat.

* Fox's headline when Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted on four of five felony counts was straight out of Pravda: "Scooter Libby Found Not Guilty of Lying to FBI Investigators."

* Fox reported that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was educated in a Muslim madrassa -- and then tried to pin the smear on Hillary. It was a twofer that went for naught, thanks to solid reporting by CNN. The network sent real journalists to Indonesia, interviewed people, gathered facts and reported the news: Obama's school was public and nondenominational.

* More Fox smears and misinformation are captured in the YouTube videos at www.FoxAttacks.com.

More from Democratic pollster Mark Mellman