NOW: April 11, 2010

Tea Party Rallies Remain a Cauldron for Conspiracy Theories (FOXNews) ...But while organizers have held the tour as a way to stay front-and-center as a political force, the rallies have also attracted the kinds of mistruths, exaggerations and conspiracy theories that make Tea Party leaders cringe. Though the movement is still trying to shore up its credentials as a grassroots power that's here to stay, the so-called "fringe" and its accompanying antics continue to give critics fodder.

Finally, a little fair and balanced reporting.

But where on earth would people get such half-baked conspiracy theories?

Some suggest Obama wants to keep Americans unemployed so that they become dependent on government-run programs. Lenin and Stalin have become catchwords to describe Obama in the speeches denouncing his policies. Going further, swastikas, as well as pictures of Obama's face next to Adolf Hitler's, have appeared on signs at dozens of rallies blasting the president and the Democrat-controlled Congress. Other Tea Party members continue to question the president's citizenship -- a sign reading "Show Us Your Birth Certificate" popped up at a recent rally in Traverse City, Mich. "What's more disturbing is that he's not answering them," Tea Party member and conservative blogger Andrea Shay King said of the questions over Obama's birthplace. The Hawaiian government twice confirmed during the 2008 presidential election that a copy of Obama's birth certificate was authentic. Factcheck.org tracked down the birth certificate and posted copies of it online.

Oh, where to begin?

Fox hosts like O'Reilly, Beck, and Hannity have unleased the unhinged, and it is making their astroturf Tea Party movement look like whisky-jug tossing, trailer park, conspiracy theorists.

Fox is now trying to push the toothpaste they created, back into the tube.

Good luck with that.

P.S. Let the history books note that the Tea Baggers organized a campaign to disrupt and shout down legislators at Town Hall meetings throughout the Summer of 2009. Their antics were not just irrational and offensive, they were an attack on civil democracy and the rights of constituents to have rational discussions with their legislators.

For that, they should never be forgiven.