TPM is either afraid of Rick Santelli, or full of sh*t
It is my understanding that TPM's new acquisition, Zachary Roth, (correct me if I'm wrong) wrote an article in the TPMMuckraker section of this blog questioning the spontaneity of Rick Santelli's now-famous "rant" against the government's mortgage relief plan.
Interestingly, now it appears that Roth's article has been removed. The article in question was apparently based on a piece authored by two Playboy Magazine bloggers, which has since been removed as well.
I will be very disappointed if it turns out that TPM chickened out under pressure from Santelli's lawyer(s). On the other hand, I will be equally pissed off if the article was removed because this site realized that it was uncritically spreading the unsubstantiated rumor, which was described today by Roth's previous employer (Columbia Journalism Review) as having "way overreached to claim Santelli's rant was a premeditated part of a conservative PR effort tied to the Koch family." (link)
I used to read Roth before and after he came to TPM and I always considered him to be an awesome reporter with exceptional fact-checking skills; therefore, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still, the whole thing reeks of screw-up.
The Atlantic' Megan McArdle thinks "the accusation against Santelli is potentially libelous, which is, I assume, why the article disappeared this morning." She added, "If I were Santelli, I'd sue." McArdle referred specifically to the Playboy piece.
Will Zachary explain why his post was yanked? Thanks.
