It's moments like these that make me love Martin Bashir that much more. In his "Clear the Air" segment at the end of Thursday's show, he absolutely destroys all of the conspiracy theories the right wing is floating about Sandra Fluke and her
March 9, 2012

It's moments like these that make me love Martin Bashir that much more. In his "Clear the Air" segment at the end of Thursday's show, he absolutely destroys all of the conspiracy theories the right wing is floating about Sandra Fluke and her role in the current Rush Limbaugh meltdown.

He opens by mocking the insane conspiracies being floated around the Internet:

BASHIR: We're now being told that Rush Limbaugh's appalling attacks on a Georgetown student were actually part of a mesmerizing and devilish strategy planned and orchestrated by yes, you guessed it, the White House. (begin clip)

BOLLING: President Obama, on the ropes on the economy and specifically with women voters gets Mrs. Fluke to create a controversy and the liberal mainstream media puppets play along as scripted. (end clip)

BASHIR: So, according to that individual, Sandra Fluke at the request of the President manufactured a controversy which included Darrell Issa's Congressional committee and Rush Limbaugh's comments. And this was done so that journalists would report on her instead of focusing on the economy.

Yes, of course! That must be it, because why on earth would we want to focus on an improving economy in an election year after three years of struggle? Why, why, why? That would be folly, focusing on successes on our side when we can point to failures on their side. Right?

Bashir compares that right-wing fantasy to the Lauren Stratford story in the 1980s. Lauren Stratford wrote a book called Satan's Underground, where she told a chilling story of forced child sacrifice. The only problem? It was all a big lie. Stratford was exposed, the book pulled off the shelves, and life went on until she re-invented herself once again in 1999, claiming to be a Holocaust survivor named Laura Grabowski.

Bashir is clear about the parallels between the Great Sandra Fluke Conspiracy and Stratford's claims about child sacrifice:

BASHIR: Again, there's no record of any pregnancies, no hospital births, nothing to support her claims.

But given Stratford's success as an author, I'm beginning to wonder if Fox News should consider publishing a book entitled "The Sandra Fluke Conspiracy: Satanism, Sluts, and Why We're Scared of the Next Election."

Touché, Martin. Well done.

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