In this season of glad tidings let us also remember those who brought hate into our lives in 2010. This year was an especially good year for purveyors of hate: We had a sitting black president coupled with the rise of the white nationalist Tea Party. 2010 was also an election year, and politicians exploited fear of immigrants and anti-Muslim hysteria to maximum effect. I have listed my favorite candidates for Hatemonger of the Year below. Please add anyone I missed in the comments.
I have limited my list to American hatemongers. Therefore I have not included Geert Wilders - who scored a huge political victory in the Netherlands with his message of hate - or Thilo Sarrazin - the German central banker whose best-selling book "proves" the genetic inferiority of Turks and Arabs.
Glenn Beck: started the year strongly with his Obama=Hitler meme, but lost steam later with his Billy Graham-wannabe act.
Rush Limbaugh: a perennial favorite. Limbaugh entertained his radio audience with racist comments throughout the year, but for me the 2010 highlight was his eulogy for George Steinbrenner claiming that Steinbrenner was a "cracker" who created a lot of "African-American millionaires" and "fired a lot of white guys."
Pamela Geller: went from being an obscure blogger to become the media doyenne of Islamophobia when she created the "Ground Zero Mosque" hysteria. The glamorous Geller often teams up with the "Islam Expert" and repulsive troll Robert Spencer - sort of an Odd Couple of Hate.
Newt Gingrich: my personal favorite. Newt is burnishing his Tea Party credentials for a 2012 presidential bid with hateful comments about Muslims and Latino immigrants. But Newt outdid himself earlier this year when he asked "What if Obama is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?" "That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior."
Peter King: The New York congressman is a favorite of cable news outlets with his very serious message of anti-Muslim fear. But now he will be in a position to act on his hate as incoming head of the House Committee on Homeland Security. King says he will hold hearings on what he calls the "radicalization" of American Muslims.
Honorable Mention: Speaking of Billy Graham, who can forget his son Franklin's comments about President Obama last summer?
"Barack Obama was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother."