My new column gives an overview of the campaign epidemic of anti-GOP hate spreading across the country. Here’s the intro:

How many hate crime anecdotes does it take before the mainstream media spot a trend? If the victims are politically correct, all it takes is one or two.

One alleged name-calling. A few alleged acts of vandalism. A suspicious arson here or there. In an instant, an unsubstantiated attack against the right kind of ethnic, racial, religious or sexual minority becomes undisputed evidence of an epidemic of violence. A symbol of rising hate. A national crisis.

But what happens when the targets are the wrong kind of victim? What happens when conservatives and Republicans are on the receiving end of discriminatory threats or harassment or worse?

Hello, reporters? Is anybody home? Is it my imagination, or do I hear pins dropping in the grievance corners of America’s otherwise victim-friendly newsrooms?

On a related note, see below for updates to last night’s blog entry on the disgusting anti-Bush Special Olympics poster, which has now been picked up by Drudge. I spoke with both the editor of the local newspaper in rural West Tennessee, where the poster is being distributed, and with a woman who obtained a copy of it.

Update: Add this to the list.