Want to get a refreshing perspective on Gomermania AdScamGate-o-Rama the recent unpleasantness?

One of the few American left-o’-Ghengis bloggers to take notice of the whole thing is Rivka at Respectful of Otters.

She demolishes much of the right-wing blogosphere’s smug triumphalism on freedom of speech, and then makes one very interesting suggestion:

Honestly, although the right-wing blogosphere seems to see this story as one more example of mighty blogs triumphing over corrupt mainstream institutions, from my cynical viewpoint it looks a lot more like U.S. conservative bloggers were used, via Captain Ed’s “Deep Throat,” to further the political agenda of the Canadian Conservative Party. What made a bunch of American conservatives – including Michelle Malkin , for Lord’s sake – sudden experts on Canadian politics? I suspect that they didn’t just get fed Brault’s testimony – they got fed background and interpretation as well. In many cases, their ignorance of Canadian politics (for example, on the exact nature of the publication ban) served Conservative interests much better than the facts would have. All I’m saying is: both the ban and its violation by Americans have worked out very conveniently indeed for the Conservative Party.

Maybe. But right-wing bloggers in the U.S. rarely let the facts stand in the way of a good mugging at the best of times. Since the Liberal Party is associated in their minds with keeping Canada out of the Iraq War, same-sex marriage, one Bush-doll-stomping MP and liberalized pot laws — not to mention that terrifying party name “Liberal” — conservative bloggers were already predisposed to happily whacking Martin’s government around.

Still, it’s a juicy possibility…