The right wingers appear ready to slam the New York Times on just about anything and everything since it revealed that the administration is (probably illegally) performing warrantless searches on international banking transactions (which, if you’ll recall, Bush himself broadly announced 5 years ago). They have called the reporting “treason” and much worse, and have all but hanged and burned the editor of the NYT in effigy.

Now the right wing media-punditry-blogger troika is out on a massive new campaign (DKos and others are all over this) against the NYT. Why? Because an article in the NYT Travel section published a photo of Rumsfeld’s second home, and wrote on the general neighborhood of Cheney’s in a larger story of the town. Right-wing rag Newsmax called it “retaliation” against the Bush administration for objecting to the NYT story, quoting David Horowitz as saying that there is a war, and that “Democrats, liberals and leftists” are “the enemy.” Michelle “Moonbat” Malkin decried the publishing of the photo, street names, and “maps” of their homes (the “map” showed the location of the town within Maryland, not anyone’s home).

Other right wingers are protesting, claiming that if the NYT were reporting on Jews in Nazi Germany, they would have revealed where Anne Frank was hiding. This blogger, with Horowitz’s blessing and support, urged people to publish the names and addresses of the NYT editors and reporters–which in the right-wing world is an open invitation for violence–with this guy even initially calling for people to publish where their kids go to school (before later cutting the call for info on their kids without note). And it goes on, with great numbers of right-wingers outraged at yet another traitorous breach of security by the Times.

The catch? Rumsfeld gave permission for the photo to be taken, and the locations of these homes have previously been published. In fact, Newsmax itself published the location of Cheney’s home last Fall. So did Fox.

And yet, most of the wingnuts have not published retractions. Those who have acknowledged the new facts about Rumsfeld’s permission are thoroughly unapologetic, like David Horowitz on FrontPageMag, who dismisses the new information with the simple proclamation that we’re at war and people like Rumsfeld and Cheney are at risk. So why did he not call for a jihad against Fox or Newsmax when they published the information?

The partisanship by the right wing now seems to have risen a notch: criticize the Bush administration, and we will declare war against you. You are all traitors, and we will hunt you down. Swell.

Update: via DKos, this story confirms that Rumsfeld himself willingly gave permission for his house to be photographed, contrary to Horowitz’s suggestion that Rumsfeld’s cooperation was extorted. Additionally, the Secret Service itself has confirmed that the story poses no threat whatsoever to Rumsfeld’s or Cheney’s security.