The New York Times has one of those funny David Kirkpatrick expeditions in anthropology today, studying the strange tribe known as “conservatives.” You know because Kirkpatrick uses the C-label eleven times. It’s especially gratuitous in sentences like these: “some conservative leaders has already begun rallying their supporters,” followed by an e-mail by “Paul Weyrich, a veteran conservative organizer,” followed by “conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh” (that needs to be underlined for sophisticated Times consumers?) and the Wall Street Journal editorial page, “a conservative standard-bearer.” (Ditto.)

The theme of the article will still upset the left, since it suggests (as Shailagh Murray hinted yesterday in the WashPost) that elected Democrats worry Feingold could be giving the Bushies some traction with conservatives. Kirkpatrick also uses the word “liberals” twice and the “left” once. But you have to giggle as they describe the radical left as “the most liberal wing of the Democratic party.” Then there’s this passage with no ideological labels:

“ImpeachPAC, a grass-roots group based in New York City that grew out of the last election, is agitating for the idea. In the last few months, local governments in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Arcata, Calif., and in several towns in Vermont have passed resolutions calling for impeachment. Harper’s Magazine, the writer Garrison Keillor, the former Watergate figure John Dean, Barbra Streisand and the actor Richard Dreyfuss have expressed their support as well.”

They are only modified in the next sentence with the thought that “other Democrats…. have stepped carefully to avoid irking their most ardent supporters.” Of course, I also think it’s sneaky to omit that Keillor is not merely an ardent Democrat, but a National Public Radio icon.

Internally, the funniest part of the article is his reference to CNSNews.com, “a part of the conservative Media Research Center that provides material to talk radio hosts.” As if the New York Times doesn’t provide news reporting, just “material” for the Diane Rehms and the Al Frankens?