A few weeks after being sold back to Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church for $1, struggling conservative rag The Washington Times is out with a defense of Goldline. In response to heavy criticism of what Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) calls Goldline's “massive overcharges” and use of paid conservative commentators to stoke fear to inflate the gold market, the Wash. Times editorial board claims Weiner's proposed legislation adding new regulations to the industry “should be rejected.”

They also offer Goldline some free advertising by saying that “diversification is sound economic advice.”

Pricing concerns seem to take a back seat in the report, which is obsessed with the fact that Goldline “formed an unholy alliance with conservative pundits to drive a false narrative.” Radio and television host Glenn Beck is singled out because he “has dedicated entire segments of his program to explaining why the U.S. money supply is destined for hyperinflation with Barack Obama as president." The report also quotes radio host Dennis Miller saying, “Look at the economy, they're spending more than Paris Hilton on a bad day, and it doesn't get us a tiny dog and a pink purse either. It leads to a lower dollar. What can we do to diversify our portfolio and protect against that falling dollar? Buy gold.”

Diversification is sound economic advice. With the government accumulating debt at record levels, many economists point to history to show that countries in similar circumstances devalued their currencies to reduce the cost of repayment. Consumers wishing to hedge against this possibility can hold some of their money in the form of gold. Mr. Weiner clarified that he does not object to the economic arguments conservative commentators put forth, only that they are using fear to drive people toward products from Goldline. The company has a different take. “They only went after us because of where and with whom we are advertising,” Mr. Carter said. “Media Matters has targeted and bullied [many other companies] into discontinuing their advertising on Fox.”

There is a nugget of truth in Mr. Weiner's complaint. It is entirely possible that the current record gold prices are at their peak, which could leave some speculators wishing that they had purchased less bullion if the price drops. As this risk is no different from that found in the stock, housing or commodity markets, Mr. Weiner's legislation should be rejected as an underhanded way to use the government against conservative commentators who are otherwise protected by the First Amendment.

As Media Matters has documented extensively, Goldline uses Glenn Beck and several other fear mongering conservative commentators as paid spokespeople.