MSNBC's Keith "Chicken & Waffles" Olbermann attacked conservative blogger Michelle Malkin for "ethnic profiling" of Chinese restaurant dishwashers in New York City who donated to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Of course, running off of the liberal Media Matters script, Olbermann failed to note that Malkin's problem is not with the donors' ethnicity per se, but that it's highly suspicious when low-wage earners pony up a few thousand to give a political candidate. Especially when that candidate, Hillary Clinton, like her husband, has had a spotty history at best when it comes to suspicious or untoward campaign contributions.

After all, these aren't $50-checks or anything, it's big money, reported the not-so-right-wing Los Angeles Times on October 19:

...some of the poorest Chinese neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, have been swept by an extraordinary impulse to shower money on one particular presidential candidate -- Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Dishwashers, waiters and others whose jobs and dilapidated home addresses seem to make them unpromising targets for political fundraisers are pouring $1,000 and $2,000 contributions into Clinton's campaign treasury. In April, a single fundraiser in an area long known for its gritty urban poverty yielded a whopping $380,000. When Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) ran for president in 2004, he received $24,000 from Chinatown.

Far from attacking Chinese-American citizens or legal permanent residents from participating in the political process, Malkin's October 24 column attacked the Hillary Clinton campaign for taking money from suspicious sources, including probable illegal aliens acting as straw donors (emphasis mine):

In the wake of eye-opening investigations by The Post and the Los Angeles Times of more dubious foreign funny money flowing into Hill's coffers, ethnic-grievance groups are stepping forward to condemn these stories as examples of "negligent journalism." Yep: The newspapers are guilty of "negligence" because they actually broke news instead of covering it up.

Both papers uncovered dishwashers, cooks and other suspect Hillary campaign contributors in Chinatown, Flushing, The Bronx and Brooklyn who were limited-income, limited-English-proficient and smellier than stinky tofu. One Asian donor admitted to the Times "to lacking the legal-resident status required for giving campaign money." Another, Hsiao Wen Yang, told The Post she was reimbursed for her $1,000 donation - setting off clear alarm bells over yet another possible straw donor scheme on the heels of Norman Hsu-gate.

The reports prompted Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote (a "national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans") to issue a press release this week carping about the media's "undue scrutiny on a specific ethnic subgroup." Lisa Hasegawa, APIAVote board member, expressed her dismay over the campaign-finance probes zeroing in on Chinatown:

"We are alarmed by the potential negative impact of irresponsible reporting and the harm it may have on legitimate political participation by members of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. It is imperative that the media approach these serious allegations with . . . the highest levels of journalistic integrity. As the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community embraces their right to participate in the civic process, it is important that the greater balance and responsibility be taken when addressing this important issue."

Translation: Lay off the Chinese Dishwashers for Hillary, you racist, xenophobic, ethnic smear-mongers!

Of course, in Olbermann's rush to sing on the same page as the rest of the left-wing choir, Malkin noted that he mangled her maiden name:

My maiden name is Maglalang.

The diversity-embracing nutroots just LOVE my last name.

They love to mock it, misspell it, and use it as some sort of debate-ending trump card.

B-b-b-b-but her name is “MAGLALANG!”

I thought this line of attack had played out. But nutroots-panderer and Johnny-come-lately Keith Olbermann, parroting Media Matters, has picked up the meme.

He can barely contain his glee at referring to me as “Michelle MaglaGONG Malkin.” That is his answer to my column arguing that Hillary ought to pay closer attention to limited English-proficient donors in Chinatown forking out big bucks on dishwashers’ salaries.

I've attached the relevant YouTube video below:

—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters