What they uncovered about Rick Santelli’s populist rant against President Obama’s foreclosure relief policies on CNBC and the rallies that resulted will make you say “damn.”

Turns out that his “spontaneous” call for a “Chicago Tea Party” actually one cog in a giant wheel of coordinated attacks on President Obama’s economic policies. Ames and Levine ask all the right questions:

But was Santelli’s rant really so spontaneous? How did a minor-league TV figure, whose contract with CNBC is due this summer, get so quickly launched into a nationwide rightwing blog sensation? Why were there so many sites and organizations online and live within minutes or hours after his rant, leading to a nationwide protest just a week after his rant?

So who’s really behind Santelli’s populist grassroots movement? According to the Playboy reporters it’s familiar names from the Republican rightwing machine including PR operatives who “specialize in imitation-grassroots PR campaigns”, bigwig politicians, and notorious billionaire funders.

I never thought I would say this but, go over to Playboy.com now and read Backstabber: Is Rick Santelli High On Koch?. And remember, no clicking around.

Hat Tip: Crooks and Liars.

UPDATED: Because the original link to the article is no longer active, it has been updated with a new link.