Republican Relativism: It's Getting a Bit Clearer

So character doesn't count for a UN Ambassador, who can at the very least have a reputation for bullying subordinates and manipulating intelligence - a reputation based on individuals willing to step up and testify.

But character does count when Senate Minority Leader Reid references an FBI report and says that due to its contents he can't support a judge nominated for the appellate court. You see, you're not allowed to disclose the contents of an FBI report and this comes too close to the line for those Republican Relativists.

Of course, it doesn't matter that as long as a year ago the media reported that the contents of Saad's FBI file raised serious doubts about his ability to serve. Admitting that Reid wasn't saying anything that hadn't already made it into newsprint gets in the way of the demonization of Reid, which is underway. They've already said that he's a disgrace to the Senate and his Church, he should be censured, he's a liar and a coward. Huh. Nice intentional ignorance on the earlier reporting.

In the topsy turvy relativistic world of the Republicans in Congress, it makes sense that when the Republican led Judiciary Committee disclosed information in that FBI file over the Internet, by accidentally leaving a C-Span audio stream active when they discussed it in committee, there was no cry of ethical outrage, no guilt-induce protestations on the Senate floor. That was different. They actually disclosed the contents of the file, but it was an accident. Nice again. A truly nice situational application of the law.

Let's take a moment here to be very clear about the setup Reid is facing. If he cites the FBI report as the reason he won't support the nominee then he's a liar, coward, et. al. But if he doesn't give a reason for his opposition, he's just another partisan blowhard who can't admit his party lost. It's a win-win for the Republicans, if we let their smear of Reid go unchallenged.

So here's my challenge. You can't say that Reid is worthy of censure for repeating a reference to a report, while the Republican-led Judiciary Committee is off the hook totally for disclosing information from the same report. Not unless you're embracing situational ethics, aka relativism. So the Pubs can choose - no smear or admit that they've abandoned their principles. But they'll do neither. They'll claim the moral high ground and smear away.

For a solid liberal rant on this topic, you've got to go read Steve Gilliard's post. It's a doozy.

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