Sunday, October 22, 2006

For LaHood is an Honorable Man

Who bears false witness for revenge?

Posted by olvlzl

You remember when the Republican congress railroaded Bill Clinton that they wanted a Republican famous for being fair and decent to drive the train into the station? They came up with Ray LaHood who the cable clack repeatedly assured us was just such a Republican. Look at this little exchange.

Today on Fox News, LaHood said, “I’ll tell you why I did it. The reason I did it was because Jane Harman released the Duke Cunningham - who sat on our Intelligence committee - report.” [ That report, which detailed the misconduct of Cunningham, who is now serving a jail term, was not classified. (my brackets)]

A Fox anchor asked, “So, it’s payback?” LaHood responded, “There are some of us on the other side who can equally play politics, and I’m not afraid to do it.”

So, to get back at Jane Harman for doing something entirely legal LaHood might have denounced an entirely innocent staffer*? If he has the evidence why didn’t he mention it? For those who might choose not to remember, Cunningham was guilty as hell of selling government contracts for his profit at our enormous cost and he’s serving a long jail sentence for doing that.

Barney Frank is said to have once asked Jim Leach “What’s a nice guy like you doing in a party like this,”? Yeah, a party that has held up LaHood as representing the best of its sense of justice. Looks ever more like Joe McCarthy is the real spiritual father of today’s Republican Party.

* But, as the Washington Post notes, the New York Times was interviewing government officials about the NIE for weeks before the story was printed.