Idiots’ Delight

As many of you know, this column – in all its many incarnations – has for the most part highlighted the shameful escapades of Republicans and conservatives, with the odd Democratic and liberal exception. And with such frequent flyers as Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, et al, all distinguishing themselves, small wonder they have enjoyed such lavish attention. That is until this month.

For the first time since I started this column two years ago, all three finalists will be from the Left. I do not make this decision lightly. In deed, given Sarah Palin’s recent revision of old Paul Revere’s famous and historic ride, you could say it was the most difficult decision I’ve made in quite some time. But the truth is that this month’s winners – as painful as it is for me to admit – have earned the honors accorded them. How bad do you have to be to out-slime the likes of an Andrew Breitbart? Pretty bad, as you will soon see.

Without further ado, the envelope please.

Anthony Weiner. When your last name is the stuff of every juvenile joke imaginable, one would suppose you might take special care not to fulfill every wish of the late night comedic jet set. Well, apparently Mr. Weiner didn’t get the memo. The recent revelation of the Congressman’s conduct has not only made him the laughing stock of Washington, it has all but put an end to a seemingly brilliant political career, while at the same time seriously jeopardizing Democrats’ chances of retaking the House in 2012. Talk about a triple play. If Weiner manages to survive this scandal – and it’s less than 50/50 he can – he will go down as the best escape artist since Houdini. My bet? He resigns within a month. Nice goin’ putz.

Ed Schultz. I don’t like Laura Ingraham anymore than the next progressive, nor for that matter any of her “colleagues” on the Right who make it a habit of engaging in the sleaziest form of pseudo-journalism imaginable, but that is no excuse for Schutltz’ choice of words in describing Ingraham on his radio talk show. MSNBC’s decision to suspend him was not only just, it should serve as a reminder to all on the Left that tit for tat isn’t going to cut it. Lowering yourself to your opponent’s level may bring some temporary measure of satisfaction, as I’m sure it did for Schultz, but in the end it only undermines the very thing you’re trying to bring to the discussion in the first place: namely credibility. It must’ve been humiliating for Schultz to publicly apologize to Ingraham on his cable news show. Good. Maybe the next time a liberal gets it in his brain that he can become the Left’s Rush Limbaugh, he’ll think twice before debasing himself.

Benjamin Cardin. The Democratic senator from Maryland takes the cake for what may be the most outlandish thing any member of Congress has said in quite some time. Given what we have witnessed in just the last two years, that’s quite a feat. Cardin went down to the floor of the Senate and denounced Russia for prosecuting “whistleblowers” in their government. A perfectly laudable stance except for one tiny fact. Cardin has recently introduced legislation that, if enacted, “would broadly criminalize leaks of classified information” making it a felony to do so. The bill doesn’t even provide for a “public interest” defense. In other words you can’t argue that potential damage to the nation’s security by the disclosure was outweighed by the benefit it brought to it. Nor does the bill distinguish between good leaks and heinous leaks. Wow, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. We haven’t seen anything this egregious since the days of Joseph McCarthy, and from a Democrat, no less. Nice job, Senator. I bet your constituents are just popping their buttons over your patriotism!