Krugman on the Sherrod “scandal”:
But whaddya know, the scandal was fake. The clips were taken completely out of context. It was basically as if I said, “Some people say that violence is always the answer; they’re wrong”, Fox ran with the story “Krugman says violence is always the answer”, and the Times fired me.
What’s shocking here isn’t the behavior of the right, which was par for the course. It’s the seemingly limitless credulity of the inside-the-Beltway crowd. I mean, there’s a history here: ACORN, Climategate, Vince Foster, Whitewater, and much much more. (Someone recently reminded me that the GOP held two weeks of hearing on the Clinton Christmas card list.) When the right-wing noise machine starts promoting another alleged scandal, you shouldn’t suspect that it’s fake — you should presume that it’s fake, until further evidence becomes available.
So now Tom Vilsack, the Agriculture secretary, says that he may “reconsider”. I’d lay even odds that the Sherrod firing stands, even though it was totally unjust, because people in DC are so accustomed to cringing in the face of the right that they just don’t know how to stop.
because people in DC are so accustomed to cringing in the face of the right…
What people? Name names, Paul. This is right up there with “mistakes were made.”
I’m with Lambert on this one. I find it difficult to believe that “people in DC” (the ones in charge, at least) are cowardly, or weak, or stupid. I think they’re doing what they want. Heck, maybe Vilsack was thrilled to have an excuse to fire an uppity black woman, what do I know?