The Vials of Republican Wrath

Over at the National Review, the often (though often not) “honest conservative” David French has an interesting post “Stop Making Terrible Arguments For Blind Loyalty”, complaining that he often hears pleas from “real Republicans” to be, in effect, as bad as the Democrats. As French puts it, the argument goes something like this:

“The GOP is so stupid. Look at how the Democrats handle controversy. They circle the wagons, no one breaks ranks, and their media help. Clinton commits perjury? Democratic leaders stand with him in solidarity on the day of the impeachment vote. The Clinton State Department botches security in Benghazi and then the Obama administration lies to the American people about the attack? Phony scandal. The IRS systematically targets conservative groups? Also a phony scandal. The Obama White House and the Democratic National Committee backed Hillary to the hilt even though she was under criminal investigation.”

Yes, Republicans. We are disgusted that Bill Clinton was bullied, badgered, and manipulated into lying about an extra-marital affair. Disgusted with you! Disgusted with an unprecedented campaign of unscrupulous and undeserved legal harassment and persecution organized by you! How about Benghazi? I love how French, in his “summary”, doesn’t even have the nerve to allege culpability to Hillary Clinton herself, but only the “Clinton State Department.¹ And how about the way you guys handled things when the Bush Administration “botched” 9/11? When 2,000 Americans died right here! You know, in this country! The IRS systematically targets conservative groups? You’re right, it was a phony scandal. The real scandal was the way congressional Republicans harassed IRS employees. Hillary’s latest investigation? Uh, didn’t that investigation, like the myriads of others that Republicans have launched against her, result in, you know, no charges?

Dave’s answer to all this is “Just because they’re terrible doesn’t mean that we should be terrible.” Well, thanks, Dave, but, just for the record, with all our faults, we aren’t the terrible ones!

Afterwords
In fact, we Democrats have all too many faults. The Obama Administration had the worst record on civil liberties for a Democratic Administration since Woodrow Wilson’s, and Hillary’s grasp of the whole civil liberties thing is weaker than Barack’s. And she basically wants to regulate everything that moves (or doesn’t move). But the “crimes” that you schmucks insist on laying at our door are bullshit, pure and simple. The only real crime, in your eyes, for which Bill and Hillary (and Barack) are guilty of is winning presidential elections. Which is something you guys no longer seem to know how to do.