The Morality of the Left, Redux

Via Peter Baker of The New York Times, comes this…gem.  Baker quotes David Axelrod, long-time senior advisor to President Barack Advisor and heavy-hitting campaign supporter in 2012, as saying this:

[T]he reality is that while you want to be truthful, you want to be straightforward, you also want to be practical about whatever you’re saying.

So, the plain, unvarnished truth isn’t practical, is that it?

The Morality of the Left

In response to the IRS’ appalling targeting of administration-disfavored groups applying for tax-exempt status, President Barack Obama’s senior advisor David Plouffe tweeted

David Plouffe ‏@davidplouffe 12 May

What IRS did dumb and wrong. Impt to note GOP groups flourished last 2 elections, overwhelming Ds. And they will use this to raise more $.

As The Wall Street Journal notes, all that matters in Plouffe’s moral world is

partisan advantage rather than…apolitical tax enforcement….

It’s clear to me from all of the scandals exploding in DC that this view of “morality” is typical of the Progressives and is not at all unique to Plouffe.

Just a Bunch of Low-Rent Chicago Hoods

Here’s a short list:

  • Fast and Furious and Attorney General Eric Holder’s steadfast refusal to cooperate with Congress’ investigation of this crime
  • Department of Energy’s use of taxpayer money to loan millions to cronies at Solyndra, Fisk, A123, et al
  • President Barack Obama’s initial attempts to downplay the IRS’ politically targeting government-disfavored groups and men by holding up their tax-exempt applications and/or singling them out for “investigation:” “If the reported actions are true,” he said on the heels of the IRS admitting it had done these things and issued their faux apology

Punishment and Rehabilitation

Joseph Muto was an employee working on a Fox News opinion program when he was caught stealing material from the show and using it for personal gain.  What he and his lawyer said about the matter is instructive.

Muto:

I wouldn’t have done it had I known I’d end up in this courtroom.  To answer your question of “was it worth it?” I wouldn’t have done it.

Time to Fire a Judge?

Last month US Federal Judge Edward Korman ruled that the Food and Drug Administration must permit the morning after pill—the so-called Plan B pill—to be sold over the counter, to be stocked on store shelves rather than held behind the pharmacist’s counter, and to be saleable to “women” of all ages—i.e., including to children.  And saleable to these children without any parental involvement, which is the outcome of eliminating the FDA’s by-prescription and age-limited sales.  That’s bad enough.

IRS and Politics

Recall that in the last election season, the Internal Revenue Service demanded of a number of nonprofit organizations information about the nature of their politics, who their contributors were, even asking about family members.  The IRS intended to use this information to challenge the organizations’ nonprofit status.  That this was a biased request is demonstrated by the fact that only conservative nonprofits were targeted, and they were targeted on the basis of the presence of terms like “patriot” and “tea party” in their organizational names.

The then-IRS commissioner, of course, denied this.  Douglas Shulman told Congress in March 2012,

When is an Hispanic not an Hispanic?

When a Progressive says so.

Former New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson said Sunday that Republican Sen Ted Cruz, whose father was a Cuban immigrant, should not be “defined as a Hispanic” because of his stance on immigration legislation.

Richardson justified his redefinition with this:

I don’t like his politics…. No, I don’t think he should be defined as a Hispanic[.]

Just like conservative blacks must be uppity Uncle Toms and conservative women must be sluts, so an Hispanic who holds views that are disapproved by Progressives must be drummed out and denied his heritage.

An Attack on Religion

…and not just on our freedom of expression.

Todd Starnes has the tale.

A Texas high school track team was disqualified from competing in the state championships because one of the runners made a gesture thanking God after he crossed the finish line.

Derrick Hayes, the anchor of the Columbus High School 4×100 relay team had just crossed the finish line when he raised his finger to the sky—thanking the Lord for winning the race that would send them to the state finals.

Yeah, And?

President Barack Obama, through his State Department, had this to say about al Assad’s massacre of Syrian civilians last Thursday [emphasis in the original]:

Massacre in al-Bayda
Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 4, 2013

The United States is appalled by horrific reports that more than 100 people were killed May 2 in gruesome attacks on the coastal town of al-Bayda, Syria.  Regime and Shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area with mortar fire then stormed the town and executed entire families, including women and children. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this tragedy.