The latest kerfuffle is over the fact that Hillary Clinton used a private e-mail account when she was Secretary of State. Unforced error? Obviously. Legal? Probably so. "Scandal worthy?" Benghazi!!! Let's start with Jon Stewart's take on the matter:
O.K. Fair enough. In fact, we would heartily endorse Digby's "disclaimer" about the media's latest "pseudo-scandal" (with our emphasis):
I am going to issue the standard disclaimer that if Clinton did something real bring it on. But this is a patented pseudo-scandal planted by the Benghazi bullshit squad and I'm not jumping on the bandwagon.
If somebody wants to do an expose of Clinton's cozy relationship with Wall Street, her hawkish foreign policy or her penchant for nonsensical bipartisan cant, that's perfectly fair. In fact, it's necessary. I think a hardcore investigation into the Clinton Foundation and all its opaque financial dealings is absolutely in bounds. But when they start recycling rightwing Benghazi crapola, referencing Whitewater,talking about her "calculating Machiavellian character" and don't even have a clue about what it is she's supposed to have done wrong, just that it doesn't "pass the smell test", I'm going to be ornery. This is the Village in all its glory and I'm sad to say that a new generation of Villagers is just as willing to chase the shiny object for the Dark Ops wingnuts as their forebears.This is the scandal-driven media at its absolute worst... again... fed by a Republican smear machine that is pulling out all the stops to rough up Clinton.
Hey, you want a real scandal? How about how the media has ignored or played down the greatest political story of the last 50 years: the radicalization of the Republican Party. They can still take a cue from Thomas Mann and Norm Ornstein, who identified the problem in April 2012 (spoiler alert: "the Republicans are the problem") and offered this advice to the media:
We understand the values of mainstream journalists, including the effort to report both sides of a story. But a balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon distorts reality. If the political dynamics of Washington are unlikely to change anytime soon, at least we should change the way that reality is portrayed to the public.(Ed. note: Of course, if the Beltway Village actually followed that advice, it would depopulate the Sunday talking heads shows of both politicians and pundits.) We're sure the media will hop on that just as it did 3 years (and a lot of insanity) ago, after they finish flogging "e-mailgate."
Our advice to the press: Don’t seek professional safety through the even-handed, unfiltered presentation of opposing views. Which politician is telling the truth? Who is taking hostages, at what risks and to what ends?
BONUS: Ed Kilgore helpfully reminds us that there are also reasons some Democratic Party hacks have to keep this "scandal" going. Good read.
