Do as I say, not as I do or say I do

Hypocrisy in Action

So you may have heard of the first Biden cabinet casualty. I speak not of that Shaker chest of drawers he had in college, but of Neera Tanden, Joe’s nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget. Tanden was pilloried by Republicans for sending, and I quote, “mean tweets,” attacking ... who was it now …. oh yes, Republicans. These “mean tweets” (coincidentally, also the title of an early Scorsese movie) were labeled “divisive” and “partisan.”

Hmmm.

My how times have changed. It seems only a few months ago that members of the so-called Grand Old Party were only too happy to ignore the much more than mean tweets of the previous occupant of the White House. Asked to comment on the latest 280 tirade by the whiner-in-chief, they often “didn’t see the tweet” or huffed indignantly from their high horses that they were “not going to comment on every one of the president’s tweets,“ or resorted to the politically savvy tactic of saying they were “late for lunch.”

Clever bastards.

The former thumb wizard could get away with calling a Black woman a “crazed, lying lowlife and a dog,” or write “Crazy Joe Scarborough and dumb as a rock Mika…” or say that Ruth Bader Ginsburg “has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me,” and “Her mind is shot,” and “resign!”( surprisingly spelled correctly) and “an incompetent judge!” Of course there was his oft-repeated second grader worthy nickname for Senator Elizabeth Warren, “Pocahontas.”

And that leaves out the most insulting of all his tweets, his insistence to this day that he won the last election by a landslide, but only had to move out because the election was rigged. Even though that has been widely repudiated by all the courts, including that Supreme one in DC, the governors and attorneys generals from all the disputed (in his mind) states, everyone who ran the elections, all major news sources, plus the vast majority of the country, excluding the couple of hundred cowards in the House and Senate who are terrified of crossing their cult leader.

Contrast that to Senator Rob Portman of Ohio getting his panties in a Twitter twist and scolding Tandem: “You wrote that Susan Collins is, quote, ‘the worst,’ that Tom Cotton is a fraud,” “How do you plan to mend fences and build relationships with members of Congress you have attacked through your public statements?”

Because we know that Senator Portman spent the last four years mending fences sand building relationships with Democrats in Congress. Which is awfully hard to do when your view is blocked because you are bent over  kissing the president’s ass.

My personal favorite Tanden Tweet (new candy bar name?) is the one that included this bon mot: “vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz.” It’s funny because it’s true.

Class, this is a civics lesson in double standards.

So, yes, I am appalled that this qualified woman was sacrificed at the altar of hypocrisy. I also admit that the line has to be drawn somewhere, and perhaps this is a necessary step as Senator Manchin implied toward President Biden’s (I never get tire of seeing that in print!) vow to restore the soul of America and rise above the toxic pettiness of the last four years.

Is it fair that Tanden has to pay the price? Of course not. Yet, if this administration is truly to cleanse the palette of politics, it must practice what it preaches. And the Democrats, as always, are masters of shooting themselves in the foot so it ain’t gonna be easy. Witness the Andrew Cuomo saga unfolding before our eyes.

We can’t have it both ways. Attack the Republicans when they do and say stupid or dangerous things, but give the Democrats a pass when they do or stay stupid or dangerous things.  As a past admire of the Governor, I support a thorough investigation into these multiple troubling claims. It will hurt if they prove true (as they certainly seem to be) but I will swallow my partisanship and accept the results and the consequences, as I believe will perhaps soon to be ex-Governor Cuomo.

Additionally I am disappointed that Biden didn’t really stick to Price Mohammed Bin Salma for approving the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Here was a chance to stand tall, walk the walk and put human rights, justice and yes, decency, above the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. What does that signal to our allies around the world? That we are willing to look the other way when our own interests are at stake? That is not what I signed up for.

Similarly, white the current administration sanctioned Russia for the poisoning and imprisonment of Alexi Navalny, they didn’t specify any sanctions to Putin or his henchmen. For someone who promised bold action, these feel like decidedly tepid baby steps.

I share all this however in a positive light, as I know all these facts … yes, facts … because of the continued work of the free press. Yet I am a little concerned that the fairness of the press is at risk, as some journalists were outraged that a reporter shared a “mean tweet” about Senator Murkowski with Senator Murkowski, who had previously not seen it. In some journalist’s eyes this hastened Tanden's fall from cabinet grace. However, during the last administration, these same outraged reporters would unabashedly delight in anything that got under the former fearful leader's shockingly thin skin.

Time to strap on the big boy and girl pants, to embrace the journalistic weapons of investigation and revelation of the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it is, or how much it differs from what you want to be the truth.

The bad news is, hey Democrats make stupid mistakes too! Perhaps they don’t refute facts and science, threaten democracy and qualify for treason, but they are mistakes none-the-less. The good news is we get to hear about those missteps as well as the positive stuff. And the hope is that perhaps journalists, like the rest of the country, can start the long, slow process of journeying back from the extreme edges of the abyss toward, instead of away, from the people and issues on the other side.

I for one, am quite pleased that the vast majority of the press continue to see fit to report the facts, tell the truth and let us make up our minds on what to do with that knowledge.

In the meantime, on behalf of little brothers everywhere, I say, Chris Cuomo, I feel your pain.