Trivial Pursuit (Updated) 2
Activists of any stripe focus on trivialities so as to distract people from what’s going on and twist the public discourse.
That’s what the Republican fuss over family planning money in the stimulus bill was all about: distracting people.
Full disclosure: Unlike some, I don’t have a position on Tom Daschle’s tax problems. I don’t approve. I don’t disapprove. And I’m too lazy to research them.
I’ve screwed up my taxes a couple of times, and each time I thought I had them right, so perhaps my perspective differs from that of persons who have always filed a Form 1040-EZ and never had to file a Form 1040 Schedule SE.
Some Guy with a Blog suggests taking a larger view:
Addendum:
As I said, I don’t have strong feelings on the Daschle debacle, but I think that this is a good move.
H/T Karen for the link.
Later:
Mithras seems to disagree.
February 2, 2009 at 9:24 am
it’s not his taxes per se i care about, it’s his overall corruption and uselessness. Who cares about his taxes, i care about the fact that he was a lobbyist working to obtain immunity for AT&T’s lawbreaking.
that’s change??
February 2, 2009 at 4:26 pm
You are not going to find anyone who has served in a legislative post for a significant period of time who will meet any litmus test. It’s the old saw about sausage. But if you can’t make sausage, you don’t stay in office.
A GM has to choose from the prospects he has, not from the prospects he wishes he had, to paraphrase someone from the axis of political evil. Daschle knows healthcare.
Does this mean I’m rooting for him? No, not necessarily.
It means I believe that change comes from the top, not from the minions.
And one thing I think Mr. Obama has shown pretty clearly is that he intends to run things. Given his record of defying both his opponents and the odds, I’m inclined to give him the benefit of my doubt.