Robert Novak has joined the chorus of dishonesty against Arlen Specter, emphatically repeating the outright lie that Specter said he would impose a litmus test on future judicial nominees that they must be pro-choice and that he said he would block potential appointments. Novak says:
Sen. Arlen Specter, the canny old fox of Pennsylvania politics, got carried away last Wednesday in the flush of an easy fifth-term victory and revealed too much of what he really thinks. He clearly imposed a litmus test requiring support of the Roe vs. Wade abortion decision for Supreme Court nominees at a time when Chief Justice William Rehnquist is gravely ill...To correct Specter's monumental mistake, his staff put out a news release trying to contradict the senator's undeniable advocacy of a litmus test.
Undeniable advocacy? Not only is it deniable, it's an outright lie. Specter didn't say any such thing, and his track record proves that he has voted dozens, perhaps hundreds, of times for Republican-backed judicial nominees who are anti-abortion. It just blows me away that people like Novak can keep repeating what is demonstrably a flagrant lie, presumably with a straight face.
Novak makes a huge deal out of the fact that Specter did not pledge "unqualified support" of anyone Bush might send up. For crying out loud, Bob, is that what you want? Do you want a senator who says they will vote for anyone, regardless of their views or their competency for the position? Well of course that's what Novak wants. But that's not what any sane or credible person should want.
It is clear to me what is going on here is that the hard right is trying very hard to consolidate their hold on power in the Republican heirarchy. Flush with victory in last week's elections, they are seeking to purge any and all voices of moderation from the halls of power. Nothing but absolute ideological purity is to be allowed. And if they have to lie and distort the positions of even the moderate voices within their own party, so be it. Power, not ethics, is all that matters.
So what else is new, Ed?
The hard right has been doing distorting, and generally prevaricating, for over 50 years. The only diference is that now they a great deal less subtle about doing so. They'll even lie about the basis on which the laws of this land are founded.