Harry Reid succumbs to The Pity Party meme
"Some fascinating tidbits that didn't make the cut from Bresnahan's must-read sitdown with Harry Reid:
"The Majority Leader thinks former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens shouldn't face jail time for his seven-count federal conviction last year, telling our Manu Raju, who was also in the room, "My personal feeling, you guys, I don't know what good that [would do]... He was a real war hero too, you know. He's been punished enough."
"Members of Congress, he added, had long been used to not disclosing
gifts until the rules had been tightened. And he said the 85-year-old
Stevens simply did not adapt to those changing rules.
"It's a different world we live in, and Stevens did not understand that," Reid said."
Being a war hero and old (never mind being a lawmaker, which is what Stevens did for a number of years) means you
needn't be subject to the results of illegal behavior. That is, there
is no such thing as old enough to know better.
However, if you are in your late teens or early twenties, and are
arrested for possession of marijuana then you do the time because if
you are a young person you should know better than break laws crafted by the old people who decide what laws to impose on the citizenry; but who, in their turn, are not subject to those laws because of their age.
I have to confess to mild surprise at the assistance the meme is receiving from the Democrats.
It's one old guy who's past his prime commiserating with another. In real-world terms, Reid has no say whatever in this matter.
Shorter: Who cares?
January 7, 2009 12:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reid's statements are expressions of Reid's values. His statements and values speak about his ability to judge, accurately, the world. His ability to judge the world is a direct consequence of his perceptions of the world.
That someone with power over my life moves in a particular way, and perceives the world in a particular way, is of interest to me; therefore I care.
Reid's belief about how the convicted felon Ted Stevens should be treated is relevant to assessing Harry Reid.
Ted Stevens, as you seem to note, is (from Reid's perspective) One of Us. It is notable that Reid, Majority Leader of the 111th Congress, wishes to protect, and succor, Us; even when that person is a felon.
There are millions of people in the citizenry who are not part of that Us. Those people are Them. Within Them, I include me.
January 7, 2009 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
What if Stevens is developing senility? He thinks the web runs through tubes, he proposes a bridge to nowhere, and he thinks there is nothing wrong with getting his house jacked up so another floor can go underneath it for "free". Clearly his mind has departed from reality.
January 7, 2009 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink