Shame on Both Sides

The Huffington Post is a liberal alternative to the Drudge Report. I've found that reading both gives an interesting perspective on many issues, if I can make it through the rhetoric that both obligatorily throw in to satiate the bias of their target markets.

Columnist Chris Weigant of Huffington Post made a couple of interesting points on Friday.

First, he spoke of the 2016 Olympic bid, and how some Republicans are hooting about our failure to secure the Chicago bid. His comment: "Republicans are looking more and more like they just want Obama to fail -- no matter what he is attempting. This is not exactly the best way to rebuild the party's appeal among suburban moderate voters."

He is so right. Why gloat over something that was an AMERICAN thing, not an Obama thing? 84% of Americans supported the Olympic bid. Perhaps I am naive (and I probably am) but I don't remember politics of the past being merely about attacking at any cost. Besides, I thought one thing I could count on about Republicans was love of the good ol' USA. When did loyalty to political party become more expedient than loyalty to country?

Another thing Weigant talked about was the current Polanski & Letterman scandals. Many are taking a live-and-let-live approach to these cases of child rape and workplace sexual harassment, and Weigant is indignant. He says, "I never thought I'd see the day when a child rapist was actively defended by anyone...and (Letterman) was applauded by a live audience for admitting essentially what was once the textbook definition of sexual harassment -- the Big Boss preying on a lowly assistant."

I have to admit that, at first, I had a lassez-faire attitude. Maybe it's because I used up all my righteous indignation after the mother of all workplace harassment scandals, Clinton in the White House. Bottom line: Clinton was the biggest of all Big Bosses, and he used his position to elicit sexual favors from a young employee, and then LIED about it. I thought the one thing I could count on about Democrats was to uphold the right of employees to a harassment-free workplace. But NOW and other groups either kept silent or supported him. When did it become OK to look the other way for the sake of political expediency?

Again, when did loyalty to the party line become more important than upholding American ideals?