For years he posed as one "from the Left" on CNN's Crossfire, even though he admitted he really wasn't much of a lefty (unlike original Left-host Tom Braden). Now we have evidence that he buys White House spin - indeed propagates it - as he guest blogs on Swampland, here and here. To sum up, Kinsley wonders what all th fuss is about. First, I would direct him to Talking Points Memo, which has done much of the heavy lifting on this story since they first brought it up a couple months ago. They have kept on it, highlighting details, connecting the dots as it were, to show how the Bush Administration sought to politicize the Justice Department in the most crass manner imaginable. That, in the process, they may have interfered with on-going federal corruption investigations is slowly coming to light, especially in re the Carol Lam firing in San Diego. Memo to Michael Kinsley: that's called "obstruction of justice" and happens to be a serious crime.
More specifically, Glenn Greenwald has a piece today that brings up exactly these points, and at the same time shows the utter mendacity of Republicans who keep blaming Clinton for their own corruption, when Clinton did nothing wrong and they continually do everything wrong. The point of this scandal is not the cover-up; it is the act itself that is so heinous. The cover-up just makes things worse; in trying to cover up, they managed to lie to a Congressional committee, so that just adds to the possible crimes.
Kinsley needs to know there are grown-ups who are concerned about this because it is about keeping justice non-partisan; ensuring the integrity of the Department of Justice and its federal prosecutors; specifically ensuring that Karl Rove's dirty little fingers are kept out of this particular piece of pie; and finally, making sure it never happens again. Kinsley's utter lack of seriousness, his almost total cluelessness as to why this story not only won't go away but exactly why it is a big deal should relieve any of us from having to listen to him again.
