Not fair. But deserved.
Various conservative-minded blogs, including some of the most eminent and well-respected, have flooded the internet with “Harry Reid is a pederast ( or pedophile)” rumors, innuendos and suggestions, like this one, from Red State:
“Harry Reid is a pedophile”
“I got that from a reliable source who made me promise not to reveal his name. But he knows. Honest. Now I’m sure some would expect me to back up this claim with some of those “fact” thingys or maybe a link or two. Well, given that I’ve promise anonymity for my source, not happening. Just Google “Harry Reid pedophile” there are 1.79 million hits. I’ve known this for some time but I was reluctant to go public with the information because I always back up my writing with facts and links. Since I’m sworn to secrecy this time I was uncomfortable putting this story out until some seminal events occurred this week, and I figured “what’s good for the goose…”
“As I’m sure you know, Harry Reid (the pedophile), told a reporter that “somebody” at the evil Bain Capital told him that Mitt Romney won’t release his taxes because he didn’t pay any taxes for ten years. And today Harry Reid (the pedophile) doubled down on this statement in the Las Vegas Review Journal…”
And so on, in that vein. The meme is doing its work: Sen. Reid is on the way to being “santorumed.”* Google his name, and Google’s suggested searches put “Harry Reid pederast” third. By next week, it could be first. Will some unsuspecting, innocent and trusting citizens come across this completely fanciful libel of Reid and believe it? Perhaps even a young nephew or niece of the Senate Majority Leader? Oh, we can be sure of that.
Is that fair and right?
Of course not.
Reid himself deserves little sympathy, for the collective smear on his name was prompted by his own scurrilous rumor-mongering on the floor of the U.S. Senate, where he asserted that Mitt Romney hadn’t paid his taxes for a decade based on no evidence whatsoever. Nonetheless, while giving someone a “taste of his own medicine” is no doubt satisfying and perhaps even instructive, wrong is wrong, and spreading intentional lies, even about a public figure as devoid of decency and scruples as the Senate Majority Leader, is unethical. No conduct, no matter how nauseating, by its target can justify this. Stooping to Reid’s level can only further degrade civility and dignity in American public discourse, which is the objective of political sewer-dwellers like Reid, not anyone with the best interests of the nation in mind.
Fortunately, when dealing with an individual as loathsome as Harry Reid, there are plenty of completely true statements that can and should be said that are only slightly less damning than “Harry Reid is a pedophile.” So let’s be fair to Harry: denigrate him with the truth. That’s what he truly deserves.
* Thanks to blogger Dan Savage, the former GOP Senator’s name is now a synonym for a disgusting bodily discharge.
_______________________________________________
UPDATE 1 (8/5): Well, it certainly is an honor to get a link from the estimable Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit. Now if only more of his readers would demonstrate some respect for and comprehension of ethics rather than endlessly chanting versions of “this is war” and “Reid hasn’t denied he is a pederast!” and “the mean Democrats do this all the time, so it’s time we fought back.” Not becoming, not impressive, and definitely not persuasive. The mind-numbing repetition is reminiscent of my debate with the pot-heads.
UPDATE 2 (8/6): The commenters aren’t bothering to read the thread, so I am getting the same comments over and over. Here is a directory of the ten most common comments, and my responses to them. You’re welcome.
___________________________________
Pointer: Instapundit
Graphic: Redstate
Ethics Alarms attempts to give proper attribution and credit to all sources of facts, analysis and other assistance that go into its blog posts. If you are aware of one I missed, or believe your own work was used in any way without proper attribution, please contact me, Jack Marshall, at jamproethics@verizon.net.
Ethics Alarms 
Say what you will, but Craig James killed five hookers at SMU.
I checked and Reid has not proved it is false. You have no basis to state Reid is Not a pederast.
Yes, yes, I get it.
My take on this situation:
I’ve often found that a point can be illustrated more easily by exaggerating the one particular aspect one is trying to highlight. It’s not intended to be a “good” analogy, just one that serves to clarify.
The Reid thing is an example of this in action: highlighting the ludicrousness of making unfounded charges by exaggerating the charge itself to a ridiculous, unbelievable level. (In this case, it’s also combined with “turnabout”, so the REALLY entrenched partisans will still get it.)
IMO, it would have been even more effective if the charge were something obviously, observably false, like “Harry Reid is black”, “Harry Reid was John Quincy Adams’ Vice-President”, or “Harry Reid is pregnant”.
As a rhetorical device, it’s effective, and it’s why the meme is getting such traction. It’s also why it approaches–but IMO does not achieve–a utilitarian balance of usefulness (illustrating the point) versus meanness (pedophile? really?) and just becomes another example of tit-for-tat.
I’m curious, though. Jack, if the accusation were something more benign, more obviously false or clearly impossible, do you think the rumor would shed its unethical status?
–Dwayne
Sure. In my original piece on Reid’s Romney smear, I had three such examples. A lie that is constructed so no one rational can believe it isn’t a lie. But Reid being a child molester isn’t that implausible. He sure LOOKS like one…
Pingback: Quora
Uh, yes, we know. That’s it???
Some folk have complained that “Waaaa, there’s no way Senator Reid can disprove these allegations.” Well, excuse me, but there is a way.
There are two simple pieces of technology that can help him establish his innocence. The police can use a polygraph, as well as a penile plethysmograph, to establish his innocence, or, more likely, guilt. I can’t reveal the name of the person who told me of Senator Reid’s pederasty, but it was a very reliable person. Reid himself can lay this matter to rest. He needs to report to the local police station and have them begin testing. If he refuses to clear his name, the nation can draw their own conclusions as to his guilt or innocence. Just like Governor Romney and the tax returns.
Senior Marshall, we did not create the rules of this war,we just use them as our enemy does in the hopes they resolve to stop such usage in the future. So far they have refused, so onward, into the future. Victory has no limits.
Like his boss says, punch barack twice as hard. The days of taking the high road are over, or should be. The playing field is not level. That’s sad and too bad, but freedom and liberty are won with blood, sweat and tears, and ridicule of the likes of Reid, Pelosi and Obama.
It’s nice to have ethics, but ethics don’t protect you against existential threats.
He is not being Santorumed because what Santorum said he believed to be true, and it is true. It was militant leftist intolerance that did that to Santorum. Harry Reid knows full well what he has said is false. The two are entirely different.
Part II: “Denigrate him with the truth”
Lovely advice. Totally unrealistic. Obama and Holder are at least accessories to MASS MURDER of hundreds of Mexicans and it barely registers as news. That’s one example of probably dozens of scandals that would have ended a presidency by now. There’s a guy named Daxton Brown ( @daxtonbrown ) who wrote a biography of Reid, including his scandals. *No one cares* because he’s a Democrat. This gets attention.
Republicans have spent a century being the better man. And they lose. “Stooping to Reid’s level can only further degrade civility and dignity” Then you and everyone else please get the Democrats to be better than Reid’s sickening behavior. It’s long past time the GOP stopped bringing a pillow to a gunfight.
Republicans have spent a century being the better man? Which century?
Pingback: GayPatriot » Look what comes up when you type Harry Re. . .*
So just what is, then, the proper way to respond to his baseless attack on Romney? Are the good guys just damned to keep taking it and taking it? I think a taste of his own medicine is well deserved. If evil is allowed to succeed, then we will only have evil for winners.
Remember when pedophile Harry Reid and 41 other Democrat senators sent Rush Limbaugh the “Harry Reid Smear letter?” So much blows up in pedophile Harry Reid’s face one would think he would learn. I guess constantly having young boys on the mind interferes with rational thought.
Just like Mr. Romney, once accused, Mr. Reid must prove himself innocent. It’s the Code Napoleonic, which our intelligentsia worships, it being European. It’s only fair.
Sorry, I don’t agree that this is beyond the pale. It’s obviously been done tongue in cheek. And I’m sure there are, and will be, plenty of shocking things about Reid, true and false, for some unsuspecting child to come across. It’s important to ridicule these people and turn their own despicable tactics against them. Turning the other cheek and exercising dignified restraint has lost us the culture wars.
There is a very important distinction between Reid seriously employing his dirty little slanders and satirically mimicking them to make a point and shine a light on this despicable scum.
The better accusation would be: “Harry Reid went from a meager salaried state official to multi-millionaire as Chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Commission by swapping gaming licenses for insider information on real estate deals.”
Let him try to prove that to be a false statement.
You’re wrong. Worrying about civility now is like trying to close the barn door after the horses ran away. Instead of debating if this is wrong (no) the debate should be if this is a case that justifies political-fueled violence (probably)
Well I will say this. Harry Reid is a corrupt weasel–with a net worth of upwards of $10 million at the time of his last reporting. He’s done all that on a civil servant’s salary–having worked in the private sector as an attorney for just two years in the late 1960’s.
When you look at Harry’s wealth–well let’s just say that Harry “seen his opportunities and he took them”.
Let’s forget about the little boys–and focus on Harry the crooked politician.
Best comment on this thread yet. I agree.
Accusing a rival of an extreme offense in order to provoke a denial is a standard tactic in gutter politics. Having started the contest, Mr. Reid has no grounds for complaint, nor is it proper for outsiders to interfere. Back off and let them fight.
“Everybody does it.”
You, know, almost nobody commenting on this post from the Instapundit link has a clue what ethics is, or understands why ethics is important. What does this tell us, kids???
It clearly (and only) tells us that not everyone thinks the way you do. Heck, I’ve been married to my wife for 38 years and we still disagree about a number of issues. Big deal.
The Golden Rule has two sides to it. ‘Treat others the way you want to be treated’ is a paraphrase of the side everyone thinks of. However, that lofty maxim doesn’t work if you ignore the flipside: treat others the way they have treated you. If your fellow man is treating you like garbage, they will continue to do so until you dish some of it back at them.
Sanctimonious attitudes, like yours Jack, is why America is in such dire straights. Conservatives always have to fight Progressives with one arm tied behind our back thanks to calls for civility. Progressives/Socialists/Democrats, whatever you want to call them, have been smearing conservatives for decades and getting away with it because they know we’re content to lose with “dignity”. They go along slowly but surely consolidating power and building their welfare state fantasy.
Floating this pederast rumor about Harry Reid is a fantastic baby step for conservatives. I hope we see a lot of this type of dirty muckraking. The political discourse is already degraded (actually I don’t think it was ever as noble as you think it was). Face reality and fight to win. That is how conservatives can save America.
That’s NOT the flip-side of The Golden Rule. That’s merely Tit for Tat, a rationalization, and a destructive one.