Taken To The Logical Conclusion

“No Enemies On The Left”/”No Enemies On The Right”  <– the only binding rules of political blogging.

Ever notice how so many political columnists and bloggers have very precise patterns of voice and silence?  When the story-of-the-day (who picks those, anyway?) is bad for Democrats, the right side bloggers light up with dozens of cross-cutting links, all saying pretty much the same thing.  The left side goes silent.  When the story-of-the-day is bad for Republicans, the process is exactly mirrored.  When silence in not an option (because the story is too big to ignore), then the wagons must be circled and the same excuses proferred, no matter how transparently ridiculous the spin.

Today, PowerLine takes this lame charade to its logical conclusion, saying openly what so many bloggers on both sides have shown with their behavior for so long:

Yesterday I asserted that Andrew [Breitbart] had made a mistake and owed Shirley Sherrod an apology. Whether I am right or wrong about that, I also think he is right to withhold it under the circumstances…

With the hounds baying, Andrew deserves the support of conservatives in his struggle with the Democrat-Media complex.

So let’s get this straight: Under normal circumstances, an apology is necessary for getting someone fired with a false accusation of racism, but since that apology would now be a “win” for the Other Side in the political warz, it’s not.  (Lest anyone be smug, is is easy to find exactly the same reasoning going the other direction too — ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.)

Breitbart should apologize, if only to correct his mistake (even if we accept his explanation of the edited video at face value) and which could have cost someone their career.  Similarly, the NAACP should apologize for its overly sweeping condemnations of “the racism of the Tea Parties” based on exaggerations and even some fabrications about a few racist wacko wannabes.  Similarly, Tom Tancredo should apologize for elevating his policy disagreement with the Obama Administration over immigration policy to a transcendent threat that is “worse than al-Qaeda”.

Actually, the list of apologies required goes on and on depressingly.

Anyway, I’ll offer one of my own.  I will apologize to PowerLine, for I will not be joining their circle of conservative wagons on this one.