The White House and Democrats have rightfully condemned Moran. But not all of them have done so too harshly.
The White House Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer, was clear: "Those remarks are shocking; those remarks are wrong, those remarks are inappropriate; and those are remarks that should not have been said."
But God forbid that Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who spent weeks bemoaning the racism of the Republican party in the Trent Lott affair, should actually tel Moran to quit. "I think Mr. Moran made comments that were unfounded, baseless and very out of line. I think it's a sad day when comments like that are made ...[but] I don't think that Mr. Moran ought to resign... I think there are other ways with which to make sure that comments like this don't occur."
So, Tom, what did you have in mind? Duct tape over his mouth?
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, released a statement yesterday afternoon saying his comments "have no place in the Democratic Party," while House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, said not only were Mr. Moran's comments inappropriate, but the premise was fundamentally incorrect. Still, neither said Mr. Moran should resign.
Hoyer claimed that everyone says something stupid once in a while - it is no reason to resign, right? "I think he said a stupid thing. I think Mr. Moran thinks he said a stupid thing. If we all resigned every time we said a stupid thing, we'd all be gone..."
And what a shame that would be...
Jim Geraghty has Moran's rap sheet, while Ramesh Ponnuru makes some unflattering comparisons between how Republicans handled Trent Lott and how Demorats have handled similar cases. And Cliff May points out that scapegoating Jews is not a new phenomena among the anti-war activists.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post gets to point out that it has been against Moran for a long time, while whining 'can't we all just get along' :
It's perfectly legitimate to debate Israel's place in U.S. Mideast policy, or Israel's own behavior; charges of anti-Semitism shouldn't be permitted to stifle criticism. It's not anti-Semitic to stand up for Palestinians' human rights. It wouldn't necessarily be anti-Semitic -- just demonstrably wrong -- to argue that Mr. Bush's Iraq policy is motivated primarily by a desire to protect Israel. But the argument moves from merely wrong to patently offensive when it attributes to Jews or "the Jewish community" a single view and a nefarious influence. Some Jews and some non-Jews, in Israel and America and Europe, support disarming Iraq; some don't. In their respective countries, they try to make the arguments on their merits. Mr. Moran and his ilk should do the same.
Update: Finally, Jonah Goldberg weighs in too.
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