Nico and Think Progress noted that conservatives, in particular Fox News, has come up with a new phrase to dismiss the Plame scandal: “the criminalization of politics.”
In other words, they say, the outing of a covert CIA agent in a time of war to punish a whistleblower is just everyday “politics” — nothing out of the ordinary, certainly nothing criminal. In fact, according to conservatives (as articulated by the National Review), the “criminalizing of politics” is actually “the most dangerous fire of this ordeal.”
To spread this talking point across the nation, the right has received a major assist from Fox News. According to a database search, every single television reference to the CIA leak scandal as the “criminalization of politics” in the last 30 days has been on Fox. Even more stunning: on every occasion, the phrase was introduced into the segment by a Fox News anchor or correspondent, never by a guest.
There’s even an amusing video to go along with this observation, showing a montage of FNC’s abuse of the phrase.
I suppose this was inevitable; none of the other talking points have worked. First the right said Plame wasn’t really undercover. Strike one. Then they said it didn’t matter because Rove and Libby leaked Plame’s identity, but not her name. Strike two. This was followed by the ever-popular “these kinds of leaks are routine” tack. Strike three. Left with few options, Fox News latched on desperately to the “the criminalization of politics” line. It’s kind of sad, really.
Nevertheless, with possible indictments on the way, we might as well get used to hearing the phrase — and start to explain why it’s such an absurd argument.
First, as a factual matter, it doesn’t make any sense. Dems don’t want to criminalize politics, we want to criminalize crime. We don’t expect federal investigations every time the Bush gang does something stupid (the FBI would quickly run out of agents), only when there’s clear evidence of serious illegalities, such as the White House’s inability to keep national security secrets secret.
Second, the hypocrisy is breathtaking. We’re talking about a conservative movement that demanded a special prosecutor whenever Bill Clinton looked at them funny. To hear the right tell it, when Clinton changed the staff at the White House travel office, it required an independent investigation. When the Bush White House exposed the identity of an undercover CIA agent to cover up their lies about Iraq, it’s “the criminalization of politics.” Please.
Third, it’s wholly at odds with what is supposed to be Republican governing principles. Remember when the GOP talked about being the party of “law and order“? Apparently, that only applied when they thought their opponents breaking the law. The GOP loves to punish criminals, until they’re the ones caught committing felonies.
Of course, facts and principles are secondary when there’s a scandal to be spun. Be prepared to hear the talking point, ad nauseum, for the indefinite future.