This whole Harry Reid-dumping-on-the-Generals thing has entered the realm of the surreal. As you may recall, the Politico reported that Reid said during a conference call with liberal bloggers that Peter Pace was “incompetent.” What was odd about this was that none of said liberal bloggers reported the comment, apparently doing Reid a solid and showing sounder political judgment than the Senate Majority Leader.

Let’s not forget that the Nutroots are still looking for “Fighting Dems” to run for office. “Fighting Dems” is a term for any Democratic candidate who has served in the military. People who try to habitually milk political mileage out of the uniform in such a way realize that so flagrantly disrespecting one of the most valorous and distinguished soldiers in our country’s history is a very bad thing.

Now, here’s where things get weird. After yesterday’s Politico report, the Daily Kos went on the offense. Barbara Morrill who blogs as a Kos frontpager under the name of BarbinMD was on the conference call, and she accused the Politico of making up a story “out of thin air.” Greg Sargent of TPM Café (a left wing blog – more about them and their political affiliations in a bit) interviewed Barb, and Barb brayed, “"I don't even recall Pace's name specifically being mentioned. If it was, he did not say that he was incompetent."

Barb’s fellow Kos front-pager Joan McCarter, who blogs under the pseudonym McJoan, was also on the conference call and also apparently lives in a blizzard of forgetfulness. She told Sargent, “I don't remember him saying anything like that. I can't swear he didn't say it. But I have no memory that he actually did. It's not in my notes." At least McJoan showed enough common sense to allow herself a little wiggle room, unlike her obstreperous and shortsighted colleague. MyDD’s Jonathan Singer also opted for the wiggle room school of propagandizing. Sargent reports Singer saying,

“I don't remember him calling Pace incompetent." He added that while he couldn't promise that he hadn't done it, "I just don't recall those statements."

Ultimately, Singer’s and McJoan’s decision to go for the wiggle room turned out to be a wise one. Another participant on the call, a guy named Bob Geiger (who I’ve never heard of ) not only remembered Reid’s remarkable comment but reported it. I guess I’m not the only one who doesn’t consider Geiger a player. The other six bloggers on the call (all from the far more prominent MyDD, Daily Kos and AmericaBlog sites) apparently forgot to include him in their plans to “forget” Reid’s comment.

BUT JUST FOR FUN, LET’S TAKE THE NON-GEIGER bloggers at their word. Golly, such young people and such faulty memories! Somebody ought to check the water in Left Blogistan – this is what the tort lawyers would call a statistically impossible cluster.

I love this little story because it provides a neat little tableau of the modern Democratic Party in action. The lefty bloggers, especially the Daily Kos’ Barbara Morrill, have outed themselves as pure propagandists. It’s one thing that Barb didn’t report Reid’s statement. That’s sin number one. It’s quite another thing that she then denied that he ever said it. In case you’re keeping score at home, that’s sin number two, and please note how the sins are getting graver as we progress. Barb’s ultimate sin wasn’t her disingenuous reporting but her assault on a Politico report that was completely accurate, and that she knew was completely accurate. This episode nakedly reveals Barb and her ilk for what they are – propagandists, and clumsy ones at that.

At this point, it’s only fair and fitting to offer a tip of the cap to TPM Café, Greg Sargent and that site’s proprietor, Josh Marshall. I don’t much care for their politics, but I do appreciate what they do. They are intellectually honest and, unlike so many other leftwing bloggers, not utterly bereft of intellectual integrity. In truth, there are a lot of left wing bloggers like this, but they’re not the ones that Harry Reid wants to hang out with. Lord knows I seldom agree with Andrew Sullivan these days, but the thought of Andrew engaging in the kind of shenanigans that the left wing bloggerati did here is laughable.

THE REAL SCANDAL is what this pathetic episode says about Harry Reid and the Democratic Party. Even if Harry Reid truly feels that Peter Pace is incompetent, his comments are still wildly inappropriate. Insulting an authentic American hero who has dedicated his life to serving his country merely for a political applause line is beyond contemptible. In spite of his politically maladroit ways, Reid didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. He knows this kind of thing is beyond the pale.

In so eagerly joining the ranks of propagandists for whom facts are meaningless and political advantage the sole coin of the realm, Reid has unwittingly tilted his hand. Just as BarbinMD felt no need to have her reporting on the conference call reflect what actually happened, Reid feels no need for his appraisals of the situation in Iraq to reflect reality.

I had always felt Harry Reid was the kind of vanilla-flavored parasite that a political system like ours inevitably mass produces. In other words, I didn’t think his presence was any big deal. We’ve seen his type come and go with regularity the past 200 years. What’s amazing and sad is that in such consequential times, a lightweight like Reid is making an impact. He may well be remembered as the most contemptible and least honest public servant to come down the pike in a generation.

After all, you can tell a man by the company he keeps.

UPDATE: The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb has some excellent thoughts on this.

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