People are discussing how to best honor the late great Teddy Kennedy, and the first thought that comes to mind is to do what he would have wanted us to do -- which is to memorialize him by getting meaningful health care reform passed and made into law. Ah, but while that is the decent thing to do, and is allowed for Republicans, it's not allowed for Democrats.
More after the jump. Crossposted at The Seminal.
Remember the ginned-up real-time media outrage over five minutes of remarks during Paul Wellstone's Williams Arena memorial event in 2002? Remember how that fake outrage over the "partisan" nature of Rick Kahn's remarks was used to elect Norm Coleman to Wellstone's seat?
Remember also when, a few short weeks later when Strom Thurmond had his 100th birthday party, the media did NOT stage a real-time freakout over partisanship when Thurmond's birthday party (and looming resignation from the Senate) was not only turned into a GOP campaign ad, but into praise for Thurmond's deeply racist career?It was only dirty nasty bloggers like Atrios who spoke out at first about Trent Lott's lavish praise of Thurmond's 1948 racist Dixiecrat challenge to Harry Truman -- and it took several days of shouting on their parts to get the GOP/Media Complex interested.
Finally, the same Villagers who were so heatedly critical of the (non-racist) Wellstone service deigned to notice what Lott had said and done concerning Thurmond -- and then only because Karl Rove had decided to use the opportunity to punish Lott, not for being a racist, but for acting as if the Senate GOP Caucus was allowed to act independently of the Rove/Cheney/Bush White House. Hell, Lott's 'punishment' didn't even last that long. By 2006, he'd got the minority whip position and his little moment of disgrace had been all but excised from the mainstream media accounts of the time. Meanwhile, the same "Eeeek! How partisan!" screechings made against the Wellstone memorial were being made yet again by the media goons in the wake of Coretta Scott King's funeral.
Always remember, folks, whatever you're planning on doing: It's OK -- but only if you're Republican.
UPDATE: Sure enough, the Cons are already partisanly warming up their "Eeeeek Democrats are so PARTISAN" engines. Told ya.