So Harry Reid knew he was lying about Mitt Romney not paying taxes for ten years when he made the claim in 2012 from the lawsuit-free zone known as the floor of the U.S. Senate, but didn't care.
That's what one must conclude from Reid's response to CNN's Dana Bash about that statement. Asked on the network's New Day program if he regrets what he said, Reid responded: "Romney didn't win, did he?" Rather than question Reid's outrageously cynical "end justifies the means" mentality, Bash's edited interview moved on to another topic.
See transcript below.
CNN's New Day
March 31, 2015
DANA BASH: You're a polarizing figure, and a lot of Republicans actually blame you personally for the way Congress and Washington in general has gotten so highly partisan in the past couple of years.
HARRY REID: That's interesting. I served as the whip for a long time, and the Republicans were effusive in their praise for me.
BASH: That was before he used the Senate Floor to go after GOP megadonors the Koch brothers and accused Mitt Romney of not paying his taxes with no evidence.
VIDEOTAPE OF REID ON SENATE FLOOR: Let him prove he's paid taxes. Because he hasn't.
REID (returning to current interview): No, I don't regret that at all. The Koch brothers. No one would help me, they were afraid they'd go after them. So I did it on my own. That's what I felt I had to do.
BASH: So no regrets about Mitt Romney, the Koch Brothers? Some people have even called it "McCarthyite."
REID: Well, they can call it whatever they want. Romney didn’t win, did he?
Instapundit's Glenn Reyholds calls Reid's arrogant justification "The Soul of the 21st Centure Democratic Party Laid Bare."
Unless Reid's "I got away with it; too bad, so sad for the other guys" admission is roundly denounced by far more than a handful of Democrats, the University of Tennessee law professor will be absolutely correct.
CNN's Bash certainly didn't seem too upset, did she? Oh, that's just Harry being Harry, right?
Add this to the long list of reasons why it's more than fair to contend that Barack Obama's reelection was illegitimately won.
It's also worth recalling that in October 2013, in another example of a statement which would have led to a week of non-stop news coverage if a Republican or conservative had said it, Reid called Bash "irresponsible and reckless” for daring to question whether he was put politics over helping “one child who has cancer” during the government shutdown drama. Reid later apologized. It's hard to believe Bash would be so forgiving of a Republican or conservative so outrageously going after her as Reid did.
But, apparently, all is forgiven, and tough questions aren't needed any more.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
