Once again, Moran is both defending his statements and apologizing for them. Moran's spokesman, Austin Durrer, told a Washington Jewish newspaper that Moran "understands that the tone of some of his comments ... may have been unnecessarily harsh." Yet Moran wasn't backing off his statement at all to the Post's Amy Gardner: "I would like to have a reasonable, objective discussion about AIPAC's foreign policy agenda. But it's difficult to do that because any time you question their motives, you are accused of being anti-Semitic."As Fisher points out, Moran's controversies seemingly haven't affected his ability to be effective for his district. I suppose in a House that has tolerated John Doolittle, William Jefferson, Rick Renzi, etc., Moran's comments are a relatively small scandal.Attack, apologize, reiterate the attack--that's the Moran method. Which is a tried and true rhetorical style. The problem here is bigger: A congressman who repeatedly chooses to make wild generalizations based on some of the ugliest stereotypes in history.
(Why does he do it? I think it's because this is what he genuinely believes. But for those who believe money is the driving force in politics, there's this: Iin the 2004 election cycle, according to opensecrets.org, all--every penny--of the money the Jim Moran campaign received from foreign policy and defense-oriented PACs came from Arab and Muslim groups.)
My reaction to Moran's troubles is similar to my reaction to the imbroglio involving my beloved New England Patriots. When taken by themselves, I suppose neither these comments nor the team's taping are the end of the world. But both have been in trouble before yet have chosen to continue the questionable behavior. That's what troubles me. Why does Moran feel the need to keep repeating these comments?
The key for all of our politicians is to keep expectations very low and be pleasantly surprised when a "good one" like Webb, or Englin, come around. With the Pats, fellow members of the Patriot and Red Sox nation have higher expectations - but cheating should never be tolerated.
But you know, over the past six years, when getting the President to even acknowledge the Constitution was a problem, and you've had a Congress that was more than happy to help him in wrecking the country, the urgency of getting someone better to replace Moran was (and remains, for me) pretty much at the bottom of the list of priorities.