Over the past few weeks, we have seen a whirlwind of accusations leveled against political figures. Some of those alleged of malfeasance already hold power, like Al Franken, a Democratic senator from Minnesota. Others are ascendant, like Senate candidate Roy Moore, the aspirant Republican from Alabama.
The prevailing thread in all these cases is wrongdoing— while nuance should serve as a guide when comparing the accusations, all are untoward and all seem anathema to the virtues of a statesman.
But nuance is not omnipresent —in fact, certain unseemly outlets have tried to malign the difficult work that reputable sources have undertaken over the course of these investigations. Just Monday, the Washington Post unveiled a purported “sting” operation, where a conservative advocacy group called Project Veritas seems to have coaxed the Post into publishing salacious, unfounded accusations against Roy Moore. The operation intended to undermine trust in the paper, but in fact appears to have bolstered their credibility.
While most of us do not see the type of painstaking work investigative reporters must bear, we need to appreciate it.
It is far too easy to discount claims that hurt our political tribe while trumpeting those which undermine our opponents. The issue at hand, politically, is less of the disgusting revelations coming from our leaders, but of their weaponization by partisans.
Using dirt to undermine opponents in elections is as old as the United States, but we see it creeping toward an unconscionable point in recent election cycles. I see no reason to doubt the veracity of many claims women have bravely brought forward, but there must be some metric.
I sense that the Washington Post and other institutions do indeed fact-check diligently, and a lot of that work goes unnoticed by the public.
With that in mind, it is worth addressing what Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Meet the Press last Sunday. When pressed on accusations against a party elder, Rep. John Conyers from Michigan, Pelosi said Conyers deserves due process. Many people, across both aisles, exploded at her rhetoric. I think Pelosi was correct, but was, perhaps, the wrong messenger.
As the number of allegations swelled, and with a sort of moral panic surrounding the events, it was easy to assume that everyone accused was guilty. So far, to my knowledge, none of the major accusations have been categorically disproven. But, it is easy to see where this could cross a line, especially with bad actors, no pun intended.
