The Death of Principled Liberalism

It's painful to watch something self destruct, even if you disapprove of some of what it stands for.  Jim Geraghty calls the tape:

The Los Angeles Times summarizes the wild events of Thursday: "As NPR weathered a storm of criticism Thursday for its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims, Fox News moved aggressively to turn the controversy to its advantage by signing Williams to an expanded role at the cable news network. Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes handed Williams a new three-year contract Thursday morning, in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, a considerable bump up from his previous salary, the Tribune Washington Bureau has learned. The Fox News contributor will now appear exclusively and more frequently on the cable news network and have a regular column on FoxNews.com. 'Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997,' Ailes said in a statement, adding a jab at NPR: 'He's an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.'" You expect the next line to be, "Nyah nyah nyah." John Steele Gordon, writing at Contentions, observes, "NPR states that Williams was fired because what he said on The O'Reilly Factor was 'inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a News Analyst with NPR.' OK. But then these comments that Nina Totenberg made 15 years ago about the late Jesse Helms must have been consistent with them, because she still works for NPR. So let's recap. Admitting to feeling a whiff of fear at the sight of ethnically dressed Muslims on a plane he's about to fly on, a fear Williams himself thinks is irrational but no less real for that, is beyond the pale. At the same time, effectively calling upon God to strike down with AIDS someone Totenberg disagrees with is hunky-dory with NPR. So, apparently, is calling upon God to have one of that man's innocent grandchildren develop AIDS so that the grandfather could suffer. The grandchild's suffering, I guess, would just be collateral damage in a worthy cause. The death of a once-great political movement -- American liberalism -- sure is painful to watch." Oh, it's not that painful. In the Corner, Brian Bolduc offers more of Nina Totenberg's greatest hits. Also in the Corner, a spotlight on a minor but symbolically significant legislative fight to come next year, I'll bet: the effort to defund NPR. House GOP Leader John Boehner comments exclusively on the Juan Williams firing to NRO: "'We need to face facts -- our government is broke,' Boehner tells us. 'Washington is borrowing 37 cents of every dollar it spends from our kids and grandkids. Given that, I think it's reasonable to ask why Congress is spending taxpayers' money to support a left-wing radio network -- and in the wake of Juan Williams' firing, it's clearer than ever that's what NPR is.'" Fox News late-night host and NR cruiser Greg Gutfeld: "So, NPR canned Juan Williams. If you aren't familiar with NPR, simply imagine yourself, on a bus, sitting next to Judd Hirsch."