Back in the day, "Baghdad Jim" McDermott (D-Saddam's Iraqistan) got an illegally taped conversation between Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner -- and other Republican leaders discussing strategery on how to deal with an ethics charge made against then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.Boehner sued and won a hefty settlement in an appeals court decision that made news back in May, but that isn't why you called...
Now, McDermott is appealing to the Supreme Court saying this (Politico):
"With all due respect to the Court of Appeals, the constitutional issues involved here are much too important to be confused by a split decision," McDermott said in a statement released by his office. "The protections afforded all Americans by the First Amendment have been placed on a very slippery slope by this decision. By taking away my First Amendment protections, the decision endangers freedom of speech and the press across America."So now illegal wiretaps are a First Amendment matter when Democrats do it, but when a Republican administration wants to tap the phones of folks talking to terrorists that's a no-no.
When you play politics, Mr. McDermott, especially the way you Democrats do, sometimes you get burned. You got burned. But you got what you wanted. Newt Gingrich stepped down. Democrats keep talking about winning at all costs, but when they are actually forced to pay the cost, they never seem to want to pony up. Your victory against Mr. Gingrich costs nearly a million dollars. If you weren't willing to pay the costs of acquiring this information illegally, you should never have done so in the first place.
Now let me put on the prognosticator hat for a moment. If the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case, McDermott and his friends will claim that the Evil Right Wing Conspiracy is out to get him. If they do take up the case and then decide that McDermott still is liable, the same result. My view: Scooter on, Baghdad Jim...and pay up for your victory.
