Blackwater demagoguery
Blackwater, the security firm that protects U.S. civilians in Iraq, is under almost daily fire from the Democrats/MSM and their unlikely ally in this enterprise, the Maliki government in Iraq. I don't have enough information to opine on the underlying issues, but whatever the merits, the opportunities for demagoguery seem endless.
Most discussions of demagoguery should begin with John Edwards, and this one is no exception. As Ben Smith reports in The Politico, Edwards has seized on the Blackwater story as a means of attacking Hillary Clinton. It seems that Clinton's chief political strategist Mark Penn is a member of the public relations firm that helped prepare Blackwater's CEO for his testimony before Congress. Here's what Edwards, ever the glib opportunist, had to say about this:
Bush has been a perfect example of cronyism, because Blackwater has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans and to President Bush. I also saw this morning that Sen. Clinton’s primary adviser, Mark Penn, who is like her Karl Rove — his firm is representing Blackwater. I think it is important for Iowa caucus-goers to understand the choices they have in this election. And it is the reason I continue to say we don’t want to replace a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats.
As Smith notes, though, Edwards himself is a corporate Democrat, having worked for a hedge fund just before he began his presidential campaign. And since the order of the day is guillt by association, it's fair to note that Edwards' corporate employer apparently invested heavily in sub-prime mortgages.
Meanwhile, Penn is distancing himself and his firm from the Blackwater representation, as if there's something wrong with helping its CEO prepare to testify before Congress. Clinton's position on Blackwater is that we should "end outsourcing our government to companies like Blackwater and hold the contractor accountable.”
Blackwater certainly should be held accountable, so long as the standard is reasonable in light of the difficult circumstances under which it operates. But absent more discussion, her call to end outsourcing "to companies like Blackwater" smacks of demagoguery too.
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