From columnist Frank Rich:
If Reid can serve as the face of Democratic fecklessness in the Senate, then John McCain epitomizes the unpatriotic opposition.
The rest of Rich’s column is here.
In the past, Rich has bristled at Republicans who, in his eyes, sought to cast Democrats as unpatriotic. In June 2008, Rich blasted McCain for trying “to create a smoke screen by smearing Barack Obama as unpatriotic.” In August 2007, he hit “the right’s vigilantes” who Rich said “branded [as] unpatriotic” a program on ABC listing the names of American servicemembers who died in Iraq. In June 2006, Rich slammed President George W. Bush for “implying that his critics are unpatriotic, if not outright treasonous.” In November 2005, he criticized Bush for giving a “Veteran’s Day speech smearing the war’s critics as unpatriotic.” And in October 2005, he smacked Karl Rove for creating “the rhetoric that would be used habitually to smear any war critics as unpatriotic.”
There are more examples, if you care to look. But it’s clear that Frank Rich used to become quite upset when he felt a Republican was branding a Democrat as unpatriotic. But that was then. This is now.
