The “Everybody Does It” Defense

By Kleinheider Posted on July 21, 2008 at 2:51 pm

A West Tennessee blogger breaks down what he thinks is an unfair smear on Marsha Blackburn:

First an overdramatic headline: “Son-in-law capitalizes on ties to Blackburn”. Perfect!

Then report the truth: Paul Ketchel III, husband of Blackburn’s daughter Mary Morgan, is a registered lobbyist. Some of his clients are companies that fall under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee of which Rep. Blackburn is a member. This is a matter of public record and is completely legal

Follow the facts with a lot of hypothetical wrongdoing (as if Ketchel’s mere profession as a lobbyist is a crime). They quote Craig Holman of Public Citizen who goes on about the “appearance and perception of potential corruption.” Translation: nothing illegal or unethical has happened, Craig Holman just thinks it looks bad.

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