One of the major problems the GOP has is people who can't figure out how to do things the right way. In some cases I wouldn't care, but in many cases the dumb things the GOP does have an impact on the U.S. as a whole.

For an example, let's turn to Guy Benson of Townhall. Discussing Harry Reid's claim that Mitt Romney hasn't paid taxes for 10 years - a claim Reid can't back up with any evidence - Benson says ( peekURL.com/zCSZnPt ):

How does one effectively combat an opponent with no shame, no decency, and not even a tenuous commitment to the truth? One option is to take the high road, fight the smears, and continue to push your message. For the record, this is the road I would personally recommend. ("Oh, that's interesting Harry -- get back to me when you have some evidence. Incidentally, have you seen the latest jobs report?") Another option is to get down into the Democrats' mud and fight dirty. As amusing as the (link to an Ace Mu Nu turnabout-is-fair-play smear that's even worse than Reid's, minx . cc/?post=331602) -- and we still haven't seen firm proof that the Senate Majority Leader doesn't fondle little boys -- it won't break through and capture the narrative spotlight. If Republicans are interested in getting nasty and force-feeding Democrats some of their own repulsive medicine, they would need to make it about Obama. Here's what they could do (not an endorsement, just an illustration): Get a senior and high-profile Republican member of Congress to give an on-the-record "scoop" to a site like, say, Townhall.com. Let's use Sen. John McCain as an example; as a former presidential nominee and a media fixture, he'd do the trick. McCain could say that he's heard from "a source" inside the Justice Department that President Obama exerted executive privilege in the Fast & Furious scandal because he didn't want the public to discover that he himself ordered the operation. McCain might add that he isn't totally sure if the leak is true, but he still believes it to be accurate -- and that it is up to Obama to release every single document pertaining to Fast & Furious to prove that he didn't directly order it. After all, the president has been extremely secretive about the program, even as hundreds of its murdered victims' families demand justice. Romney wouldn't have to comment on the allegation, aside from affirming that Americans "deserve answers" about the lethal gun-running operation. (The public agrees). McCain could keep making the allegation day after day, with Democrats rushing to condemn him. The truth wouldn't matter, though; the more they'd fire back at McCain, the more he'd fight, and in the end, what would the topic be? Barack Obama's bloody scandal that killed hundreds of innocent people, including a US border agent. See how this works?

The above scenario is a nearly perfect parallel to what Democrats are doing now, except Obama's scandal actually exists, and real blood has been spilled. The only stretch/fabrication would be Obama's direct involvement in it, rather than just his Attorney General. There are, of course, a few problems with this scenario: First, the media simply would not abide such tactics from Republicans (even as the cover Reid's lying buffoonery as a partisan squabble), and second, John McCain is an honorable man. Democrats are working with two insurmountable advantages here -- a press that covers for them, and a surplus of dishonorable actors.

What Benson is suggesting - his attempt at plausible deniability noted - would make the GOP no better than the Democratic Party. It would also make things easier for those who want to question the Fast and Furious issue: if the GOP is willing to shade the truth about one aspect of it, are there other things about it where they're getting creative?

If the GOP were led by people with mindsets different than the Benson/Ace types, they could effectively fight back against Reid's claim and do something about the establishment media. Instead, the GOP keeps joining with the Democrats to drive us further down the Road To Idiocracy.