Reading Mark Steyn’s post, I was reminded of an amazing story about Harry Reid. Hang on, let me do some Googling. Okay. The story dates from 2006. And here are the opening sentences of a news report: “Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has been using campaign donations instead of his personal money to pay Christmas bonuses for support staff at the Ritz-Carlton where he lives in an upscale condominium. Federal election law bars candidates from converting political donations for personal use.”
Say what you will about using campaign donations to tip your doormen — but I remember gasping, “Harry Reid lives at the Ritz-Carlton? This Democratic lion, this tribune of the people — lives at the Ritz-Carlton, and gets away with it? And if a Republican political leader lived at the Ritz-Carlton?”
People get tired of hearing about double standards in the media. (And academia, and Hollywood, and . . .) I would be happy to talk about these double standards less, if they were ever reduced, even mildly.
P.S. My Googling led to an Impromptus column, in which I published an observation of a reader: “Now that Reid has to reach into his own pocket, will he pay the doormen less, or the same? Power to the People.” That was a good one.