The Mouth of the South (Part II)

Does Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson  lie awake at night thinking of ways to make himself look foolish?

An earlier commentary noted how the controversial Congressman has parlayed his new-found notoriety into campaign cash through the creation of a fund-raising website named CongressmanWithGuts.com.  A Florida Republican, Angie Langley, subsequently created a parody website - MyCongressmanIsNuts.com - to raise money to defeat Grayson.  Its success has been underwhelming; a paltry $10,000 in contributions to date, compared to the $546,000 Grayson claims to be collected.  Grayson should have brushed it off - his frequent media appearances give him ample opportunity to take on his critics.  But the thin-skinned Congressman, who can dish out abuse but apparently can't take it, was so incensed by MyCongressmanIsNuts.com that he penned a rambling four page letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding that the site and its creator by criminally prosecuted for election fraud.  His main complaint is that Ms Langley does not actually live in his electoral district and therefore the website name, MyCongressmanIsNuts.com is "fundamentally fraudulent and deceptive".  In addition, he huffs, the name of the website is "utterly tasteless and juvenile".  Ms Langley, he demands, should be "imprisoned for five years".

It should be apparent even to Congressman Grayson that this latest round of publicity will only help the Republicans.  It shows he has scant regard for this First Amendment, and given his own propensity for crude ad hominem attacks on political opponents, his complaint that the website is "utterly tasteless and juvenile" cries hypocrisy even in Washington, D.C., where hypocrisy is the order of the day.  

With all of the pressing issues on the Congressional agenda, the fact that Alan Grayson thinks this frivolous complaint was the best use of however much of his time it took to write, tells you all you really need to know about him.  If he can't stand the heat of criticism he should stay out of the political kitchen and seek alternative employment  in 2012.