Sometimes you just have to marvel at the utter lack of shame exhibited by conservatives when it comes to their willingness to try and generate "controversy" out of whole cloth.
Case in point is this new right-wing claim that President Obama is trying to buy off Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and win his vote in support of health care reform by nominating his brother Scott to a seat on 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Everybody involved - from the White House to Rep. Matheson, to both of Utah's Republican Senators - say that such allegations are completely unfounded and utterly absurd ... but Rep. Michele Bachmann is calling for an "independent investigation" of the nomination:
A big question that has to be addressed right now, Larry, is what in the world is going on in the White House? Because today, the president offered a judgeship to the brother of a member of Congress. Tonight, the president has that same member of Congress at the White House pressuring him to change his vote on health care. We really need to have an independent investigation into this matter. Because we've seen the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, the union loophole and now the big question is, is the White House trading health care votes for judgeships? This is a pretty serious issue.
I have to say that this totally reminds me of the outrage and demands for an investigation back in 2001, when President George W. Bush nominated Rep. Chip Pickering's father, Charles Pickering, to a seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Oh wait ... that never happened.
