Rep. Alan Grayson (D, FL-08) has finally found a line beyond which he is personally not prepared to cross.  While the Congressman may be prepared to lie about Republican intentions on health care, he at least knows enough to realize when he’s gone too far, as his respectful letter describing his ‘regrets’ to the Anti-Defamation League indicates.  Via FoxNews:

Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, who has drawn fire for saying Republicans want Americans to “die quickly” if they get sick, expressed regret Friday for comparing the health care crisis to a “holocaust.”

Grayson vowed not to use the term again in a letter he sent Friday to the Andrew Rosenkranz, Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish organization that fights anti-Semitism.

[snip]

“In no way did I mean to minimize the Holocaust,” Grayson wrote in the letter obtained by FOXNews.com. “I regret the choice of words, and I will not repeat it.”

Again: note how respectful Grayson is being towards the ADL, there.  That’s because he has staff to handle being disrespectful to them.

Alan Grayson is a first-term Congressman from Florida who has found a niche for himself as a provider of red meat to progressives, particularly online ones.  His recent ‘die quickly‘ performance was widely lauded in the Left-blogosphere; it was, in fact, the reason why Grayson went back onto the floor to make the Holocaust reference that got him into trouble.  Despite that retraction, and an already-impressive history of making unfortunate statements (actually, because of that history) he remains popular among the Democratic netroots.  Note here and here and here and here and here for just some examples of same.  This popularity is at least partially due to the fact that he has hired noted Lefty blogger Matthew Stoller (of Open Left) to be a senior policy advisor (see here, here, here*, here, here, and here for examples where Stoller has been referenced as such).

Which is interesting, because according to Alan Grayson staffer Matthew Stoller, the Anti-Defamation League is a ‘crazy, racist organization.’ Stoller’s response to comments made to his Open Left post “The Biggest Loser of the Cycle: AIPAC” last year (written before Stoller was hired by Grayson):

Note the general assault on AIPAC – a favorite target of the Progressive Left – and the explicit accusation against the ADL by name.  Matt Stoller has been attacking the ADL for years, as part of the progressive netroots unsuccessful attempt to oust Senator Joe Lieberman; this latest comment is hardly unusual for progressive and liberal online activists.  It’s also hardly a secret, given that this has been reported on before**.

It is, of course, a person’s privilege in this country to make all sorts of outrageous statements, as the career of Rep. Alan Grayson itself is currently demonstrating.  It is in fact allowable to declare that the Anti-Defamation League is a ‘crazy, racist organization.’  It’s foul to declare that (in my personal opinion), but allowable.  But you cannot have it both ways.  If Rep. Alan Grayson agrees with his staffer about the ADL, then why is he apologizing to the group?  And if Grayson disagrees with his staffer, then why did he hire Stoller in the first place?  What is the message that Grayson wants to present here?  That he doesn’t have a problem with the ADL himself, but is happy to use as his advisors people who want the group destroyed?

Does Grayson even know what he thinks?

Moe Lane

*Note also Grayson’s ties with 9/11 Truthers.

**And note there the video where Grayson’s staff brags about his links to ACORN.  Admittedly, this was back in May.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.