In case you haven’t been following my updates below, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen is sorry folks were offended by how his use of the terms "Goebbels" and "blood libel" was "portrayed" — but apparently not for using the terms in the first place.
It’s funny how these apologies work: In my back and forth on Twitter with the Republican Jewish Coalition, I noted that Fox’s Roger Ailes, in a similar brouhaha a couple of months back, apologized for using Holocaust terminology — but not to the folks he used it against, Jews who complain about Fox’s use of Holocaust terminology. (Yes, it got kind of meta.) Instead he apologized to the ADL.
The RJC correctly retorted that Ailes at least owned his apology. "I should not have used that word" — so declarative it’s sweet.
Cohen, by contrast, directly addressed his regrets to his Republican colleagues — but refused to take responsibility for his initial remarks. He regretted how his remarks were "portrayed" although the offense was relayed in uncut video from the House floor. (RJC also suggested that a backbencher should somehow be more accountable than the president of the leading news network, but let’s leave that alone for now.)
What happened to the old fashioned, actual apology? Where you a) apologize to the party you offended and b) for what you said, and not for how it was (accurately) reported?
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