The so-called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a self-billed “watchdog” of politicians, has a problem: It’s really just a left-wing lapdog, as more people are learning thanks to our website CREWexposed.com. CREW operates by filing complaints against officeholders who allegedly have engaged in scandalous behavior—except that CREW, which is funded by left-wing foundations, knows better than to bite the hand that feeds it. That means that there’s a lot of barking about Republicans’ bad behavior, and a lot of whimpering about that of Democrats.
The latest episode in CREW’s farce involves San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, a Democrat accused of sexual harassment by 13 women (for now). The allegations range from Filner being a little too “hands-on” to Filner harassing a woman who had spoken about being previously sexually assaulted during her military service. (It’s hard to imagine much lower than that.) You can read the full breakdown here, but it’s no surprise that the Mayor’s new nickname is “Filthy Filner.” Filner has refused to resign, instead making like wayward Hollywood starlets and going to rehab — and even pompously asking San Diego taxpayers to foot his legal bill.
Many of Filner’s fellow Democrats have called on him to resign. And yet, as of this writing, we haven’t heard a yip from CREW. In the past, CREW has filed complaints against some Democrats, but these Democrats have often been mired in serious scandal long before CREW piped up with a “me, too” complaint to bolster its nonpartisan façade. On balance, CREW disproportionally targets the right when you compare its actions to those of the FEC, IRS, and House and Senate Ethics Committees. Even by CREW’s hack standards, it’s surprising to see the group stay mum about the alleged Filner forays.
CREW might try to claim that because Filner is a mayor that he’s out of their purview. But that won’t fly. Filner was a 10-term Congressman before he became mayor, and some of the alleged harassment occurred back in 2005, in 2009, and at other instances while he was still in Congress. And CREW, whose name indicates that it’s only about Washington, has also taken to criticizing governors as well as blogging about other mayors.
Any CREW excuses here just don’t hold up to scrutiny. When it comes to perhaps the most salacious scandal of the year, the “watchdog” CREW seems content to be a lone Chihuahua cowering on the sideline.
