Let the False Equivalent Games Begin

It's full steam ahead for the right-wing lie machine in their attempt to divert attention from what could be hundreds of millions of dollars that Mitt Romney has stashed (we don't know because he won't tell us) in offshore accounts in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

The Weekly Standard headline reads:

Dem. Chair Invested in Swiss Banks, Foreign Drug Companies, and the State Bank of India

The article reads:

"Disclosure forms reveal that Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a member of Congress from Florida, previously held funds with investments in Swiss banks, foreign drug companies, and the state bank of India. This revelation comes mere days after the Democratic chair attacked presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for holding money in Swiss bank accounts in the past.

[D]isclosure forms reveal that in 2010, Wasserman Schultz invested between $1,001-$15,000 in a 401k retirement fund run by Davis Financial Fund. As the fund discloses, it is invested in the Julius Baer Group Ltd. and the State Bank of India GDR Ltd., as well as other financial, insurance, bank institutions."

False equivalent Number One. Part of a 401k that includes funds with holdings in other countries is not the same as a secret account in the Caymans. In the interest of full disclosure, my IRA contains a fund which includes holdings in Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, the State Bank of India, and the China Construction Bank (oh my God, I must be a Commie). Any financial adviser worth his or her salt will tell you that an investment portfolio should include foreign funds. It's called diversification, you morons.

But a minor thing like the truth never got in the way of a good, old-fashioned, right-wing smear. Like this:

"Don't blame Debbie Wasserman Schultz, blonde females don't handle checkbooks'

Or this:

"Debbie Wasserman Schultz: World's Biggest Hypocrite"

Or this:

"Democrat Attack Poodle Debbie Blabbermouth-Schultz Invested in Swiss Banks and Foreign Drug Companies"

But the machine didn't stop there. ABC (part of the librul media, dontchaknow) gave them a little help with a story that began with this...

"Valerie Jarrett's financial disclosure form filed May 4 lists a line of credit from a Bermuda insurance company valued between $100,000 and $250,000."

...which National Review Online and Michelle Malkin, among others, picked up and ran with. Both conveniently omitting this one minor detail:

"It appears that Jarrett borrowed money from JPMorgan Chase, which has a subsidiary in Bermuda -- not unusual for insurance companies that want to lay off some of their risks. It doesn't mean that Jarrett sought any sort of transaction from Bermuda, but rather that the bank could be using its Bermuda subsidiary on credit forms.

In other words, routine credit card statements can include references to Bermuda simply because insurance companies have subsidiaries there."

NRO even threw in Dick Durbin just for good measure, with the same tactic that was used in the attack on Wasserman-Schultz:

"Is Dick Durbin protecting his million-dollar portfolio through a buy-American-only strategy? Hell no, he isn't -- why, just right there I can see such asset items as 'ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income,' and 'Matthews Asia Dividend Investor,' and 'Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Domestic.'"

Again, apples and oranges. Investing in a fund with overseas holdings is not equal to hiding millions in secret offshore bank accounts. But what the hell, Lindsey Graham says that tax evasion is as American as apple pie and baseball:

"Mitt Romney shouldn't be criticized for using off-shore tax havens because "it's really American to avoid paying taxes, legally," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday...Graham argued that Congress is responsible for tax avoidance because it has crafted such convoluted rules and said he was fine with Romney's taking advantage of the loopholes..."As long as it was legal, I'm OK with it," Graham said. "I don't blame anybody for using the tax code to their advantage. I blame us for having it so complicated and confused. Pick a rate and make people pay it."

I wonder if Lindsey would be "OK with it" if President Obama was "taking advantage of the loopholes" and dodging the IRS with secret bank accounts that he refused to disclose? That would be a rhetorical question.