On evidence-free assertions

Bob Runciman is searching for some excuse for using public money for the Cons' political purposes. But before anybody takes his indignation too seriously, let's note that he's using the excuse that "everybody does it" before checking to see whether anybody actually has:

Loveys said this type of partisanship was unheard of before the Harper government came to power.

But Runciman isn't so sure.

He said the government will be checking to see if Liberal senators have done the same in the past.

Now, it's noteworthy enough that it's "the government" - and apparently not Runciman himself - who will take on the task of actually checking whether there's any truth to the theory that the Cons are simply doing what the Libs would have done before. And that should say plenty about who's actually pulling the strings when it comes to the mailout.

But the more remarkable part of the statement is that Runciman apparently has no qualms about using "as far as we know, they could have done it too" - presented without any effort to see whether or not it has any basis in reality - as a catch-all defence which justifies any action which might benefit the Cons. And while the standard of ethics shouldn't come as much surprise, it's surely something we should be looking to change - regardless of where it originates.