I have received some criticism for partisanship and have even been accused of fomenting hatred toward Republicans. This does not surprise me, because I take pride in my partisanship, but unlike Republican politicians and pundits, I recognize that I am not entitled to my own facts. My commentary is honest in that I document the factual data upon which I base it. I do not shy away from criticism of my own side of the aisle, when the situation warrants it, and it often does. Telling the truth is not hateful. Intolerance of hatred, bigotry, lies, racism and greed is not hateful. And assigning responsibility is not hateful, because unless we understand how and why something is broken, it is difficult, if not impossible to fix it. The S&P debacle is a perfect example.

This should be highlighted again and again, because it is very simple, very logical and very, very damning : A Standard & Poor’s director said for the first time Thursday that one reason the United States lost its triple-A credit rating was that several lawmakers expressed skepticism about the serious consequences of a credit default — a position put forth by some Republicans. Without specifically mentioning Republicans, S&P senior director Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American political institutions were undermined by the fact that “people in the political arena were even talking about a potential default,” Mukherji said. “That a country even has such voices, albeit a minority, is something notable,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is not common amongst AAA sovereigns.” These statements have caused tea party Republicans to bleat, but, notably, it apparently hasn’t caused any of them to reflect on their positions. What the S&P director is saying here makes perfect sense. If the government of a nation publicly questions whether its debts should be paid, then it stands to reason that investors should be more cautious about presuming those debts should be paid. If politicians begin to mutter that perhaps those debts should be "ransomed" for political favors, then by definition those debts are less safe than they were before … [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Now, Republicans are fast to say that this did not mention Republicans, specifically. However, the people saying that the debt should be held hostage, and/or that the debt should not be paid were all Republicans.