Nobel's Diamond vs. Sen.Shelby: No contest

A PERFECT EXAMPLE of how far into the muck the current Republican political class has burrowed has now arrived in the abysmal assault on Nobel laureate Peter Diamond. The MIT economics professor was cited for his outstanding work in unemployment and labor. Despite that distinction, his nomination by President Obama for the Federal Reserve was blocked by GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, of Alabama, who questioned Diamond's credentials. (It seems that in Alabama, the only credentials for getting elected to the U.S.Senate are an empty head and willingness to champion extreme conservatism as a blood sport.)

Rather than put up with such idiocy, Diamond withdrew as the nominee to devote all of his time to the friendlier and more rewarding culture of academia. But in response to Shelby's blockade that accused Diamond of being unqualified to engage in monetary policy, the distinguished economist wrote in an op-ed piece for the New York Times:

"To the public, the Washington debate is often about more versus less - in both spending and regulation. There is too little public awareness of the real consequences of some of these decisions. In reality , we need more good regulations and fewer bad ones.

''Analytical expertise is needed to accomplish this, to make government more effective and efficient. Skilled analytical analysis should not be drowned out by mistaken ideologically driven views that more is always better or less is always better. I had hoped to bring some of my own expertise and experience to the Fed. Now I hope someone else can."

Meantime, we can look at the insidious Shelby Factor as another defining moment 0f where his party is trying to take the nation.