We seem to be hitting new political lows by the day. The latest lowly low: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s secretly recorded us-versus-them/no-compromise remarks. They’re indeed disturbing. But so are the gotcha antics of liberal activist Lauren Windsor, who masqueraded as a Catholic conservative when she secretly recorded her brief talk with Alito (and Chief Justice John Roberts) at a recent Supreme Court reception. They’re the same hidden-camera/reality-show tactics of conservative activist James O’Keefe. And the MSM reports on their findings without many qualms – or at least without many qualms about Windsor’s tactics.

Question: Would the New York Times ever tolerate a full-time or freelance reporter regularly misrepresenting himself/herself in order to get a story? In its own ethics guidelines (scroll down to “masquerading”), the NYT says no. But … I know it’s more complicated than this. Still, isn’t Windsor effectively serving as a reportorial proxy when she operates biased stings and the media dutifully reports on her findings?