congressman darrell issa got in the act. he orchestrated an entire circus over the fast and furious gun running operation, all based on the rambling of one paranoid blogger. congressman dana rohrabacher alleged the government was able to monitor the benghazi attack in realtime based on a made-up hunch from right-wing blogger jennifer rubin. so time and time again, we are seeing elected officials peddle rumors and hearsay to further their agenda. they're blocking nominations. they're ruining people's reputations, they're holding hearings, and they are smearing people any possible way they can. no $10,000 price can repair the damage the republican party has inflicted upon itself. let's bring in john nichols, washington correspondent of "the nation" magazine. john, good to have you with us tonight. there are no boundaries when it comes to making stuff up with the republicans. where is the republican party right now?