You really need to read Andrew Sullivan's recent post called "McTruthyism". It is right in line with what you are saying here. It's like McCarthyism with the difference being that McCarthy actually believed at least some of the people he was going after actually were communists. It's also a nod to Steven Colbert's concept of "truthiness". Notice Byrd says, "See, it asks a question." So as long as you phrase it in the form of a question, it becomes legitimate. Sad.