A Republican hazing ritual on Capitol Hill

By Dana Milbank,
WashPost
Updated: Wednesday, October 19, 5:08 PM

Even by the standards of the highly charged immigration issue, what’s been happening among Republicans in recent days is, well, shocking.

First came Herman Cain, now a leading contender for the party’s presidential nomination, arguing for an electric fence at the border that would be powerful enough to kill people.

Next, the other leading contenders, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, devoted a large portion of Tuesday night’s Republican debate to a so’s-your-mama argument, complete with physical contact, about which was softer on illegal immigrants.

Then, Wednesday morning, senators brought Janet Napolitano to testify on Capitol Hill, and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee put the Homeland Security secretary through a hazing ritual that stopped just short of making her climb an electrified fence.

(More here.)