I have no idea whether a couple of famous liberal bloggers behaved in an unethical manner by secretly pumping candidates that were giving them cash for political consulting. If they were, then they deserve to be exposed and chided or whatever. What I found interesting was how making allegations about people automatically puts them and their friends in a no-win position, well-described here by Billmon:

But there’s no question Kos made a dumb mistake when he asked his blogging buddies to pipe down about the “story.” It kind of put them in a no-win position, particularly once the TNR’s GOP counterparts in the corporate media (David Brooks and Newsweek’s Jonathan Darman) decided to get their licks in. If lefty bloggers ignore the story, then they’re keeping silent to protect the tens of dollars they receive each month from the all-powerful blog ad cartel Kos supposedly controls. If they defend him, they’re just pathetic monkeys dancing on his string. And if they criticize him, no matter how gently, well, they’ve only confirmed that the vague, unsubstantiated accusations against him must be true — “see, even his own paid minions admit it.”

Just something to think about before accusing people of misbehavior.