Washington Post caught lying. Denies they look at the politics of their hires, even though they just hired a Republican to write a Republican blog

Now the Washington Post is outright lying about their hire of a Republican to write a new Republican blog on the Washington Post Web site (and their refusal to hire a Democrat to even the score).

When asked about all of this by the American Prospect's blog TAPPED, the Post responded the following:

TAPPED: Was the hiring of [Republican blogger] Ben Domenech motivated by a desire to placate right-wing critics upset with Dan Froomkin's frequent criticism of George Bush or upset with the recent Dana Milbank appearance poking fun at the shooting episode involving the vice president?

WASHINGTON POST: "When WP.com launched Opinions we said we wanted this new area to be about a variety of voices across a broad spectrum of political and cultural thought. Ben Domenech's Red America is simply another reflection of that effort.

"Ben Domenech brings an original and authentically conservative voice to the site's Opinions area, where we're committed to presenting the most provocative, informed and ideologically diverse policy debate on the web.

"He's an Internet pioneer, an accomplished writer and someone who is willing to challenge sloppy thinking even if, occasionally, he finds it on the GOP side of the aisle."

So the Post admits that the new blog is conservative - hell, it's called "Red America." And the Post admits that they intentionally hired a "conservative" to write their "conservative" blog.

Now read their answer to the next question:

Question 2: Does WashingtonPost.com have any liberal bloggers who can act as a counterpart to Mr. Domenech?

Straus: "Washingtonpost.com hires writers for their ability to add something substantive to the national conversation. As best as possible, we look for that ability regardless of political labels."

So the Washington Post would have us believe that they actually interviewed some liberal writers for the part of the "authentically conservative voice" on their new Republican blog that's even called Red America? I mean, we're Democrats, but we're not stupid. And in any case, would the Post like to pick a position and stick to it, please? Did you create a Republican blog with an authentically conservative voice or do you not pay attention to the politics of your writers? Not to mention, if you don't pay attention to the politics of your writers, then why exactly did you decide to launch this new Republican blog (and not counter it with a liberal blog)?

I guess after all those years of Fred Hiatt enabling the bald-faced lies of George Bush, the Washington Post figured they try the new-normal on for size themselves.

How's it fitting, Fred?