Podhoretz knows this well. Buchanan was not defending the man's alleged actions. But he is unable to quote a single sentence by Buchanan that expresses any skepticism about the Holocaust. Our system of justice is based on the principle that the more serious the charge, the higher should be the standard of proof. Proffering evidence is unnecessary.
Every hack simply quotes every other hack.
The effect is to rule certain people and certain positions out of serious consideration. Worse, the poison and bitterness that such words carry increasingly ensure that just about every issue is now off the table.