Gawker is responsible in the same way that you're responsible that your house got robbed because someone found your hidden door key under a rock in front of your house.
Since the 1099 requirement was put in to recover more revenues and improve the healthcare bill's financial justification, if that requirement is repealed, should Congress re-evaluate the healthcare bill based on the new (worse) numbers?
Ethically, it's clear that the hackers are wrong.
Should Gawker have had better security? No doubt.