Saturday, September 16, 2006
Another Downie in Ethical Trouble...Will the Media Cover This Like the Plame Non-Affair?
When Republicans like Scooter Libby get in trouble, the MSM media whores get in such a lather that they spend 24/7 covering the non-story: for instance, "Will Karl Rove get indicted?" Never mind that he was not - also, never mind that it turned out that he was not the source of the Valerie Plame leak. The media pounced when the story looked juicy, but once it went sour they moved on to more important matters, such as what killed Anna Nicole Smith's son.
However, now we have a sitting US Senator up for election to a seat he was appointed to, being investigated for potential corruption. Juicy, right? A story to be told, right?
Wrong! Because the subject of the story is Senator Bob Menendez, and he just happens to be a Bush basher and a Downie.
Oops, says the media. Nothing here to see. Go away.
New Jersey Switcheroo
The Downies pulled this same shit in 2002 when Senator Robert Torricelli was caught in a web of scandal and, contrary to state law, the Downies were allowed to substitute Frank Lautenberg, who went on to win a seat the Downies desperately needed.
Change the rules, ignore the story, forget ethics. Downies and media whores collaborate to tell half the story, and they are allowed to get away with it. Shameful.
When Republicans like Scooter Libby get in trouble, the MSM media whores get in such a lather that they spend 24/7 covering the non-story: for instance, "Will Karl Rove get indicted?" Never mind that he was not - also, never mind that it turned out that he was not the source of the Valerie Plame leak. The media pounced when the story looked juicy, but once it went sour they moved on to more important matters, such as what killed Anna Nicole Smith's son.
However, now we have a sitting US Senator up for election to a seat he was appointed to, being investigated for potential corruption. Juicy, right? A story to be told, right?
Wrong! Because the subject of the story is Senator Bob Menendez, and he just happens to be a Bush basher and a Downie.
Oops, says the media. Nothing here to see. Go away.
New Jersey Switcheroo
For pure entertainment value, not much can compete with the blood sport of New Jersey politics. Last week federal investigators launched a probe into whether U.S. Senator Robert Menendez illegally benefited to the tune of more than $300,000 from a rental-income deal he had with a nonprofit agency that received millions of dollars in federal contracts. Even liberal good government groups agree that the relationship may have violated congressional conflict-of-interest rules.
The allegations have sparked a mini-panic among state Democratic operatives, who not so long ago thought Mr. Menendez -- who was appointed by Jon Corzine to complete his Senate term after being elected Governor in 2005 -- had the November election in the bag. Now they see Republican Tom Kean Jr. surging into a lead. If Republicans were to pick up a seat in this deep blue state, Democrats' chances of winning control of the Senate would be all but slammed shut.
That's why, as reported by the Newark Star-Ledger, there's now widespread speculation that the party brass may decide to throw Mr. Menendez overboard and replace him with an alternative -- nine-term Rep. Rob Andrews, perhaps -- who is regarded as more electable. This has become a familiar practice in the Garden State and has become known derisively as the New Jersey Switcheroo.
The Downies pulled this same shit in 2002 when Senator Robert Torricelli was caught in a web of scandal and, contrary to state law, the Downies were allowed to substitute Frank Lautenberg, who went on to win a seat the Downies desperately needed.
Change the rules, ignore the story, forget ethics. Downies and media whores collaborate to tell half the story, and they are allowed to get away with it. Shameful.
