How’s That Culture Of Corruption Thing Working For Ya?
Have you noticed the 2006 Democratic strategy of tying all Republicans into Jack Abramoff-style corruption has – well, almost completely disappeared? That’s because the idea that Republicans are corrupt and Democrats aren’t is so bogus on the face of it that no one’s buying (Rep. Jefferson, anyone?). A recent Gallup poll confirms the strategy for the loser it is, as well as pointing out how impotent the Nutroots® are at convincing the electorate as a whole of their talking points:
The May 5-7, 2006 poll…asked Americans their perceptions about whether the corruption scandals in Washington over the past year mostly involve the Republicans, the Democrats, or both parties equally. Seventy-six percent say it involves both parties equally, while 15% say the scandals mostly involve Republicans, and 5% say they mostly involve Democrats. (Emphasis mine)
So badly has the delivery of this message failed that georgia10 has issued on impassioned plea on the front page of Kos for the media to spin the news, under the guise of giving the ‘full facts’:
Is it that hard to slip in the word “Republican” into an article or a news report? “Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” “Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay.” See? It’s not that difficult to do. I’m not asking that the press do the Democrats’ messaging for them; I’m just asking them to give the American people the full facts they deserve.
Well, jeez, if you put it that way…no, it’s not hard. Let me offer a couple of suggestions:
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is knee-deep in Abramoff-related cash.
Democratic Representative William Jefferson has been receiving bribes from a high-tech firm doing business in Africa.
Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of it…
Here’s something I learned from my many years of reading the LA Times (I subscribed, off and on, at various points between 1989 through 2003). When an elected official is indicted, convicted or suspected of corruption, and his party affiliation is mentioned in the headline and/or first paragraph, he or she is a Republican. If the affiliation of the tainted pol isn’t clearly indicated by the first paragraph, he or she is a Democrat.
I think it’s working out about as well as that “jobless recovery.”
Big government corruption has been around for about 150 years. (Before that I suppose we had small government corruption.) But as both parties have been involved in various shady dealings over that period it has become axiomatic that all politicians are crooks. In my opinion the only way the charge carries weight is when it can be combined with the points:
A. And things have gotten so bad that nothing can be done about it (think of prohibition inspectors arriving at work in chauffeured limos), and
B. And things have gotten so bad that government services no longer work.
(Think of the collapse of various snow removal programs).
Without the necessary follow through the charge that some politicians are crooks is just taken as background noise by most voters.
It should be SOP in any media report on an elected official to state their office, district or state, and party affiliation at the FIRST mention of the office holder. This can be done with far fewer keystrokes than ga10′s formulation but a note to ga10 types. Even if the reporters do exactly as you ask readers will simply assume when there is no mention, the fatcat is a D.