The media have a long history of playing defense attorney for Democrats and prosecutor for Republicans. The coverage of how the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee came to have a copy of Maryland Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele’s credit report is a good example of the phenomenon.
Here’s how The New York Times wrote the story once if finally got around to it:
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 – National Republicans, who face an uphill battle in their efforts to capture the open United States Senate seat in heavily Democratic Maryland next year, are trying to exploit potential legal problems that Democrats are now suddenly facing in that race.
The Republicans are seizing on a disclosure that two researchers at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee improperly obtained the credit report of Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a Republican who is considering a bid for the Senate seat.
In recent days, Republicans have sought to put Democrats on the defensive, saying the incident underscores just how concerned the opposition is to the prospect of a Steele candidacy.
This is called “backing into” a story. The real news — that operatives of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee used illegal means to gain Steele’s credit report — is subordinated to the attempt by Republicans to “exploit potential legal problems” facing Democrats.
Keep in mind that this is the first story The Times published on this issue. It is not what is called a follow or an update, in which case one might be excused for centering the story on the Republican reaction to the incident. And note the use of “seizing,” which connotes desperation, as opposed to “using,” an unloaded word that would have sufficed.
Later in the Times story reporter Raymond Hernandez shares this:
The two sides have been battling since late last month, when it was disclosed that the United States attorney’s office for the District of Columbia and the F.B.I. were investigating the possibility that Mr. Steele’s credit report was obtained illegally by the two Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staff members. [emphasis added]
Note the reference to “late last month.” This Times story was published on Oct. 6, so it had been rolling around for two weeks (it broke on Sept. 22) before The Times published its account. Also note that they refer to the illegally obtained credit report only as a “possibility.” However, in the same story Democratic officials acknowledge that the credit report was obtained. Unless Steele was financing a car at the SDCC I think it is safe to say his credit report was obtained illegally.
If one is still unconvinced that The Times would frame a story about Democratic skullduggery in a way to downplay its significance, let’s imagine another story framed similarly:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 – National Democrats, who face an uphill battle in their efforts to recapture the Congress in an increasingly Republican America in 2006, are trying to exploit potential legal problems that a powerful Republican is now suddenly facing.
The Democrats are seizing on the indictment of House Minority Leader Tom DeLay by a Democratic Texas prosecutor for allegedly conspiring in a campaign-finance scheme.
In recent days, Democrats have sought to put Republicans on the defensive, saying the indictment underscores just how desperate Republicans are to hold on to Congressional power.
That isn’t how The Times wrote that story, however. Here’s the real one:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 – Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader and a driving Republican power in Washington, was forced to step aside from his leadership post on Wednesday after a grand jury in Texas indicted him on a charge of conspiring to violate election laws in his home state.
The indictment, in Travis County, which includes Austin, the state capital, accused him of conspiring with two previously indicted aides to violate a century-old Texas ban on the use of corporate money by state political candidates, by funneling thousands of dollars in corporate contributions through the Republican National Committee.
Now let’s see what the story of the pilfering of Michael Steele’s credit report might look like written similarly:
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 – Two representatives of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, headed up by driving Democratic power Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, were forced to step aside from their posts after it was found that they used Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele’s social security number to gain access to his credit report.
The two Democratic operatives are accused of obtaining a credit report under false pretenses, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of a two-year jail sentence and a $250,000 fine.
New York Newsday, which published it’s first story on the incident on Sept. 22, played it straight:
WASHINGTON — Two opposition researchers working for Sen. Charles Schumer at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee obtained copies of a confidential credit report on Maryland’s Republican lieutenant governor, prompting calls for their prosecution.
In July, committee research director Katie Barge and Lauren Weiner, a junior staffer, used Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele’s Social Security number to get his credit report, according to a Democratic official familiar with the case.
Several media bloggers have contacted The Times about a) ignoring the story and b) soft-peddling it when they finally did write one, but so far there has been no reply. Don’t hold your breath.
Jon Ham is vice president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of its newspaper Carolina Journal.