Posted on 02/12/2005 8:48:02 PM PST by kristinn
The Washington Post, which 'broke' the story of former aide to Md. Gov. Ehrlich (R) Joseph Steffen commenting about rumors of Balt. Mayor O'Malley (D) cheating on his wife in postings on FreeRepublic, and in Freepmails, has published what can only be described as journalistic overkill in tomorrow's Sunday edition.
According to a search by Google News, The Post is publishing no less than seven articles in one edition that mention Mr. Steffen and the events leading to his resignation from the Ehrlich administration this week.
The rumors that Mr. Steffen commented on have been in circulation for several years, yet it took what appears to be a cybertrap of an unwitting Ehrlich staffer to bring the rumors to a point where they could be used by Democratic partisans for political advantage.
The Post, which was given the story by an unnamed source, is now flogging the story for all it's worth. One would think that a major newspaper with a major story would be interested in learning the whole story about how Mr. Steffen came to comment on the rumors in private messages responding to an anonymous person on the Internet so that their readers could be better informed. No dice. No mention of that angle in any of the seven, repeat: seven, articles mentioning Mr. Steffen and his political demise.
I spent 35 years coverning the news. The number of times rumors of a man cheating on his wife have been wrong are very few. The only cases I have seen where the accused was innocnet were when the candidate first accused of cheating tried to make the case that his opponent was a cheater too.
The Rumors about clinton were true. The Clinton counter charges that Bush 41 cheated were lies.
After Rathergate they are freaking out.
It has taken them time to get their bearings and have reality sink in.
This is just the beginning.
So let me ask a question: Did they give like coverage to a world-class news executive's accusations that the U.S. military has deliberately targeted journalists in Iraq?
(sure they did...sure they did)
Let them bury themselves. I hope it turns out the MD4Bush was a Post reporter that baited NCPAC, or better yet a reporter working with a Dem operative.
Sheesh. If the Washington Post has 7 articles (including an editorial and a mention in Kurtz' column), the Baltimore Sun will probably have 10.
Rumors like this that follow politicians are not started on freerepublic or the typical person on the street. It starts within the social circles politicians hang around, I would suggest to the mayor to start looking closer to his "friends" rather than an aide who got the info several steps down the line.
Or even more likely, the death throws of an old media facing the reality of their irrelevance.
Just outta curiosity, how many Eason Jordan stories have appeared in the WaPo lately.
The N.Y. Times did the same thing with F 9/11. Once the MSM finds a story that they can relate to, they overkill it.
Pajamahadeen: Dan Rather, Eason Jordan
We've got more small fry than they've got big fish. If they want a war of attrition, they're doomed to finish last.
Another measure of our relative strength: Bush won, Kerry lost.
Make that EIGHT articles: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20056-2005Feb12.html
MD4Bush also appears to have been part of a swarm of one-time posters "fishing" with the O'Malley rumors, hoping that somebody like NCPAC would rise to the bait.
The evident purpose was to innoculate O'Malley against the truth of the rumors.
I have faith in Jim Rob and this site. I'm sure everything is documented, and the saying goes, he who laughs last laughs best.
i live in iowa now, but originally from MD. My Mother just told me that there was an anonymous Freeper on WBAL 1300 talk radio saying that he has proof of some kind that it was a conspiracy to make Ehrlich look bad.... i dunno how much truth it is or wethher the radio show comments happend(Heresay and all) but that seems likely the way The Sun and Post are treating this... almost like they had stories written BEFORE the resignation!
wbal 1090... sorry
. The only reasonable surmise is that this was a Democratic partisan in the area.
Nobody outside the MD area is going to be interested in something like this. At the time of the threads on O'Mally we had several new posters commenting on it and they have not been back. link
They may be involved.
Hmmm Redux,, and counting..
Thanks!
Kaleefornia politics is entertaining enough without worrying about silly assed Maryland politicians. It might be big in the East, but out here, yawn.
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