Many months ago, I noted a troubling trend at the Argus Leader. That paper seems to have an affinity for promptly following up negative stories about John Thune that appear in Roll Call, a Capitol Hill publication, but ignoring negative stories about Tom Daschle that appear in Roll Call. A few months later, I noted another example of this trend. Well, now we can chalk up another one.
Last week, Roll Call reported that Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee (on which Senator Tim Johnson sits) were refusing to lead an effort to renew a federal terrorism reinsurance plan because (gasp!) the insurance industry was planning a fundraiser for John Thune. Not only did the Democrats reject this legislation like Shaquille O'Neill swatting an opponent's layup, they also engaged in some trash-talk:
“It turns out that at the very same time that they are lobbying us, they are sending out a Thune fundraising invitation,” said one Democratic aide. “This is not a must-pass bill. They were coming around and looking for a favor. At this point, that hearing is the end of the road.”
What's ironic is that it is precisely this kind of behavior that outrages Democrats--when House Majority Leader Tom Delay does it. A Washington Times editorial in today's edition headlined "ISO Political Payback" notes the irony:
It doesn't take much to imagine the vehement objections that would envelop Washington if such a strategy were traced to a staffer in Mr. DeLay's office. But in this case the fund-raiser was quickly canceled after the Democrats flexed their muscles. What will be dismaying — if the past is any guide — will be the hypocritical silence that likely will greet Roll Call's disclosure of Democratic extortionist tactics and the braggadocio that accompanied them.
Of course, if the past is any guide, the hypocritical silence at the Argus Leader will be deafening. It's yet another example in an increasing number of examples of a negative story in Roll Call regarding Daschle going unreported in the pages of the AL.
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