Thursday, April 07, 2005

Taking Responsibility For One's Actions

Well, if you've been following the non-story of the non-forged Republican memo advising that turning the occasion of Terri Schiavo's death into an Aztec death carnival would be a "winner" politically, bite your nails no longer. The memo was authentic, originating in the staff of Republican Senator Mel Martinez of Florida. Now, Kevin Drum has a simple request:
Martinez has fired the errant staffer, calling the memo "stupid." With that, I hope that Power Line and Hugh Hewitt and Michelle Malkin and the rest of the crew trying to relive the glory days of Rathergate will take his lead and just STFU. Enough.
Will they comply? Let's find out. Poweline's Hindrocket:
So, if the current AP story is correct, it confirms that ABC and the Post mis-reported the story--in the Post's case, in an article that was picked up by dozens of other newspapers off the paper's wire service.

The latest story also confirms how absurd it was for ABC, the Post, and other news outlets to label the anonymous memo a "GOP talking points memo." We have no idea who the unidentified Martinez staffer is, but he apparently was not authorized to speak for his boss, and most certainly was not empowered to speak for the leadership of the Republican party. We'll try to track him down and get his story, but in the meantime, this story serves as an object lesson in how the mainstream media can take a dopey, one-page memo by an unknown staffer and use it to discredit the entire Republican party.
Interesting take. For the record...well, take it away Michelle:
Brian Darling...is the author of the so-called GOP/Schiavo Talking Points Memo
Does that sound like a retraction from Malkin? It's not:
Well, now we know the truth. Thanks to the Associated Press, with the Washington Post bringing up the rear. And, gee, it only took 18 days to nail down a story that differs in key respects from what Snow and Allen reported on March 19 without adequate substantiation.
And last, Magister Parens himself, Hugh Hewitt:
Hats off to Powerline for exposing the Post's/ABC's ridiculous reliance on this memo, and for announcing prominently that the memo was in fact written by a staffer for Senator Mel Martinez....
Let's just rewind the tape a bit. It won't due for the 101st keyboard division to claim ex post facto that all along their beef was with the Post/ABC potentially exaggerated (potentially unexaggerated) account of the wide-spreadedness of the memo; they thought they had another forged memo scandal on their hands, and they were after blood. Now that it all turns out to have been a snipe hunt, they act like whining adolescents. Whither the grown-up Republicans?

6 Comments:

At 2:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Liberal/Rockerfeller Republicans have again given the MSM a morning-star to bludgeon all republicans with; and the MSM are doing just that. The star-crossed attempt by liberal Republicans to expand the government will cause all rpublicans much pain in the future. 06 could be a repeat of 92 when Reagan Democrats left the Republican Party in a vain attempt to find a conservative party. Mel and Frist are dolts and Frist has to be removed if the Republicans expect not to lose seats in 06. Given the liberal in the White House this is not likely to happen. Pelosi and Reid have to be beside themselves with glee at the mess the liberal Republicans have again made of "their" party.
Rod Stanton

 
At 5:04 PM, Blogger Finnegan said...

Well I'll never encourage Republicans to stop criticizing Republicans, but my view of the facts on the ground, as they say, is rather different.

No one has ever accused President Bush of being a liberal Republican, and he has been the prime mover in the greatest expansion of government since LBJ (greater than that even, if we could quantify his facillitation of government involvement in private moral questions).

 
At 3:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You seem to never visit Republican blogs. I do. Conservative Republicans have called W a liberal for years. And not just bloggers- conservative Talk Radio hosts call him a liberal. Ask anyone that can get KABC in LA - there are several hosts ther calling W a Liberal right now.
Rod Stanton

 
At 4:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lots of conservative Reps call W a liberal. To give you a name you will know John McCain in the 00 primary. If you saw the debate in MO in 04 you heard another Rep politely call W a liberal when he questioned his tax and spend big govt. administration.

Jo macDougal

 
At 8:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Johd did call W liberal in the 00 primary. It is why so many Republicans do not like John. Republicans hate to be thought of as liberal even when they, in fact are liberal.
Rod Stanton

 
At 11:23 PM, Anonymous generic cialis said...

In principle, a good happen, support the views of the author

 

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