Check the Hang Time
So now we have the latest in ludicrousness – calls for the Speaker of the House to resign over the Foley dirty email silliness. This gets into one of the things that really peeves me about media bias. I do believe the media does tend to report on virtually everything at one time or another, where the bias comes in is the hang time they give it.
Lets look at the record: Democratic Representative Gary Condit, accused of murdering Chandra Levi. If anyone had called for the house democratic leader to resign the press would have paid it no mind. Senate Majority Leader, Republican Trent Lott makes some silly comment at Strom Thurmands (former Dixiecrat who did at one point support segregation) retirement and he gets drummed out of his leadership position. Why? Because the press gave so much hang time to those calling for his ouster. Literally weeks after Lott is removed from the leadership Democratic Senator Chris Dodd speaking at an honorarium for Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat and former Klansman) says he believed in everything Byrd ever did and would have followed any lead he ever took. The press buries it on page nine and never reports on it again.
So now we have Nancy Pelosi (House Minority Democratic Leader) calling for Speaker of the House Hastert to resign. The press dutifully reports these serious and grave concerns. A more ridiculous proposition could not be found, and if Hastert were a Democrat it would be treated with that level of seriousness. To the press, Nancy Pelosi is the picture of reasoned and serious debate. It will be treated as a page one issue, worthy of consideration, and hopefully given enough hang time to have effect.
Bottom line – Foley wrote some dirty emails to a minor. That’s bad, his resignation is appropriate. Foley is clearly wrong and possibly evil, but in the end he did act with more honor than Condit, or Dodd or Democratic Rep. Gary Studds ( who actually had sex with a minor congressional pagee and refused to resign) ever did. He resigned immediatly
Just because his email writing was foul, that does not mean Nancy Pelosi should now be thought of as a serious individual. The press should give appropriate hang time to her concerns. It is unlikely that they will.
So now we have the latest in ludicrousness – calls for the Speaker of the House to resign over the Foley dirty email silliness. This gets into one of the things that really peeves me about media bias. I do believe the media does tend to report on virtually everything at one time or another, where the bias comes in is the hang time they give it.
Lets look at the record: Democratic Representative Gary Condit, accused of murdering Chandra Levi. If anyone had called for the house democratic leader to resign the press would have paid it no mind. Senate Majority Leader, Republican Trent Lott makes some silly comment at Strom Thurmands (former Dixiecrat who did at one point support segregation) retirement and he gets drummed out of his leadership position. Why? Because the press gave so much hang time to those calling for his ouster. Literally weeks after Lott is removed from the leadership Democratic Senator Chris Dodd speaking at an honorarium for Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat and former Klansman) says he believed in everything Byrd ever did and would have followed any lead he ever took. The press buries it on page nine and never reports on it again.
So now we have Nancy Pelosi (House Minority Democratic Leader) calling for Speaker of the House Hastert to resign. The press dutifully reports these serious and grave concerns. A more ridiculous proposition could not be found, and if Hastert were a Democrat it would be treated with that level of seriousness. To the press, Nancy Pelosi is the picture of reasoned and serious debate. It will be treated as a page one issue, worthy of consideration, and hopefully given enough hang time to have effect.
Bottom line – Foley wrote some dirty emails to a minor. That’s bad, his resignation is appropriate. Foley is clearly wrong and possibly evil, but in the end he did act with more honor than Condit, or Dodd or Democratic Rep. Gary Studds ( who actually had sex with a minor congressional pagee and refused to resign) ever did. He resigned immediatly
Just because his email writing was foul, that does not mean Nancy Pelosi should now be thought of as a serious individual. The press should give appropriate hang time to her concerns. It is unlikely that they will.
posted by R Huse at 5:50 PM
2 Comments:
Nancy Pelosi is yelling for Hastert's resignation because she thinks that she will be named the next Speaker, a position she has been lusting after since she got into Congress. There was a good article about her in Time Mag a couple of months back that showed her up for exactly what she is, a power-hungry demigogue that is going to have things her way or know exactly why and whose head she will have if things do not go as she wants them.
I agree with you. The question is, will the absurd amount of hang time the media has given this story help her? Frankly at this point I think that the Foley scandal is the best thing the republicans have going for them. Here is how I see it:
1) Its an off year election so basically the base shows up to vote.
2) The Democratic base is somewhat fired up I believe. They will show up.
3) Until this ridiculous "scandal" I don't think the Republican base was all that fired up. I doubt they would have just been chomping at the bit to get to the polls.
4) The hypocrisy of the Democrats on this one, combined with Pelosi's shrill tone, absurd suggestions and the very real possibility that she may become speaker will do more than anything to fire up the Republican base.
Bottom line? Its still too soon to tell but I didn't think Democrats had a house takeover in the bag before this scandal and I certainly don't now. Anyone over 40 remembers the Gerry Studds scandal. Its pretty hard to condemn a Republican for writing a minor dirty emails when you cheered Gerry Studds after he admitted, and continued, having sex with a minor.
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