Party-affiliation Buried

Ex-mayor charged in 4-year-old’s rape said girl was a willing participant, records say

The Washington Post

 

Beyond the horrific picture that is painted by the headline, I immediately noticed that the mayor's party affiliation wasn't included in the headline.  Let's see how long it takes in the article to mention.  Ah, there it is in the 14th paragraph: Richard Keenan is a Democrat.  I'm sure that is how long it normally takes to get to that point.  Hmm.  Let's check.  To provide a similar circumstance, let's only consider Republicans with little or no name recognition.

 

Christopher Lee had posted shirtless pictures of himself in 2011.  Here is an ABC story that offers the details.  Oh, first sentence of first paragraph notes that he is Republican.

 

Chris Myers, also a mayor, is the 'Knucklehead of the Week' in this 2011 story.  It isn't until the 6th paragraph that his party-affiliation is mentioned.  Of course, that is also the first paragraph in which he is mentioned.  Hmm.

 

Phillip Hinkle, an Indiana legislator, was caught in a sex scandal in this story.  Not only does the headline reveal his affiliation, it is also mentioned in the first sentence of the article.

 

Mike Duvall bragged about his sexual prowess on an open microphone in this LA Times story.  His party is revealed in the subhead and again identified in the 2nd paragraph of the article.

 

In this Daily Beast story, Senator John Ensign of Nevada is revealed to be a Republican in the 3rd Sentence of the 2nd paragraph.

 

Okay, maybe it was a fluke that Richard Keenan's affiliation appeared late.  Let's see how quickly Democrats are identified in stories.

 

In this 2013 Huffington Post story regarding Anthony Weiner, his party affiliation is never mentioned.  Well, he is widely known to be a Democrat but there isn't even a perfunctory (D) after his name.

 

Here is a story in the New York Times about Eliot Spitzer suing a woman who accused him of choking her.  Interesting.  Though the story mentions that Spitzer is a former governor, it somehow never comes up that he is a Democrat.  Huh, that's odd.

 

Buzzfeed details the antics of former Congressman David Wu.  Though the article makes it clear that Wu is friendly with Democrats and was forced to resign by Democratic leadership, he is never identified as a Democrat.  Very peculiar.

 

In this 2008 Newsweek article, sex scandal involving Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick somehow fails to mention that he is a Democrat.

 

In this 2011 Time piece, John Edwards is listed among the Top 10 Political Sex Scandals and yet his party is not mentioned.  Actually, this is a great piece to use though it does repeat much of what has already been detailed.  I'll just go through the 10 and look for party identification:

 

1. Mark Sanford: It is noted that he was the head of the Republican Governors Association, thus revealing his party.
2. John Ensign: That he is a Republican is not mentioned.
3. David Vitter: Not only is he described as a staunch conservative advocate, it is also noted that he is a Republican.
4. Kwame Kilpatrick: That he is a Democrat is not mentioned.
5. Larry Craig: That he is a Republican is not mentioned.
6. Barney Frank: He is identified as a longtime Democratic Congressman.
7. Bill Clinton: That he is a Democrat is not mentioned.
8. Eliot Spitzer: That he is a Democrat is not mentioned.
9. John Edwards: That he is a Democrat is not mentioned.
10. Anthony Weiner: That he is a Democrat is not mentioned.

 

Wow, that is interesting.  There are 4 Republicans and 6 Democrats.  Though half of the Republicans are revealed, only 1 in 6 of the Democrats is.  Weird.  That probably wasn't intentional, was it?  It's also interesting that the first 3 on the list are all Republicans.  If you stopped reading half way through, you would be of the impression that 80% of sex scandals are Republican.

 

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit often says that if you look at the media as Democratic operatives with bylines you won't go far wrong.  This would appear to prove his point.