Senate confirmation drama highlights media hypocrisy
BY CARRIE SHEFFIELD, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 09/24/19 06:00 PM EDT 60
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
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© Aaron Schwartz
News headlines often blast President Trump and Republicans for supposedly eroding civic norms, yet Democrats get a free pass from mainstream journalists for their corruption that frays trust in government and ultimately trust in the media itself.
The latest case in point is the silence surrounding Republican Senator Robert Menendez, who was severely admonished at age 64 by the Senate Ethics Committee for serious ethics violations tied to a federal corruption indictment, blocking former Republican Representative Darrell Issa from serving as the next director of the Trade and Development Agency, allegedly because Issa used fake identification at age 17.
The lack of media outrage over the intransigence of Menendez against Issa, who is a successful entrepreneur with significant strengths that he can bring to the trade development role on behalf of the American people, is fitting with repeated and vitriolic personal attacks by both reporters and pundits alike, against not only President Trump, but those who seek to serve in his administration. This hurts all the interests of all citizens in the name of liberal media obstruction.
As a sitting senator, Menendez was admonished by all six members of the Senate Ethics Committee, including the three Democrats, for accepting lavish gifts and travel from Salomon Melgen, an eye doctor convicted of defrauding Medicare by $73 million and sentenced to 17 years in federal prison. The indictment against Menendez alleged that he intervened on behalf of Melgen in Medicare billing, pressured federal officials about a $500 million port security contract between a company owned by Melgen and the Dominican Republic, and helped secure visas for girlfriends of Melgen. The FBI also investigated whether Menendez paid for underage prostitutes while in the Dominican Republic.
In stark contrast, Issa, now age 65, as a teenager used fake identification at age 17 so that he could enter bars and drink. Since then, Issa as an adult has received multiple security clearances, including while serving in the United States Army and as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in Congress. He also cofounded a successful multimillion dollar car security business.
The sins of these two men could not be further apart, yet with impunity, the mainstream media attacks the Trump administration as inept while Democrats like Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Menendez obliterate civic norms by stalling President Trump’s nominees at rates that far surpass his predecessors. It’s no wonder the Trump administration has expressed concerns that Senate Democrats are “weaponizing” the Senate cloture process.
The media hypocrisy would be astounding if it wasn’t already normalized by a national press corps with entrenched bias against conservatives and Republicans (a sampling of anti-Trump media headlines: “Trump Has Figured Out How to Corrupt the Entire Government,” “A cancer on the presidency,” “Norm Conquest: Trump is set to undermine the things you take for granted in government and public life.”) The lack of media accountability for Menedez’ behavior against Issa is the latest example of press bias against conservatives highlighted in a 2019 Pew report that found 73 percent of Republicans believe that the national mainstream media does not understand “people like them,” according to the report.
Additional 2018 Pew research found that “Most Americans also continue to think the news media favor one side when covering political and social issues. About two-thirds (68%) say this, compared with three-in-ten who say they deal fairly with all sides. And as in previous years, Republicans (86%) are far more likely than Democrats (52%) to say news organizations favor one side.”
Journalists often express outrage and fear over the anger and frustration that President Trump and his supporters express against the mainstream media, yet these journalists don’t consider their own behavior. Monmouth University polling found 77 percent of Americans believe the media creates fake news. What is even more telling is that 65 percent said fake news includes biased or slanted news coverage, not just factually inaccurate information. The case of Menendez and Issa is another example of slanted, biased media priorities that favor entrenched, liberal ideology over an administration hired by American voters to fight for their interests.
Carrie Sheffield (@CarrieSheffield) is national editor for Accuracy In Media.
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