An unfortunate headline
There it was, all upper-case, large font:
10 REPUBLICANS CHARGED
HARRISBURG - A former House speaker, an ex-lawmaker and eight aides Thursday became the latest — and the first Republicans — to be charged in a three-year-old investigation into the diversion of public resources and employees to Pennsylvania legislative campaigns.
Attorney General Tom Corbett said individuals within the House GOP caucus spent millions of taxpayer dollars on computer technology to gain an upper hand in campaigns — including the 2005 special election for the Lehigh Valley seat won by Karen Beyer The charges of theft, conspiracy, conflict of interest and obstruction of justice, and an elaborately detailed grand jury report, were released one day before the defendants were scheduled to turn themselves in at a Dauphin County district judge’s office.
The most prominent defendant is state Rep. John M. Perzel, R- Philadelphia, who served as speaker for about four years and as majority leader for nearly a decade before that.
Corbett described Perzel as ”aggressive in the acquisition and retention of power” and accused him of punishing fellow Republicans who voted against him on legislation with ”dirty tricks” that included anonymous, taxpayer-paid robocalls to tarnish their image among voters in their districts.
I wonder if, had the ten been Democrats, the headline would have read “10 DEMOCRATS CHARGED,” but it really doesn’t matter: if these guys are guilty, they should be convicted and punished.
Oh, well, at least, as the story noted, they were the first Republicans caught up in a long corruption probe!
Nangleator:
They do try to find a slant of interest, don’t they? That’s why everyone says “that Muslim that shot up Ft. Hood,” and not “that Army Major that shot up Ft. Hood.”
13 November 2009, 7:34 amEric:
Well, that army major shot up Ft. Hood because he was a Muslin, so those headlines are accurate.
13 November 2009, 11:37 amDana Pico:
A lot of newspapers –The Los Angeles Times for one — deliberately omitted Major Hasan’s religion in their initial stories.
13 November 2009, 11:56 amNangleator:
The story is about election and financial misbehavior by one side. The party affiliation is appropriate news fodder.
13 November 2009, 1:18 pmHarrison:
There was a story in NJ about a similar thing… most were Democrats but only the Republican was identified as to which political party they were a member.
13 November 2009, 2:57 pm