Topic: Media Research Center
Brent Bozell dutifully repeats those conservative talking points on the U.S. attorney scandal:
“The replacement of federal prosecutors, who are political appointees in the first place, happens with nearly every Administration yet the liberal media are treating Bush’s actions as some sort of shocking political scandal – poppycock! The Bush Administration fired eight—eight!—U.S. attorneys while the Clinton Administration fired 93 of them. The liberal media are screaming about Bush but, by and large, yawned about Clinton. The double standard is nauseating.
“The Washington Post says, Bush ‘Firings Had Genesis in White House.’ Well, so did the Clinton firings, but The Post called those routine. The New York Times has hyped the Bush and Gonzales story but completely ignored the Clinton-Reno firings. And so have ABC’s Good Morning America, ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, and other top liberal media.
“The liberal media are promoting the agenda of liberal Democrats on this attorneys’ issue, and the double standard, the rank hypocrisy is evident for the world to see. This type of grossly slanted coverage only further erodes the credibility of the networks and the top newspapers.”
No, what's nauseating (if not exactly surprising) is seeing Bozell ignore basic facts and distort others for the sole reason of protecting a Republican administration. What Bozell won't tell you:
- Clinton did nothing different than Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in replacing attorneys at the beginning of a presidential term.
- Replacing all attorneys in the middle of a presidential term, as was reportedly considered by the Bush administration, is something not even Clinton did.
- Evidence is mounting that the eight (er, we mean "eight!") fired attorneys were canned for prosecuting too many Republicans and not enough Democrats.
- Bush is making use of a provision that allows the Justice Department to appoint interim attorneys without district court or congressional approval -- slipped into a Patriot Act reauthorization bill without debate -- that Clinton did not have to install attorneys known more for political connections to Bush than prosecuting prowess.
Is it any wonder few people outside the conservative community take the MRC seriously when Bozell so aggressively departs from the truth?
P.S.: A March 14 CNSNews.com article by Susan Jones similarly toes the corporate line by repeating the faulty talking point and ignoring the facts.
P.P.S. McClatchy further explains why the Clinton situation is not analogous to the current situation.
