Ed Schultz Claims He 'Broke the Story on Larry Craig' He Didn't Break

This from a man who describes himself as "an honest broker" -- something those who actually are aren't inclined to do.

During an argument with a caller to his radio show Monday about Schultz demanding that erstwhile inveterate Twitter pic taker Anthony Weiner resign from Congress, Schultz made a claim that sounded more than a little dubious (audio here) --

CALLER:  Mr. Schultz, I'm here to defend Mr. Weiner. I'm not here to excuse him but I'm here to defend him. When you go out after David Vitner (sic) as hard as you're going after him, who committed a real crime, and Larry Craig who committed a real crime, and (John) Ensign who committed a real crime ...

SCHULTZ: Now are you saying, you're saying when I go out after 'em? Well, I did! I did go after that. I went after all of them. And once again, this isn't about me and it isn't about the media. And the fact of the matter is is I've been very consistent and have gone after all these scumbags that acted like this, Jeff.

CALLER: I haven't heard a word of it about ...

SCHULTZ: Well, then you're not paying attention! You're selectively hearing! Holy smokes, you're listening to the voice that broke the story on Larry Craig, dude!

There were two stories on Larry Craig alleging sexual indiscretion -- and Schultz broke neither.

The first of the two, claiming that Craig was a closeted gay who hypocritically legislated against gay rights, was first reported by Mike Rogers at his site BlogACTIVE on Oct. 17, 2006. As can be seen in the actual post, Rogers timed his posting to coincide with an appearance that day on Ed Schultz's radio show where Rogers echoed what he wrote. Either way, through blog or radio appearance, the "voice" breaking the story belongs to Rogers, not Schultz. (Audio for Rogers on Schultz's radio show that day is no longer available on Rogers' website, nor at Schultz's, and I was unable to find it on YouTube).

The second story on Craig, far better known than the first, involved his arrest for alleged lewd behavior in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis-St.Paul Airport in June 2007. The story didn't break for another two months, and once again it wasn't Schultz who broke it. This time it was Roll Call, as acknowledged here by CNN.

Instead of breaking the Larry Craig story as he claims, Schultz was the bystander who listened while one of them was. Not nearly the same thing.

Rogers is an infrequent guest on Schultz's radio show -- no wonder he doesn't appear more often -- who is invariably introduced by Schultz as his "senior gay blogger."