Did you know that Idaho Senator Larry Craig is going to speak at the Republican convention? Okay, I'm just kidding but can you imagine the reaction from the media if that were the case? We would hear never ending stories about the "culture of corruption" inherent in the Republican party. Well, guess what? Former Alabama governor Don Siegelman who was convicted on bribery and mail fraud charges, is going to be a speaker at the Democratic convention in Denver according to this report from WHNT TV in Huntsville, Alabama. And if you want to know what the media reaction will be to this, we already have a sneak preview of biased reporting in the WHNT story by Greg Privett announcing Siegelman's convention appearance (emphasis mine):
Don Siegelman will speak at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Siegelman tells NewsChannel 19 he has accepted an invitation extended by the Colorado delegation.
Targeted by Republican prosecutors, Alabama's former governor says he will talk, in particular, about the critical need to reveal former Bush White House adviser Karl Rove's role in politicizing the United States Department of Justice. The DOJ, under Bush, has gone after Democrats seven times more than Republicans.
In the Siegelman case, the prosecutors -- then Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor followed by U.S. Attorneys Alice Martin and Leura Canary -- along with Federal District Judge Mark Fuller have personal, political, or in some cases, business ties to the Bush administration.
Is this a news report or a listing of Democrat talking points? WHNT makes Siegelman out to be a victim who was the innocent target of evil Republican prosecuters as well as Karl Rove who personally targeted him.
What WHNT fails to mention is that the charges that Karl Rove personally targeted Siegelman is based on claims by one Jill Simpson, a low level Republican volunteer who made her charges on "60 Minutes" in February as you can see in this NewsBusters report by Bob Owens. Simpson asserted that Karl Rove personally ordered her to spy on Siegelman for the purpose of entrapping him. Only one problem with Simpson's explosive charge. She never had any contact with Karl Rove. How do we know? Because she testified about this before congress and according to Wikipedia:
However, in contrast with what she told 60 Minutes, she never claimed in her sworn testimony to have met or spoken with Karl Rove.
So it turns out that the main accuser claiming that Karl Rove was trying to frame Don Siegelman completely contradicted herself. Will the media note this? Don't hold your breath if the WHNT biased report is any indication of how the MSM will report on Siegelman's appearance at the Democrat convention.
—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.
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Kind of hard to compare the two
August 14, 2008 - 09:40 ET by shawn228Larry Craig was convicted of soliticiting homosexual sex in a public place.
This Democrats are trying to play up this conviction as an abuse of power. They will also try to point out that nobody in the Bush administration is ever held accountable and no need for them to testify, or the sentences of their convictions are communed.
Real life video games are cool
Just like they abused their
August 14, 2008 - 09:53 ET by pbanks7Just like they abused their power to jail Barbara Boxer, for steering government contracts to her husband. Oh wait! Never happened. She's still a "public servant."
MSM - shaping all the perceptions you need to believe, then confirming it with a poll.
why must the left always be lying bastards?
August 14, 2008 - 10:13 ET by TruthMongerhe was officially convicted of "disorderly conduct" for shoe touching and a wide stance
we in minnesota are tough on Republican crime dammit:)!
Journalism is the opium of the liberals
Lol TM
August 14, 2008 - 10:16 ET by shawn228Your right, I was wrong. I hope I'm not lying bastard anymore:-) Also, I'm not saying I agree with what the democrats are doing, i'm saying Larry Craig and this Dem are an apples to oranges comparison.
Real life video games are cool
all right - we let you off
August 14, 2008 - 13:09 ET by TruthMongerall right - we let you off with a warning:)
larry craig and the dem are apples to oranges all right
but our reasons probably differ quite a bit
Journalism is the opium of the liberals
Is this a news report or a
August 14, 2008 - 09:42 ET by NewsbusterbrownIs this a news report or a listing of Democrat talking points?
Without a doubt, the latter.
“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
apples and oranges
August 14, 2008 - 10:15 ET by TruthMongerwith Larry Craig they were supposedly "targeting the hypocracy"
whereas the Democrats openly support corruption - so having this bribery criminal make a prominent DNC convention speech would only make sense
Journalism is the opium of the liberals
Bill and Hillary Clinton,
August 14, 2008 - 10:15 ET by fitzfongBill and Hillary Clinton, Don Siegelman...the parade of "falsely accused victims" speaking at the DNC is almost complete. Looking forward to them adding these "victims" to the speaker list...Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Marion Barry, Kwame Kilpatrick, Dan Rostenkowski, Jim Wright, Elliot Spitzer, Jim "My Truth Is" McGreevey and Bob Toricelli.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
fitzfong.blogspot.com
Self-help clinics, too
August 14, 2008 - 11:59 ET by ThisnThatDon't forget all those folks that could hold self-help clinics, too, base upon recent events and their reputations. Jefferson could give instructions on which freezer-bag brands are best for storing cash. Barney Franks could offer short classes in "how to choose a roomate". Spitzer could show the best approach for calling for a date. And Edwards could give empathy classes, especially to cancer victims.
This could turn out to be both a fun convention, as well as an educational one, if we only put a little immagination into it!
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Wikipedia?
August 14, 2008 - 10:30 ET by pbanks7C'mon, PJ, you can do better than that. A wimpy source like Wikipedia will allow the Kosmonauts to say the source was edited by RW extremists.
MSM - shaping all the perceptions you need to believe, then confirming it with a poll.
Wikipedia
August 14, 2008 - 13:14 ET by P.J. GladnickI cited Wikipedia so folks couldn't claim it was a "vicious rightwing" website that was claiming that Simpson never testified before congress that she was in contact with Karl Rove.
The Democratic way.
August 14, 2008 - 11:56 ET by pocomocoThe Democrat Felons Convention. Kinky!!!
Old news, nothing new here, just move on.
What angers me about this
August 14, 2008 - 11:58 ET by suzycreamcheeseWhat angers me about this article is that it isn't even proved that he was targeted by Republican prosecutors. There is not one shred of evidence that this ever happened. Proving this is the reason this slimeball is out of prison and awaiting a new trial. I say let the crooks and scum go to the convention and represent the Democrats. Just makes them look like fools.
Hey, Don. When are you and your wife going to pay back all the money you stole from taxpayers by charging personal items on the state credit card? http://www.al.com/sp...
What angers me
August 14, 2008 - 13:06 ET by okiehawk44about this is that more than a few Americans believe that all politicians (aka leaders) are crooks and none can be trusted -- just let that sink in and it'll scare you to death.
Guess that's why this amorphous "change" mantra has such a pull on people.
I'd like to take these lying, cheating creeps like Ted Stevens and Seligman out and line 'em up against a wall -- not worth the air they breathe.
Tell the rest of the story
August 14, 2008 - 12:57 ET by Agrarian-DecentralistSpeaking of "Democrat [sic] talking points," Mr. Gladnick seems to have some talking points of his own to work from---the ones that attempt to cast the Siegleman case as all a puffed-up charge based on the words of one allegedly unreliable witness who somehow gained the trust of "liberal" CBS reporters. In fact, the evidence of miscarriage of justice is so compelling that 54 former state attorneys general from around the country---members of both parties---have filed a federal appeals brief supporting Siegelman's bid to overturn his conviction.
But of course mention of that fact wouldn't fit well with the preferred narrative.
Don't know why this would convince anyone he's innocent
August 14, 2008 - 14:22 ET by 911isbusy"54 former state attorneys general from around the country---members of both parties---have filed a federal appeals brief supporting Siegelman's bid to overturn his conviction."
So what? Do these 54 know more than the jurors that convicted Siegelman? Are we supposed to assume they all know the facts? Are we to assume they are all objective? Are we to trust lawyers without question?
Those who have not swords can still die upon them.
They just might...
August 15, 2008 - 05:40 ET by sarcasmoThe government's attorneys, of all people, would know from firsthand experience that keeping jurors informed of actual relevant facts isn't exactly a characteristic of our vaunted legal system these days. Politics has certainly been an admitted characteristic of the Bush DOJ, whether or not Mr. Rove was involved in this particular incident.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
Please
August 15, 2008 - 16:42 ET by Captain KirockCan you name me one President's Justice Department that was NOT influenced by politics?
Didn't Thomas Jefferson try to have his own Vice President (Aaron Burr, a fierce political opponent) arrested for treason?
So what?
August 14, 2008 - 14:27 ET by Captain KirockIt doesn't matter how many former AGs or failed gubernatorial candidates come out for Siegleman, he has not provided one shred of proof supporting his claim that a vast GOP conspiracy was concocted in the White House and carried out in 2 DOJ offices to wreck the career of some two-bit governor. Siegeleman could provide no such evidence to a sympathetic but increasingly exasperated Little Dan Abrams a few weeks back.
Bring in Valerie Plame and
August 14, 2008 - 15:18 ET by Chris Norman"Former Alabama governor Don Siegelman who was convicted on bribery and mail fraud charges..."
The Democrats: Putting the "con" in "convention" - literally!
McNotObama '08
Why the talking heads will
August 14, 2008 - 18:10 ET by bigtimerWhy the talking heads will be breathlessly applauding with the audience at the convention as soon as he is announced and after he speaks.
the words/reports from the talking head before he is to come on will be all the big bad lying reports about Rove....they will omit the truth...
...they can't a handle the truth.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh