Name That Party: Top NM Dem Sentenced, Party Affiliation Deep Sixed

Manny Aragon was one of New Mexico's most powerful law makers and power brokers. A former Senate president, Aragon was this week convicted and given a 67 month sentence for lining his pockets and that of his co-conspiritors with millions in fraudulently billed state contracting money.

While his "iconic" status is mentioned and his long standing position as a "Senate leader" is dutifully chronicled, his status as a Democrat doesn't seem to make the cut of a large portion of the stories on his sentencing.

The Associated Press misses the fact in two versions of the story (here and here), so does the New Mexico Independent. KRQE News 13 doesn't mention the party of Agagon or his co-conspiritor Raul Parra. The Albuquerque Journal also skips party mention in this story of reactions to the sentencing.

And, in an amusing side note, the supposedly non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) also do not mention Aragon's party affiliation. This, of course, is hardly surprising because the folks that run CREW are a little less "non-partisan" than they claim with board members and operations staff rich with Democrat Party activism, ACLU experience and one with a past job history with the left-wing group Media Matters -- a group funded in part by George Soros. One of its board members is well-known left-wing legal activist, law school dean and radio guest Erwin Chemerinsky. There isn't a single Republican oriented member of this "non-partisan" group to be found.

In any case, we have one of New Mexico's most powerful Democrat lawmakers headed for the hooskow, yet his party seems to go un-indicted by the Old Media. Imagine that?

(Photo credit: mgbralley-whatswrongwiththispicture.blogspot.com)