The New York Times reported on the tragic death of seven Marines on a training exercise in Nevada that took place Monday night. Reporters Eric Schmitt and Timothy Williams on Wednesday even selectively quoted Democratic Majority leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada on the tragedy, but left out Reid's despicable reference to the sequester (as has the Washington Post and all three broadcast evening news shows so far).
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, announced news of the accident on Tuesday morning on the Senate floor. “My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives,” he said. “And my sympathies are with their fellow Marines, who are also grieving this loss.”
But the Times skipped Reid blaming the Marines' death on the sequester. ABC News (online) captured Reid's remarks.
“One of the things in sequester is we cut back in training and maintenance. That’s the way sequester was written,” the Nevada senator said. “It’s just not appropriate, Mr. President, that our military can’t train and do the maintenance necessary. These men and women were Marines who were training there in Hawthorne, and with the sequester, it’s going to cut this stuff back.”
The Marines weren't pleased. On Tuesday night, Col. Chris Hughes, deputy director of U.S. Marine Corps Public Affairs, released a statement: “The comments are unsubstantiated and certainly do not reflect the Marine Corps’ position on this matter.”
