Back on August 9 in Shell Lake, the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Mike McCabe was invited to speak by the Washburn County Democratic Party. No surprise, McCabe went on a one-sided partisan tirade against business lobby group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC).
That bastion of outstanding journalism, the Spooner Advocate reported:
“McCabe said Madison has changed greatly since he first began working there in 1981.
He said the way politics is done in 2008 would be ‘unrecognizable’ compared to 1981 politics.
The culprit, said McCabe, is the large amount of money in politics, especially the large amount of dollars going to political action committees (PALs), organizations that take donations without having to disclose their sources, while political candidates are required to disclose all of their donations and the law restricts how much individuals can give to each candidate.
McCabe repeatedly used Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) as an example.”
Repeatedly is the key word. The article is 33 paragraphs and 1076 words long. McCabe is never quoted about WEAC, the state teacher’s union, nor does the reporter bring up that interest group and their immense political spending. The article concludes by quoting the local state Senator known for his bloviating who also takes a shot at WMC:
“In later comments, State Sen. Bob Jauch said more Democrats are needed in Madison to bring about needed reform.
Jauch was asked if the democratically controlled U.S. Legislature, Senate, and House had created any significant campaign reform after gaining control in 2006.
Jauch was unable to mention any federal reform.
He did direct some angry comments at WMC, which has placed issue ads against Jauch. He said the WMC acted like the Ku Klux Klan in bullying candidates.
‘Take the hoods off,’ Jauch said of the WMC.”
That is an obvious reference to the KKK that went unchallenged by the local reporter.
Now, can you imagine the avalanche of statewide criticism if a conservative elected official would make such an inflammatory, derogatory statement?
Jauch, who has a reputation in the state Capitol as a windbag, gets the silent treatment from the media that would be apoplectic if a Republican had made similar remarks. That’s called a double standard, folks.
Here’s a link to the Spooner Advocate article that requires registration with the newspaper.
HT: FoxPolitics.net
