One would think a United States Senate staffer who tries to arrange a sexual encounter with a 13-year old boy would merit a bit more attention, but the mainstream media has done a pitiful job covering this story. In fact, were it not for The Smoking Gun bringing the story to light, it's doubtful we'd have even heard about it.
What's even more pathetic is the accounts we locate in the nation's major newspapers today are all single paragraph items using the misleading AP account that labels James McHaney a former aide, which technically is true; but he was working in Senator Cantwell's office when he was busted.
The New York Times, in a blog post, devotes a paragraph to the story, which is the original AP dispatch with the misleading intro "A former aide to Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington..."
The Washington Post, also in a blog post, downplays Haney as "only a low-level staffer," as if that minimizes his desire to have sex with a 13year-old boy.
The Boston Globe also devotes a single paragraph, with the same AP dispatch.
The New York Post relegates it to a Page Six item.
I'm not trying to play a game of gotcha here because this is a Democrat. Lord knows I have no use for any Republicans who engage in odd sexual behavior (Mark Foley, Larry Craig), and McHaney is not an elected official.
But the lack of coverage and misleading reporting where it is covered is really a shame. Child molestation is one of the more heinous crimes plaguing this country and the fact such a story is glossed over and barely reported leads me to believe the media just doesn't seem to care that there are child predators working in our government.
Of course, if McHaney's boss had an "R" behind her name, I suspect we'd see a bit more coverage.
No comments:
Post a Comment