Name That Party, GOP Edition

A recurring theme with the mainstream media is their refusal to note the party affiliation of Democrats when they're in trouble, with notable recent examples being disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, while always noting a Republican in trouble, with David Vitter and Larry Craig prime examples.

Well, the trend continues today as we read about Republican New York City Councilman Dennis Gallagher, who has agreed to resign office after pleading guilty to sex abuse.

Let's have a look at a few stories and see how long it takes to mention his party affiliation.

NYC councilman agrees to resign, pleads guilty to sex abuse

A city lawmaker agreed Monday to resign from the New York City Council after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a woman he met at a bar in his Queens district.

Republican Dennis Gallagher pleaded guilty Monday to forcible touching and sex abuse, both misdemeanor offenses, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.

That was quick. Second sentence of the story.

Gallagher Absence May Shrink GOP's Presence on Council

The Republican Party's already anemic presence in the City Council could shrink after Council Member Dennis Gallagher of Queens, who pleaded guilty yesterday to "forcibly touching and sexually abusing" a 52-year-old woman, resigns his office.

Even faster. In the headline and the second word of the story.

The New York Times, as noted in the Kilpatrick link, failed to identify the Detroit mayor as a Democrat. Let's see how long it takes to identify Gallagher's affiliation.

City Councilman Dennis P. Gallagher resigned from office and pleaded guilty on Monday to two misdemeanors, admitting that he sexually abused a woman in his district office in Middle Village, Queens, last summer while he was intoxicated.

Mr. Gallagher, 43, a Queens Republican, told the court in a non-emotional tone that he touched the 52-year-old victim against her will, a position in contrast to his earlier claims that they had consensual sex after meeting in a bar.

Again, second paragraph.

This local item is several days old, before the plea deal was finalized.

Councilman Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village) was expected to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and step down from office as part of a deal following his arrest last year for allegedly sexually assaulting a 52-year-old grandmother at his district office, a source familiar with the investigation said.

Since we have no hesitation noting when Republicans are in trouble, is it too much to ask of the news media to properly identify Democrats as quickly as they do Republicans?

Having lost so much credibility over the years, the least they could do is practice basic journalistic principles and keep the readers informed, rather than guessing.

Don Surber links. Thanks!