Dirty tricks, including some that used to circulate as jokes (Dems vote one day, GOPers another), are rampant this year, and most are designed to favor Republicans. Of course, the local GOP official will deplore such tactics and suggest that Dems are actually behind them to discredit the GOP. But clearly, the Republicans are committing the vast majority of such fraudulent activities.
Yet Howard Kurtz can’t bring himself to admit it in his online discussion today.
New York, N.Y.: Dear Mr. Kurtz: My disappointment in the performance of the press both during the runup to the war and now, during the election, is profound. I no longer trust you guys at all.
Here’s one reason: you’ve got case after case, in state after state, of clear, specific, readily verifiable instances of Republican attempts to suppress the vote, tamper with the voting process, and perpetrate fraud on the electorate–and on the other side, frivolous Republican accusations about Dem voter misregistration, which don’t hold up under scrutiny.
I think the organized Republican effort to throw the election by fraudulent means is a national scandal and a disgrace, and newsworthy in its own right.
The media’s take? A glib, “Both Sides Do It!”
Do you personally know of any SPECIFIC instances where Democrats are deliberately perpetrating election fraud? And if not, can you explain to me the media’s fondness for providing “balance” where there actually is none? In what way is the public’s interest being served here?
Howard Kurtz: I bet I can guess which side of the electoral divide you’re on. I happen to think the reporting in this area has been pretty good. While the Republicans in some states have been very aggressive in trying to intimidate or restrict or knock off potential voters who are probably Democrats, there have been some instances of real voter fraud as well — people like Mary Poppins voting, votes being traded for crack cocaine, and so on. It’s our job to look at both sides.
Kurtz wouldn’t know balanced reporting if it smacked his GOP operative wife upside the head.