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A Fishy Story Gets Fishier
ABC News and the Washington Post have described--but not actually produced--a memorandum relating to the Terri Schiavo case which they have described as "GOP talking points" that were "distributed only to Republican Senators." Many other news outlets have picked up on ABC's and the Post's reporting, such as this Houston Chronicle article, which relies in part on the memo to support a bitter attack on the Republican Party:
Most interesting is a talking-points memo from the Senate side of the Capitol that spells it right out in stark electoral terms: "the pro-life base will be excited" and "this is a great political issue, this is a tough issue for Democrats."
We have written about the alleged "talking points memo" here, here, and here.
We have expressed skepticism about the authenticity of the "talking points" memo; the most recent developments have only served to heighten our skepticism.
First, an alert reader pointed out that the copy of the memo that was leaked to a left-wing web site does not quite match the "exact, full copy of the document" as quoted by ABC News. ABC News identified four errors in the document, each noted with a (sic). The first such error is in the very first word, a misspelling of Terri Schiavo's name. (Interestingly, ABC did not note as an error the fact that the memo got the number of the Senate bill wrong.) But in the scanned version of the memo itself, as now leaked to the web, three of the four typographical errors have been corrected. So, what is going on? Is the memo now being presented as authentic one that was fabricated or, more likely, cleaned up after the fact?
Second, our Washington sources tell us that a number of Republican Senators say they did not receive, and have never seen, the memo. This contradicts the implication that the memo is some kind of official Republican document that was circulated to all Republican Senators.
Third, the only clear evidence as to the origin of the memo is that it was circulated by Democratic staffers. Tom Maguire, author of Just One Minute, wrote to point out this story from yesterday's New York Times:
As tensions festered among Republicans, Democratic aides passed out an unsigned one-page memorandum that they said had been distributed to Senate Republicans. "This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue," the memorandum said.
So the memo has been traced to a group of Democratic staffers. What evidence is there that its origins go back any farther? None, that we're aware of.
Finally, another reader pointed out the source of much of the suspicious memo: Most of its content comes, word for word, from the web site of the Traditional Values Coalition. See paragraphs four through eight of the memo, which are simply a reproduction, word for word (with a single exception), of points made by the Coalition. Those four paragraphs, however, are not the controversial ones. Whoever created the suspicious memo started with the substantive arguments made by the Coalition, and tacked on the political observations that have created the news story:
This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue.
This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats.
The memo has three possible origins. The first possibility is that it was created by a low-level Republican staffer. This seems possible, but highly unlikely. Only a very dim-witted staffer would 1) copy word for word from the Traditional Values site, 2) get the Senate bill number wrong, 3) make a number of silly errors, including misspelling Mrs. Schiavo's name as "Teri," and 4) mix comments about political advantage into a "talking points" memo. Moreover, the Post and ABC have tried to create the impression that the memo is an official, high-level Republican strategy document. It clearly is not that.
The second possibility is that the memo was created by a lobbying group, presumably the Traditional Values Coalition, since most of the content of the memo comes word for word from their web site. But the controversial political observations--"the pro-life base will be excited," etc.--are inappropriate for an organization like the Coalition. They sound as if they are written from the internal perspective of the Republican party ("this is a tough issue for Democrats").
The third possibility is that the memo is a Democratic dirty trick. At the moment, that looks most likely. It is easy to picture how the document could have been constructed. A Democratic staffer wants to put in some language that will sound authentic for a Republican memo. What does he do? He steals four paragraphs from the Coalition's web site. Then he adds the explosive political observations which are the whole point of the exercise--weirdly out of place in a "talking points" memo, but good politics for the Democrats.
Further, this could explain why the scanned version of the document is different from the one that ABC News originally obtained. The document was apparently corrected in three respects between the time it was given to ABC and when it was leaked to a left-wing web site. Who cleaned up the memo? Presumably the person or persons who created it. The site that put up the jpeg of the memo said that "a source on Capitol Hill...leaked" it to them. The source was presumably a Democratic staffer. If the document was a genuine Republican memo, would the Democrat who leaked it onto the web take the trouble to re-create it, correcting typos? No. The leaker would only correct errors if he himself was the source of the memo.
And finally: as the New York Times has reported, the only people who have actually been seen passing out the memo are Democratic aides.
The evidence we have so far is not conclusive, but it points in the direction of a dirty trick by the Democrats. The onus is certainly on Mike Allen of the Post and ABC News, if they actually have evidence that the memo is genuine, to tell us what that evidence is. In any event, however, the suggestion that this is some kind of high-level Republican strategy memo is ludicrous.
That won't stop the Democrats from trying to make political hay out of it, however. The same left-wing site that published the memo now says:
Hoping to determine who distributed talking points to GOP senators on how they could capitalize on the Schiavo tragedy, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) will send a letter to the Rules Committee today calling for an investigation. Reports suggest the points could have been circulated on the Senate floor, violating Senate Rules....
Are the Democrats moving to capitalize on their own hoax?
Posted by Hindrocket
musicman said:Ah, the wonderful, wacky left! When are they going to learn to stop playing with memos? The public crucifixion of Dan Rather wasn't enough? The LMM's free-fall in the ratings hasn't given them a clue? Does an "exclusive memo obtained by XYZ News" have to actually blow some poor bastard's hand off before they get the idea that these things AREN'T TOYS??!!
Kathianne said:Honestly, they believe that the people are every bit as stupid as the Dems rely on them being. They haven't noticed that many are beginning to notice their assumptions. :happy2:
Avatar4321 said:You know ever since I heard about this memo being sent to Republic Senators my Spider Sense was tingling. I mean if it's a memo with Republican talking points and I was the News media is be emphasizing where the Memo was from. I mean any idiot can send a memo to republicans that doesnt prove that it originated among Republicans.
"this is a tough issue for Democrats."
musicman said:Ah, the wonderful, wacky left! When are they going to learn to stop playing with memos? The public crucifixion of Dan Rather wasn't enough? The LMM's free-fall in the ratings hasn't given them a clue? Does an "exclusive memo obtained by XYZ News" have to actually blow some poor bastard's hand off before they get the idea that these things AREN'T TOYS??!!
April 7, 2005
Schiavo Memo Is Attributed to Senate Aide
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
WASHINGTON, April 6 - Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, said Wednesday that a senior member of his staff had written an unsigned memorandum about the partisan political advantages of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo that became a controversial footnote to the debate over the wisdom and motives of Congress's actions.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Mr. Martinez said that he had just learned that the memorandum originated in his office and that its author had resigned. He did not name the author, but aides said it was Brian Darling, his counsel.
Mr. Darling could not be reached for comment.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document," Mr. Martinez said. "It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff, nor were we aware of its existence until very recently."
Mr. Martinez added: "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office. As the senator, I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office. I take full responsibility for this situation."
The anonymous memorandum, which was distributed to news organizations by Democratic aides and first reported by ABC News, became widely cited in news reports as evidence that at least some Republicans were applying a political calculus to the case of Ms. Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman. Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, and many other Republican Senators quickly disavowed the document, saying they had never seen it and that they condemned it.
In his statement, Mr. Martinez said that on March 9 he had mistakenly and unknowingly handed the document to Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, on the floor of the Senate. Mr. Martinez said that he had meant to reach for a different document and that he did not know how it had entered his possession.
"Senator Harkin was kind enough today to call me and tell me this afternoon that he believes the memo he received was given to him by me," Mr. Martinez said. "Until this afternoon, I had never seen it and had no idea a copy of it had ever been in my possession."
what more could there possibly be?musicman said:I call bullshit. Too convenient, too timely. Too much time has passed. This stinks to the heavens. I want to know more.
NATO AIR said:Its sad, I just read two non-MSM books about Bill Clinton's presidency and his "legacy" (Legacy: Paying The Price For The Clinton Years was the better by far)...
after reading those and a few about Tricky Dick's admin (though I have to now admit I was wrong, Tricky Dick can barely hold a candle to Bubba)... I'm of mind Musicman has the right view on this
just two cents from a 21 year old though
Florida senator's aide resigns over Schiavo memo
Martinez: Senior staffer responsible for document
Thursday, April 7, 2005 Posted: 7:38 AM EDT (1138 GMT)
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Mel Martinez said Wednesday an infamous unsigned memo passed around on Capitol Hill emphasizing the politics of the Terri Schiavo case originated in his office.
The memo -- first reported by ABC News on March 18 and by The Washington Post and The Associated Press two days later -- said the fight going on then over removing Schiavo's feeding tube "is a great political issue ... and a tough issue for Democrats."
"This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue," said the memo, which was described at the time as being circulated among Senate Republicans while legislation was being considered to place the Schiavo case under the jurisdiction of federal courts.
Martinez, R-Florida, said in a written statement that he discovered Wednesday that the memo had been written by an aide in his office.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document," Martinez said.
He said he accepted the resignation of the staffer who drafted and circulated the memo. "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office," he said.
Martinez did not identify the aide, but The Washington Post said he was the senator's legal counsel, Brian Darling....
yeah, I don't remember any uproar about a document outlining political brainstorming ideas of stopping judicial nominees......or do I?dilloduck said:I don't think ANY party would ignore the political ramifications of any issue. You think they would be busy pondering the moral ramifications ? One party caught another party doing some brainstorming----big deal.
