The Republican Media- No. 18

It had to happen; it was just a matter of time.

As Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was about to give his speech on Tuesday, 8/26/08, in Denver, MSNBC's Chris Matthews voiced the lingering myth about Casey's father, the late Robert Casey Sr., former governor of Pennsylvania. Matthews claimed that the elder Casey had been denied a speaking role at the 1992 Democratic Convention "largely because he took a pro-life, or anti-abortion, position."

If it were only Matthews, it would not be so bad- or surprising, given his penchant for saying whatever, insightful or ridiculous, springs to his mind at any moment. But here is a passage from a recent on-line article, "Both Sides Reach For Center In Abortion Debate," in The Daily Transcript, "San Diego's Business Daily:"

Democratic officials also gave a convention speaking slot to Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., who opposes abortion rights. His father, the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, was denied a coveted slot at the 1992 convention because of his opposition to abortion rights.

So many figures in the media, in their zest for caricaturing the Democratic Party as beholden to pro-choice activists, misrepresent reality. In an article (currently unavailable) entitled "Casey Closed" which he wrote for the 9-16-96/9-23-96 issue of The New Republic, Michael Crowley wrote:

According to those who actually doled out the 1992 convention speaking slots, Casey was denied a turn for one simple reason: His refusal to endorse the Clinton-Gore ticket. "It's just not factual!" stammers James Carville, apoplectic over Casey's claims. "You'd have to be idiotic to give a speaking role to a person who hadn't even endorsed you."

And Crowley quotes the late Ron Brown as stating, and later writing in Campaign for President: The Managers Look at '92:

We decided the convention would be totally geared towards the general election campaign, towards promoting one nominee and that everybody who had the microphone would have endorsed our nominee. That was a rule, everybody understood it, from Jesse Jackson to Jerry Brown. The press reported incorrectly that Casey was denied access to the microphone because he was not pro-choice. He was denied accesss to the microphone because he had not endorsed Bill Clinton. I believe that Governor Casey knew that. I had made it clear to everybody. And yet it still got played as if it had to do with some ideological split. It had nothing to do with that.

The Democratic Party gave a prime-time speaking slot on the second night of its convention to a self-described supporter of the pro-life position. Now ask yourself this: How many times has the Repub Party granted a similar opportunity to someone opposed to tax cuts for the wealthy? Perhaps John McCain eight years ago- but now that it is politically opportune, he has reversed his position- and in 2000, he spoke as a candidate for the party's nomination, unlike Casey at this year's Democratic convention.

The mainstream media might concede that its party of choice, the Repub Party, adheres to a litmus test on income taxes. But it won't happen.