'Independent Newspaper' Wash Post Endorses Democrats in 22 of 26 VA Races
The Washington Post, which features the motto "An independent newspaper" at the
top of its editorial page, endorsed Democratic candidates in 22 of 26 races
for the November 3 elections in Virginia. In addition to supporting the
Democrats running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, the
paper on Friday,
Saturday
and Sunday weighed
in on the state's House of Delegates races and picked 19 Democrats and only four
Republicans.
The Post, which for months has been attacking Bob McDonnell, the GOP's
nominee for governor, also relied on very personal, angry attacks against most
of the Republicans in the House of Delegates races. On October 23, the paper
editorialized that Delegate Bob Marshall is "the author of off-the-wall
legislative antics that even members of his own Republican Party regard as
clownish." [Emphasis added.]
His opponent, meanwhile, is a "sober, sane Democrat." On October 25, the
paper's editorial page also deemed Chuck Caputo to be a "sober, sane Democrat"
and complimented fellow party member Mark L. Keam as a "thoughtful, serious
community activist."
Republican Thomas Greason is a "glib businessman who believes you can
slash taxes while simultaneously improving schools and roads. A neat trick, but
not one that occurs in the real world." Republican Timothy D. Hugo" is one of
those peddlers of fiscal flim-flam who rail against tax increases..."
The reoccurring criticism on most of the Republican nominees is that they are
opposed to tax increases. In the October 23 editorial, the Post complained,
"...Most Republicans have fallen into lockstep with their party's gubernatorial
nominee, Robert F. McDonnell, whose fanciful transportation plan would do little
to deliver a 21st-century transportation network."
Thomas D. Rust, one of the few Republicans to receive the Post's blessing,
was described as playing a "constructive" role in securing funds "that many in
his own party opposed." The unsigned editorial chided the other GOP candidates
for being "publicly opposed to raising taxes to deal with [transportation
issues]."
Certainly, the editorial page is the place where opinions should be
expressed in a newspaper. And the Washington Post's editors can endorse whomever
they like. But, when the paper picks 25 Democrats in 29 races, when it produces
12
stories in 11 days on a thesis that Republican gubernatorial candidate
McDonnell wrote 20 years ago, readers can be forgiven for doubting whether this
news outlet is really "an independent newspaper."
Additionally, claims, such as the one by Post staff writer Amy Gardner on
October 21, that it wasn't the "goal"
of the paper to help Democratic candidates, become less believable.
-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research
Center.
