That Darn Liberal Media

Yesterday I mentioned an article in the WaPo which took Harry Reid to task for accepting “free ringside tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission to three professional boxing matches while that state agency was trying to influence him on federal regulation of boxing,” even though the acceptance of gifts from governmental agencies (like the Nevada Athletic Commission, from whom the tickets came) are legal, and even though Reid voted against the legislation for which the Commission was seeking his support during that period.

Paul Kiel’s dug up some additional problems with the article.

The crux of Solomon's story was that Reid acted wrongly by accepting free boxing tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission. In particular, Solomon focused on a title bout in September 2004 that Reid and McCain both attended. "Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., insisted on paying $1,400 for the tickets he shared with Reid for a 2004 championship fight," Solomon wrote.

But it turns out that it would have been illegal for Reid to reimburse the commission for the seats. That's because these weren't actually tickets - they were credentials with no face value given to V.I.P.'s. And according to the boxing promoter who awarded those credentials to Reid, it is illegal for the commission to accept payment for them. Despite that, McCain insisted on paying, and so the commission simply gave his check (written for a seemingly arbitrary amount) to a charity since it couldn't accept it.

What's more, that same promoter says that in other cases where Reid and McCain received tickets that could be reimbursed, Reid paid.

Sloppy reporting at best; a total smear-job at worst. In either case, a clear attempt to perpetuate the notion that the Dems are as dirty as the GOP. The media has decided that the corruption meme is “Bipartisan, bitches!” and even the truth won’t dissuade them. Problem is, how many people read the WaPo and walked away from that article sufficiently juiced up with the notion that both parties really are just as corrupt after all? Kiel’s done great work tearing this piece to shreds, but it won’t undo the damage that’s been done.