Blog swarms are usually exciting and always tiring. Doing round-ups is often less taxing and sometimes just as valuable as original reporting. I’m playing catch-up today on a swarm that began last Sunday about a memo supposedly distributed at a meeting of Republican senators. It’s purported to show that Republicans viewed the Terri Schiavo case as politically beneficial. According to a story in last Sunday’s Washington Post (March 20):
In a memo distributed only to Republican senators, the Schiavo case was characterized as “a great political issue” that could pay dividends with Christian conservatives, whose support is essential in midterm elections such as those coming up in 2006.Schiavo, 41, spent a full day off of nourishment and fluids yesterday at a hospice in the Gulf Coast suburb of Pinellas Park, Fla. Her feeding tube was removed Friday afternoon after a state judge ignored subpoenas from Congress and enforced a deadline that lawmakers had thought they could thwart by declaring her a witness who must be protected for a future hearing they would conduct at her bedside. Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied an emergency request from the House committee that had issued the subpoenas.
Conservative bloggers tried to track down a copy of the memo, to no avail. On Monday, March 21, Power Line’s John Hinderaker wrote:
This memo, obviously, ties in with the Democrats’ talking point that the Republicans don’t really care about a disabled woman who is being starved to death, but are seeking political advantage. (Simultaneously, they point out poll data suggesting that an overwhelming majority of Americans are on their side. Consistency is never required of Democrats.) But I have to wonder: is the memo genuine, or is it a Democratic dirty trick?I haven’t seen a complete copy of the memo, and to my knowledge, none is available online. The most complete characterization of the memo I’ve seen is on this liberal site. But what I really want to see is a copy of the memo itself. It is described as “unsigned.” What does this mean? Most Senate and House memos are written on letterhead that show whose office they came from. Is this memo on such letterhead? Apparently not. As best I can tell, it is anonymous. Is it simply a one-page memo on blank white paper that purports to come from a Republican? If so, is there any reason to assume that it is genuine? How does the Senate’s mail system work? Can anyone write an anonymous memo, and send it to 55 Republican Senators, with a copy to ABC News?
Despite the memo’s authenticity problems, the media continued to make references to it. Joshua Claybourn, who’s been all over the story, contacted ABC News (which broke the story) to track down the source of the memo. On March 23, this is what he found out:
I’ve just spoken with news sources who argue ABC News only reported the memo was circulated on the Senate floor, and that ABC News never suggested it was of Senate Republican origins. However the headline for the memo posted online reads, “GOP Talking Points on Terri Schiavo.” If they weren’t authored by Republicans, why call them GOP Talking Points? Even more was suggested when the story was reported on TV.
Yesterday Joshua spoke with Senate staffers who claim that an aide to Democratic senator Harry Reid distributed to memo. Read his latest post and Michelle Malkin’s response.
Michelle’s also closely followed developments. In a March 23 post, she provided links to several newspapers that cited the memo. The prolific blogger also notes that mainstream media are ignoring the hoax angle. What could be more newsworthy than newspapers relying on a phony memo? The burning desire for dirt on Republicans regardless of the source is how Dan Rather got into trouble. Michelle also chastises media critic Howard Kurtz for downplaying the scandal. In this post, she links to other newspapers and sites that continue to reference the memo, despite its unknown origins.
Have you written about the scandal? Trackback to this post, and I’ll include you in the round-up.
Other bloggers: Air Force Voices, The Cassandra Page, Expertise, JackLewis.net…
