Anti-DeLay Groundswell In Texas The Product Of Media Imagination
Breaking News by Robert Hayes
The New York Times is reporting that Tom DeLay is facing an insurgent uprising of disaffected Republicans in his home district in Sugar Land, Texas. Patricia Perine, a self-identified Texas Republican, paid $2,776 to take out a full-page advertisement in the Fort Bend Southwest Sun calling for Mr. DeLay's resignation and inviting local residents to turn out for a demonstration against DeLay at a speech he is giving to the Houston chapter of the National Rifle Association this evening, April 16. The paper also reports, in the eleventh paragraph of the story, that Ms. Perine contributed money to a Democratic candidate in the 2004 election cycle, and has never voted in a Republican primary.
Patricia Perine did indeed contribute a total of $750 to Richard Morrison, Tom DeLay's opponent in the 2004 race for his House seat, as reported by the Times. This could be reasonably attributed to a disaffected Republican unhappy with a particular Republican candidate. As noted by the Times, Ms. Perine uses her maiden name frequently; her married name is Baig. The Times did NOT report the fact that a Mr. Mirza Baig, from the same town as Patricia Baig, also donated $250 to the "DNC Services Corp" in the same election cycle. Is Mirza Baig related to Patricia Baig? In fact, they are married, and have been since 1978.
(In the interest of impartially assessing Mirza Baig, it should be noted that he also contributed $500 to the Texas Republican Congressional Committee in 1992.)
Is there anything wrong with a person deciding that they can no longer support one party, or one particular candidate, and throwing their resources behind the other side? Absolutely not. Patricia Baig's behavior, and/or the behavior of her husband, are an entirely legitimate expression of personal choice in a democratic system. I salute them for putting their money where their beliefs are; more Americans should do the same.
However, the New York Times is presenting Ms. Baig's story as a one-dimensional portrait of a loyal Republican, fed up with a particular politician, who can be silent no more. Not only is this portrait inaccurate - Ms. Baig and her husband have a history of supporting both parties, rather than being partisan loyalists - it is incomplete. It was not difficult for me to find that Patricia Perine was married to Mirza Baig. It was not difficult for me to find Mr. Baig's history of political contributions.
Why is the New York Times unable to match the reporting of a single online journalist? It is not a question of resources; I discovered these connections in about twenty minutes of Google research using nothing but free databases.
I believe that the Times' poor reporting is a case of wishful thinking. A reporter who wants there to be a Republican groundswell against Mr. DeLay (as opposed to the actual facts on the ground, which are that his seat is entirely safe) seizes on Ms. Perine's advertisement as a perfect hook for the story. Excessive research might spoil the hook - it might make the story more complex, or less compelling. (And indeed, my research does both.) So don't do the research - just run with the story as it is.
It might have flown in an era where databases where hard to access and the credibility of the Times gave such luster that nobody would check.
That era is long over, and the Times must either recognize that and adapt its behavior, or perish.
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