The Washington Post’s continued interest with Rev. E.W. Jackson, the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in Virginia, has entered into obsession territory. On Monday June 3, the Post ran another front-page story in the Metro section attempting to show controversy between Jackson and the GOP candidate for governor, Ken Cuccinelli over whether Cuccinelli suggested to Jackson that he run for lieutenant governor back in 2010.
In total, the Post devoted 32-paragraphs to Jackson as opposed to just 16 paragraphs focusing on the Democrats vying to run against Jackson in what was essentially a fluff piece. After spending the first 6-paragraphs discussing the supposed controversy, the Post’s Errin Whack spent the next 26-paragraphs rehashing some of Jackson’s “extreme” comments. Apparently the Post finds it “extreme” that a Christian minister like Jackson is true to his faith and promotes pro-life values.
In contrast, a second piece by Whack on the two Democrats running for lieutenant governor was buried on the 4th page of the Metro section. What's more, rather than challenging either Democrat on their positions, the article highlighted how Democrat [Ralph] Northam “said he would work to repeal recent legislation requiring ultrasounds before has an abortion along with laws creating stricter rules for abortion clinics.”
Nowhere in the piece did Whack challenge Northam or his opponent Aneesh Chopra on their so-called concerns about “women’s healthcare," a cleaver euphemism for abortion. An objective reporter might have found supporters of the abortion industry regulations, particularly in a year where the horrors of the Kermit Gosnell clinic in Philadelphia highlighted the wisdom of regulating clinics and inspecting them for safety.
It would be nice if the Post would scrutinize the Democratic ticket for governor and lieutenant governor like it has for Cuccinelli and Jackson, However, the Post seems perfectly content using its pages to essentially campaign on behalf of the Democrats, smearing both Jackson and Cuccinelli on a regular basis.
As the election is still months away, we can expect the Post to run more attack pieces on Jackson while taking pains to avoid any critical coverage of the Democrats running for the Old Dominion's statewide offices this November.
