Media bias and the 'subprime six'

The editorial page at Investor's Business Daily today joins with the Wall Street Journal in asking for a full investigation of the "sub-prime six" -- the six named movers and shakers, among them two Senate Democrats, who received special attention from Countrywide Financial because of their VIP status.

For the record, those named in media reports as "Friends of Angelo" -- Countrywide Chairman Angelo Mozilo -- are Democratic insider James Johnson, formerly an advisor to the Obama campaign; Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Kent Conrad of North Dakota (pictured); former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala;  former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke; and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson. If you are keeping track, five of the six are Democrats.

IBD: "The Democrats' initial response has been to stall. They hope the problem will disappear until after the election. Given the media's lack of curiosity so far — a small handful of news organizations, including our competitor, the Wall Street Journal, have pushed this story ahead — it looks like the Democrats might get their wish.... These revelations suggest that, at the very least, the Democratic Party is afflicted with a kind of corruption that taints all recent decisions on the sub-prime crisis. They need to investigate it fully, immediately and without prejudice — or risk having it blow up in their faces."

Bloviation: Why the lack of media curiosity? My gut tells me the mainstream news media would have much more enthusiasm for the story if it had been broken by The New York Times and had begun with a sweetheart deal for a top campaign advisor to John McCain and had then spread to two Republican U.S. senators. That's just my two cents.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Hat tip: Pseudo 100, via e-mail

Comments

[TakeFive]

After the 2006 midterm elections, Pelosi vowed to end the Republican's "culture of corruption".

As for the Democrats...well, um, ya know...

Hey look! There's a conservative over there! And he's doing stuff!

[are they crazy]

So you think that the MSM is disinterested because it's Dems in the spotlight? Before the media goes after the group, I'd like to see the entire list of Tan Man's special friends and then get the entire story. Most people have heard enough soundbites and innuendo already to have decided all politicians are on the take, all business is corrupt, same old same old.

[Rpche]

It's time for a new revolution in this country.

Our "representatives" openly sell power and favors, and they've been bought and paid for by the corporations.

It's taxation without representation all over again. They don't represent us, they represent the interests who fund their campaigns.

[Michael Snyder]

I actually caught Chris Dodd on the Fox News/spin channel last night defending his actions. in the end he laid it on his wife. (can I get a whimp!)
The traction on this one will fall along party lines with right wingers leading the charge and the so called liberals defending their disconnect / ignorance defense. As lumpy as that Congressional rug is, I don't think this one is going away.
Just like the Lakers, this one is the Democrats to lose. How willing they are to clean their own house will be a good reality check for those of us who really want to see a fundamental change in our governance.

[Arti]

Outrageous, Dodd is out there peddling a housing BAILOUT package at my expense while he was peddling himself for a sweetheart mortgage from the largest subprime lender in America! Why on earth is this not in every paper, where is the accountability we were promised when we voted the Dems in office in the last elections?? I want Dodd investigated NOW, and his housing bailout package should be on indefinite hold.

[Housing Bull Chorus]

Stop making fun of politicians and buy a house already!

These fine people have a country to run.

How will Realtors eat if you don't buy a house?

You bloggers are mean and probably like it when babies starve.

[sunset park and proud]

Hey Peter,

Obviously some liberals really hurt your feelings sometime in your past, but to pretend like there's some huge liberal media bias is bs. It ain't true. Fox is the #1 cable news broadcast. The NY Times & the Wash. Post were big enablers of the worst foreign policy mess in decades (Iraq war 2), etc.

Check out Media Matters for literally hundreds upon hundreds of FACT based examples of non-liberal media bias.

Stop listening to Rush, Hannity, etc. - because, you know, they're LIARS.

Why do you feel the need recently to turn LA Land into "democrats / liberals" are ruining this country? Seems like your team's been in charge for the last few years and it hasn't worked out so well.

[I live in LA, too]

Arti,

If you thought the Democrats were actually going to promote fiscal responsibility and integrity, rather than just use those ideas as political tools, I do feel sorry for you.

[anon]

MEDIA BIAS: CHECK
POLITICAL CORRUPTION: CHECK

INTEGRITY: PASS THE CHECK

I am black Independent and all I can find in the media are sweetheart articles on Obama. It is as if McCain has fallen off the Media map unless he has had a bad day. This has made me more skeptical of the media and their annointed messiah Obama.

I want all these Friends of Mozillo (irregardless of blue-red affiliation) investigated. The Dems lose all credibility if they can not get it together to vet this with some decorum of integrity.

But as Nancy Pelosi said, after Obama all but won the nomination, "We are in the attraction business."

I'm sorry, I thought you were in the public servant business.

Silly me!

[Digitalian]

I'm sure there is perfectly good explanation for the misunderstanding of what were surely perfectly legal and above board transactions that were available to all us regular citizens. After all these were mostly democrats, everyone knows that only republicans are greedy, unethical, and self serving.

[Laker]

I don't care if this is Democ-rat Dodd or republican jackson. They all need to leave government and be sent to jail to serve for receiving illegal bribes.
Liars, thieves, speculators like Dodd should be in jail!

[Paul Ward]

Five of the six are Democrats. Do Republicans not have influence? Do Republican not buy houses?

Interesting. Countrywide should be investigated to see if they only offered these sweetheart deals to Democrats during a time when Countrywide knew it was going down. Were these Dems getting set up for a scandal? I just can't believe Angelo Mozilo only has Dem friends.

And if the "sweetheart deals" were just a point off the interest, or no fees, why is this a political scandal? This happens all the time. The question is, was there an expectation of quid pro quo? Was anything done on the mortgage company's behalf? Let's not get sucked into a "politicians are corrupt" frame of mind if: 1) the Dems were "set up" to create an election cycle scandal, and 2) the scandal is not really a scandal because there was no quid pro quo.

[Nick]

It raises an interesting point, certainly, that if Obama wants to run his campaign on the premise of cleaning up corruption in government and holding people accountable, this could very well torpedo his entire campaign. I don't think the die-hard Dem voters would turn away no matter what level of corruption was revealed, but it might be pretty tough to win over independents if by November the overwhelming message coming from McCain's camp is "actions speak louder than empty words." He may be the media darling with 90% of the popular media singing his praises exclusively, but when his potential main question mark is trust and follow-through on promises, a complete failure here might not be possible to ignore.

It'll be interesting to see what Obama does, how much pull he has as the nominee, and how well his actions match his promises. So far, not so good...

[el guapo]

Housing Bull Chorus - you are cracking me up.

I don't have a problem with either Obama or McCain and see both as a serious upgrade. That being said, I do believe there is a media love affair with Obama and some in the media would prefer this story to go away. And, yes, Fox will bang the drum big time, say Obama is a Muslim or something - that's true as well.

And both parties have plenty of dirty laundry. Naive to think one side is worse than the other.

The story should be investigated, one shouldn't be afraid of the truth.

[Ex-Vegan]

Paul Ward has an interesting point. What's next? A politician being pegged as a friend of the oil companies because s/he was seen getting gas at a brand-name gas station? Or being anti-American because s/he drives a Mercedes rather than a Cadillac? We need to start seeing facts as they are - WITHOUT all of the political rhetoric that seems to go along with it all.

[Chris Pepper]

This calls for Henry Waxman investigtion. C'mon HAW. Although, I'm sure there are offenders on both sides of the aisle. Hence, the R's would be jumpin up and down and looking for blood in an election year. The fallout would be HUGE!!

[History repeating itself]

This scandal is similar to the Keating Five- five senators who received money improperly during the savings and loans scandal in the late 80s.

I'm sure all those condemning the current crop of Senators would agree that such a large breach of ethics should be harshly punished and the individuals involved should not be considered for public office afterward.

On the other hand, John McCain was one of the Keating five, and received $112,000 in campaign contributions from John Keating, and was flown to the Bahamas to a private resort by Keating three seperate times. Should forgive and forget that? Where's your media bias on this topic?

[ben]

this is a JOKE.

everyone's pointing fingers at the Dems to distract from the fact that THE SUBPRIME CRISIS WAS CAUSED BY BUSH AND CO.

remember governor Spitzer?
shortly before his sex scandal, he wrote an op-ed piece clearly explaining how Bush used unprecedented presidential power STOP 50 state governors from preventing the subprime crisis...bush said the governors were interfering with the market...more like they were interfering with his contributors' record profits...

unfortunately, because the corporate media is spinning everything to favor the republicans, bush and company get away scott free while 6 Dems are suddenly held up as scapegoats...

[Monster Zero]

There really was no "room" left to cover this story because the "liberal mainstream fly by media"(tm) along with "conservative" idiot "news" outlets like Fox "News" and AM hate-jock radio were too obsessed playing endless soundbytes of Reverend Wright on a 24//7 loop, and other important matters like flag lapel pins, fist taps, and if Obama's a closet radical Muslim, and ties to certain 60's radicals when who were active when Obama was 6, and trying to paint Michelle Obama as anti-'merican.

[Digitalian]

"...Let's not get sucked into a "politicians are corrupt" frame of mind if: 1) the Dems were "set up" to create an election cycle scandal,..." ~Paul Ward

LOL. Ahh yes, the Marion Berry defense. Another great Democrat whose defense when busted for smoking crack with a hooker was "the b!tch set me up!"
Too funny

[Gromit]

As Glenn Reynolds guessed today (on Instapundit), perhaps the reason why many others in Congress, including many Republicans, aren't rushing to investigate is because the "Six" may turn out to be "Sixty."

[tritesprite]

Peter,

I find the partisan politics of recent blog posts disappointing. I suppose I thought it was possible to examine the housing situation from an objective political position, especially since both sides have dirty hands. Silly me.

[PFJ]

ITs funny that the republicans got us into the sub prime mess in the first place yet the media avoids that. Thanks for pointing our the fact of conservative media bias.

[Michael Jones]

Oh Noes, the Repubs are jumping up and down and yelling scandal! You guys really are a joke, you have set thru 8 years of the worst corruption this country has even seen and done nothing except enable. The Republican Party represents nothing but incompetance and failure at this point. Look in a mirror if you want to see the problem.

[jon]

This thread is funny.
The GOP wants an investigation, into these 6 people, while when they had power, they investigated nothing.
Then you have these people in this thread, speaking of a *left-wing* bias in the media, and that they love Obama.
Incredible.
McCain flip-flops every day, and it's ignored by the media...
his last flip, being on off-shore drilling. Yet, the media reports only what he's saying now... never bringing up the flip-flop.
The fact is, that the media have always been in-love with McCain. Notice all the *maverick* & independent talk. Even though he votes over 90% with his party, and has since flipped on every issue, he allegedly went against the party. Off-shore drilling; immigration; campaign finance reform; etc.
The media frames its questions, through a right-wing talking points filter. Even in the Dem debates, the questions were in large part, GOP issues.
Little about the environment, health care, infrastructure, education, etc - - Dem issues. More about defense, religion, guns, taxes, etc - - GOP issues.
Try putting your bias' aside one day, and read/watch the news. The media will do everything they can, to prevent Obama from winning.
This isn't to say that reporters aren't of left-wing thought, but that the executives, and editors are - - those who make the decisions.