Mary Mostert
The 2006 election: Voter anger over Republican scandals amidst media deception
By Mary Mostert
According to CBS News, the "key factor in the Democratic takeover of the House was the scandals plaguing Republican incumbents. ...At least 12 seats that switched from Republican to Democrat involved Republicans mired in scandal. Although high profile scandals involving Jack Abramoff and Mark Foley touched the most races, numerous isolated scandals also affected incumbent House Republicans."
Mark Foley's seat will now be occupied by Tim Mahoney, who only became a Democrat two years ago. Previously, he described himself as a born-again Christian and a Reagan Republican. He has stated that the had become disillusioned with the corruption and partisanship within the ranks of the Republican party.
The voters apparent move to the left, which also could be loss of the Senate, was coupled with passage of measures banning same-sex "marriage" in Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, (Arizona was the only state to reject a proposition declaring marriage to be between a man and a woman.)
Would that seem to indicate that the majority of the voters now believe that Democrats are more moral than Republicans? Apparently so. After all, Democrats are now in control of the House of Representatives, thanks in large measure to voter reaction over news stories about Mark Foley and scandals affecting incumbent House Republicans. Scandals involving Democrats are not treated the same way in the media as scandals involving Republicans.
For example, the day before the election, on Monday, November 6th, a story broke in Texas that was headlined "Ex-Texas DA Dead After TV Child-Predator Sting." Dallas TV station KXAS reported the former Texas District Attorney, Louis "Bill" Conradt, Jr., age 56, had committed suicide as CBS News was filming the police sting operation to arrest him for soliciting sex with someone he thought was a 13 year old boy, but who actually was a decoy.
This story began back in July when the City of Murphy, Texas launched its "To Catch a Predator" series. According to the City of Murphy, Texas website press release. The City had been conducting a campaign to catch sexual predators who use the Internet to sexually abuse children and the November 6th sting operation was filmed by NBC News "Dateline.."
The City's press release stated: "With the success realized in July during such a short time span, it became evident that such activity was even more prevalent in the North Texas area than what the Murphy Police Department would have ever realized. As a result, the department made plans and partnered again with Perverted Justice and this time with Dateline NBC to run another sting operation in an effort to try and remove as many of these predators from the streets as possible.
"This time, a four (4) day operation run from a location inside the City of Murphy netted more than 20 internet child predator suspects. While some residents do not agree with the operation being brought into our city, Chief Billy Myrick states that everyone needs to understand that this is not just a problem affecting this city. These internet predators are operating everywhere, they know no bounds and will go after anyone's child to satisfy their own personal interests."
After listing the names of the 22 men arrested, the City press release stated: "All of the men in these cases have been charged with the offense of ON-LINE SOLICITATION OF A MINOR. Based on the specifics of the individual cases, some of these individuals have been charged with a Felony of the 3rd Degree and some with a Felony of the 2nd Degree. These cases will be presented to the Collin County District Attorney's Office for prosecution. Additional charges could be forthcoming as these investigations continue."
This story was known not only to CBS news, which apparently knew about it for months, but nearly every other major news source. ABC reported: "Former Kaufman County District Attorney Louis 'Bill' Conradt Jr. killed himself Sunday as police tried to serve an arrest warrant for soliciting sex with a minor, authorities said. Police who entered Conradt's home when he refused to answer the door heard a shot and found Conradt fatally wounded with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at a Dallas hospital. "
None of the national articles mention the political affiliation of Conradt who was Kaufman County's elected district attorney for more than two decades before resigning in 2002 to run for a judgeship. He lost and later took the Rockwall County job. Since it seemed a bit odd to me, based on the fact that this sort of story has been the main issue in the major media and in the campaign prior to the November 7th election, I decided to find out more about Conradt.
Naturally I discovered that Bill Conradt, Jr. was a Democrat. Had he been a Republican, all the headlines would have been: "Ex-Texas Republican DA Dead After TV Child-Predator Sting." As I have written before, deception and hypocrisy, not information, has become the major role for dominant media.
So, now all those concerned Republicans, former Republicans and Democrats who voted Democrat to express moral indignation can now congratulate themselves for voting not only to make Nancy Pelosi, who voted against the bill making partial birth abortion illegal, as well as against every bill presented to cut taxes, improve intelligence gathering to fight terror, but also voting to elevate Rep. Barney Frank, who was involved in a scandal that involved a male prostitution ring being run from his condo, to chairman of the Financial Services Committee to manage our tax dollars. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, is slated to chair the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee under the Democrats; and Rep. John Conyers will head the Judiciary Committer.
Conyers who has voted consistently against any bill to support the military, and against banning partial birth abortion and all efforts to decrease America's oil dependency by blocking efforts to increase domestic oil and gas production, will head the Judiciary. Rangel also opposes bills that support the military, would control illegal immigration, would outlaw partial birth abortion and all of the Bush tax cuts.
It all sounds like a recipe for gridlock in Washington for the next two years, which some of my readers believe would be an improvement in the situation.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
© Mary Mostert
According to CBS News, the "key factor in the Democratic takeover of the House was the scandals plaguing Republican incumbents. ...At least 12 seats that switched from Republican to Democrat involved Republicans mired in scandal. Although high profile scandals involving Jack Abramoff and Mark Foley touched the most races, numerous isolated scandals also affected incumbent House Republicans."
Mark Foley's seat will now be occupied by Tim Mahoney, who only became a Democrat two years ago. Previously, he described himself as a born-again Christian and a Reagan Republican. He has stated that the had become disillusioned with the corruption and partisanship within the ranks of the Republican party.
The voters apparent move to the left, which also could be loss of the Senate, was coupled with passage of measures banning same-sex "marriage" in Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, (Arizona was the only state to reject a proposition declaring marriage to be between a man and a woman.)
Would that seem to indicate that the majority of the voters now believe that Democrats are more moral than Republicans? Apparently so. After all, Democrats are now in control of the House of Representatives, thanks in large measure to voter reaction over news stories about Mark Foley and scandals affecting incumbent House Republicans. Scandals involving Democrats are not treated the same way in the media as scandals involving Republicans.
For example, the day before the election, on Monday, November 6th, a story broke in Texas that was headlined "Ex-Texas DA Dead After TV Child-Predator Sting." Dallas TV station KXAS reported the former Texas District Attorney, Louis "Bill" Conradt, Jr., age 56, had committed suicide as CBS News was filming the police sting operation to arrest him for soliciting sex with someone he thought was a 13 year old boy, but who actually was a decoy.
This story began back in July when the City of Murphy, Texas launched its "To Catch a Predator" series. According to the City of Murphy, Texas website press release. The City had been conducting a campaign to catch sexual predators who use the Internet to sexually abuse children and the November 6th sting operation was filmed by NBC News "Dateline.."
The City's press release stated: "With the success realized in July during such a short time span, it became evident that such activity was even more prevalent in the North Texas area than what the Murphy Police Department would have ever realized. As a result, the department made plans and partnered again with Perverted Justice and this time with Dateline NBC to run another sting operation in an effort to try and remove as many of these predators from the streets as possible.
"This time, a four (4) day operation run from a location inside the City of Murphy netted more than 20 internet child predator suspects. While some residents do not agree with the operation being brought into our city, Chief Billy Myrick states that everyone needs to understand that this is not just a problem affecting this city. These internet predators are operating everywhere, they know no bounds and will go after anyone's child to satisfy their own personal interests."
After listing the names of the 22 men arrested, the City press release stated: "All of the men in these cases have been charged with the offense of ON-LINE SOLICITATION OF A MINOR. Based on the specifics of the individual cases, some of these individuals have been charged with a Felony of the 3rd Degree and some with a Felony of the 2nd Degree. These cases will be presented to the Collin County District Attorney's Office for prosecution. Additional charges could be forthcoming as these investigations continue."
This story was known not only to CBS news, which apparently knew about it for months, but nearly every other major news source. ABC reported: "Former Kaufman County District Attorney Louis 'Bill' Conradt Jr. killed himself Sunday as police tried to serve an arrest warrant for soliciting sex with a minor, authorities said. Police who entered Conradt's home when he refused to answer the door heard a shot and found Conradt fatally wounded with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at a Dallas hospital. "
None of the national articles mention the political affiliation of Conradt who was Kaufman County's elected district attorney for more than two decades before resigning in 2002 to run for a judgeship. He lost and later took the Rockwall County job. Since it seemed a bit odd to me, based on the fact that this sort of story has been the main issue in the major media and in the campaign prior to the November 7th election, I decided to find out more about Conradt.
Naturally I discovered that Bill Conradt, Jr. was a Democrat. Had he been a Republican, all the headlines would have been: "Ex-Texas Republican DA Dead After TV Child-Predator Sting." As I have written before, deception and hypocrisy, not information, has become the major role for dominant media.
So, now all those concerned Republicans, former Republicans and Democrats who voted Democrat to express moral indignation can now congratulate themselves for voting not only to make Nancy Pelosi, who voted against the bill making partial birth abortion illegal, as well as against every bill presented to cut taxes, improve intelligence gathering to fight terror, but also voting to elevate Rep. Barney Frank, who was involved in a scandal that involved a male prostitution ring being run from his condo, to chairman of the Financial Services Committee to manage our tax dollars. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, is slated to chair the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee under the Democrats; and Rep. John Conyers will head the Judiciary Committer.
Conyers who has voted consistently against any bill to support the military, and against banning partial birth abortion and all efforts to decrease America's oil dependency by blocking efforts to increase domestic oil and gas production, will head the Judiciary. Rangel also opposes bills that support the military, would control illegal immigration, would outlaw partial birth abortion and all of the Bush tax cuts.
It all sounds like a recipe for gridlock in Washington for the next two years, which some of my readers believe would be an improvement in the situation.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
© Mary Mostert
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