Good Grief. More Senatorial Shenanigans

Originally Posted by classicman

Cambridge Police unsuccessful in search for Galluccio night of Cambridge crash

More unbiased reporting - I read about 6-7 articles on this - NOT ONE reported his party affiliation. The only one that did say he is a DEMOCRAT was NPR. I couldn't even find a fox story on it.

The incident report is included here.

It looks to me like the top media outlets in Boston reported his party affiliation:

Boston Globe (Boston.com) - Galluccio, a Cambridge Democrat, collided with the other vehicle...

Boston Herald - The Cambridge Democrat said in a statement he regrets his decision, yet he refused to elaborate...

WBZ (CBS) - Sen. Anthony Galluccio, a Democrat from Cambridge, turned himself in Monday....

WHDH (NBC) - Galluccio, D-Cambridge, said in a statement that he regretted making "a serious error in judgment" when he left the scene...

NECN (New England Cable News) - Massachusetts State Senator Anthony Galluccio, Cambridge Democrat, is embroiled in controversy over his actions Sunday afternoon.

I think most style guides suggest including party affiliation in parenthesis the first time the name appears in an article, unless it is otherwise mentioned at or near the top of the story.

IMO, the issue should be consistency...when reporting, that the same standards are applied to all elected officials.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Redux

IMO, the issue should be consistency...when reporting, that the same standards are applied to all elected officials.

Thanks for the links - when I heard about it I googled it and as I said the first articles didn't list his party. Neither did the video I watched on it - all 4 minutes of their story.

I wholeheartedly agree that it should be consistent. My opinion is that it hasn't been. Hence I brought it up.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

.... I couldn't even find a fox story on it...

Don't worry, Fox would report that he is a Democrat - regardless of his actual affiliation.

[richlevy]

I think drunk hit-and-run drivers should have the book thrown at them, Republican or Democrat.

The prize still goes to PA. State Senator Thomas Druce, who served two years working in a prison hospital for the fatal hit and run of a Marine Corps veteran.

Why the light sentence?

a) Dauphin County is a Republican stronghold
b) The victim was intoxicated and poor.
c) The victim was a black man and the trial was in Central PA.

Thomas Druce, 44, was released on parole from the Laurel Highlands prison in Somerset, a minimum-security facility with a special unit for geriatric male prisoners, state Corrections Department spokeswoman Sue McNaughton said.
He will spend the next two years on parole, subject to conditions that include mandatory drug testing and an alcohol ban.
Druce was a fourth-term state legislator and considered a Republican rising star when Harrisburg police, acting on an anonymous tip, first questioned him about the death of Kenneth Cains in January 2000 - six months after the accident.

Another source, from before Druce was convicted.

Conspiracy theories abound. Two years for killing a man and insurance fraud?

[TheMercenary]

That was pretty tragic. The idiot should have gone to prison for at least 10 years, hard time.

[TheMercenary]

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[Shawnee123]

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[TheMercenary]

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[Shawnee123]

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[Shawnee123]

It's punctuation association!

[classicman]

!

[Sheldonrs]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

It's punctuation association!

No. I think Merc is telling us he has his period.

[BrianR]

I've always felt that any sentence handed out to a politician should include a lifetime ban on holding any kind of office again. Not so much as an alderman.

They abuse the public trust, then hide behind their office. I see them as a national disgrace.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

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Are you trying to say the sentence was too short? We get the point.

[classicman]

I couldn't find a "Republicans are assholes thread" so this one will have to do.

DENVER – The Republican Party is seeking input and money from GOP voters — seemingly under the guise of the U.S. Census Bureau.

"Strengthening our Party for the 2010 elections is going to take a massive grassroots effort all across America. That is why I have authorized a Census to be conducted of every Congressional District in the country," GOP Chairman Michael Steele says in a letter mailed nationwide.

The letter was sent in plain white envelopes marked "Do Not Destroy, Official Document." Labeled "2010 Congressional District Census," the letter uses a capital "C," the same as the Census Bureau. It also includes a "Census Tracking Code."

The letter makes a plea for money and accompanies a form asking voters to identify their political leanings and issues important to them. There are no disclaimers that participation in the GOP effort is voluntary; participation in the government census is required by law. Failure to participate carries a $5,000 fine, though it is rarely enforced.

Sara Sendek, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman, said the letter was not an attempt to mislead voters.

"The document clearly indicates that it is an RNC mailer. The purpose of this document is to gather Republican opinion from across the country and raise a little money," Sendek said.

The letter asks political questions, including, "Do you think the record trillion dollar federal deficit the Democrats are creating with their out-of-control spending is going to have disastrous consequences for our nation?" and, "Do you worry that the Obama administration is committed to greatly expanding the government's role in your life?"

Democrats said the letter was part of a deceptive pattern by Republicans. They said it could mislead voters to believe it's part of the nationwide census being conducted this year. The Census Bureau officially begins its head count this week in rural Alaska; the count for the rest of the nation begins in March.

"When you have no new ideas to offer, all you are left with are the deceptive ideas," said Hari Sevugan, a Democratic National Committee spokesman.

U.S. Census Bureau spokesman Michael Cook says he has received several complaints over the past week from voters who believed the letter was misleading. Cook says the agency is still deciding what steps to take.