posted on April 7, 2005 03:00:59 PM new
Updated: 12:36 PM EDT
GOP Senator's Office Is Source of Schiavo Memo
Author of Missive Calling Case a 'Great Political Issue' Resigns
AP
Aide Resigns Over Memo
WASHINGTON (April 7) - Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez says an infamous unsigned memo passed around on Capitol Hill emphasizing the politics of the Terri Schiavo case originated in his office.
The memo - first reported by ABC News on March 18 and by The Washington Post and The Associated Press two days later - said the fight going on then over removing Schiavo's feeding tube "is a great political issue ... and a tough issue for Democrats.''
"This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue,'' said the memo, which was described at the time as being circulated among Senate Republicans while legislation was being considered to place the Schiavo case under the jurisdiction of federal courts.
Martinez said in a written statement that he discovered Wednesday that the memo had been written by an aide in his office.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document,'' Martinez said.
He said he accepted the resignation of the staffer who drafted and circulated the memo. "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office,'' he said.
Martinez did not identify the aide, but The Washington Post said he was the senator's legal counsel, Brian Darling.
"Until this afternoon, I had never seen it and had no idea a copy of it had ever been in my possession,'' Martinez said of the document. He had previously denied knowing anything about the memo and condemned its sentiments.
The memo had been disavowed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, both primary forces behind Congress passing the bill and sending it to President Bush on March 21.
Democrats had pounced on the document as evidence that Republicans were seeking a political advantage in the fight between Schiavo's husband and her parents over removing her feeding tube 15 years after she incurred severe brain damage that left her incapacitated.
Schiavo, 41, died last Thursday in a Florida hospice, 13 days after the feeding tube was removed. During the interim, federal courts repeatedly rejected what Republicans said was the intent of the bill: to have the tube reinserted and prolong Schiavo's life.
Martinez, in his statement, said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, had asked for background information on the bill ordering a federal court to review the Schiavo case.
He said he pulled a one-page document from his coat pocket and handed to Harkin. "Unbeknownst to me ... I had given him a copy of the now infamous memo.''
He said Harkin had called him earlier Wednesday to say he believes the memo had been given to him by Martinez. The Florida senator said he then ordered an internal investigation in his office.
Allison Dobson, a spokeswoman for Harkin, said the Iowa Democrat had received the memo from Martinez in the days leading up to passage of the bill.
Martinez said he also had apologized to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who is up for re-election in 2006 and was cited in the memo because he had declined to become a sponsor of the bill.
04/07/05 03:50 EDT
HERE ARE THE RESULTS FROM AN AOL POLL TAKEN ABOUT THE TERRY SCHIAVO ISSUE.
Do you think there will political consequences in D.C. after Schiavo's death?
Yes, for Republicans 32%
No 29%
Yes, for both parties 25%
Yes, for Democrats 10%
Not sure 4%
Did you support congressional action in the Terri Schiavo issue?
No 72%
Yes 22%
No opinion 6%
Total Votes: 70,918
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM LIBRA63. LIBRA63 TOLD ME SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE AOL POLLS BECAUSE AOL USERS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE WEB. LOL
posted on April 7, 2005 05:05:37 PM new
Roadsmith, Martinez must have reached into the wrong pocket when he slipped that Memo to Tom Harkin.LOL Now the lying jerk says he didn't know anything about the memo. Another LOLs. Sure we all believe the Most Honorable Martinez.
THE POLLS ARE ALL SHOWING THAT LESS AND LESS AMERICANS TRUST AND BELIEVE THIS WHITE HOUSE AND REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED CONGRESS AND SENATE.
[ edited by BIGPEEPA on Apr 7, 2005 05:08 PM ]
posted on April 7, 2005 05:42:03 PM new
Now, what is that saying? Oh, yes, "it will all come out in the wash". And you know what? It's beginning to. Wonder if they use Tide or an off-brand detergent.
posted on April 7, 2005 06:58:30 PM new
You know bigpeepa until you learn board etiquette I will not post to you again.
[ edited by Libra63 on Apr 7, 2005 07:34 PM ]
posted on April 7, 2005 09:11:45 PM new
Libra63, be kind to yourself and thank you. I truly believe your a nice person at heart and that's what really counts. Just maybe good people like you are beginning to see what this White House and its gang are doing to us all.
Cheryl your right "it will all come out in the wash". For the majority of us things are not good. But since its our money they are spending I am sure a box of Tide isn't good enough.LOL
Since this White House and the republican controlled Congress and Senate can't blame the Democrats any-longer its getting very interesting.
posted on April 7, 2005 09:19:04 PM new
You know, the interesting thing here is that Harkin could have blown him out of the water when that memo became public. He knew exactly where it came from. When conservatiive leaders and the media were trying so desperately to distance themselves and discredit it, he easily could have come forward and said exactly where it came from. Instead he kept his mouth shut, said nothing, and had it not been for Martinez stating today that he gave it to Harkin no one ever would have been the wiser.
You gotta wonder how much behind the scenes manuevering there has been on this one. Considering that the topic got lost in the media because of the Pope it would have been so easy for Martinez to just quietly ask for and accept the resignation and move on without ever making a public statement... I wonder why he did.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 8, 2005 10:16:20 AM new
Bear - I realize that it is a negative for republicans but if you spent any time watching the news yesterday, this was a story that everyone was covering. Even came complete with it's very own press conference.
Considering how much time the Republicans and Fox spent trying to spin this memo into a scheme by the democrats to try to dicredit reublicans, it is news.
Just because you do not like the news does not make it irrelevent.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 8, 2005 11:52:25 AM new
Fenix, you mean the news reported by the main stream LIBERALmedia, like CBS, ABC, or NBC. If they ever start reporting the news honestly giving a fair & true reporting it might be worth watching. As it is all they are are rumor mongers.
-----------
Today's Attack on Tom DeLay Involves Guilt by Association
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
April 8, 2005
(CNSNews.com) -- Get out your pencils: You'll need to draw a chart to keep this story straight. The gist is this: The Campaign for America's Future, a liberal policy group, is challenging House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to "explain his relationship" to Brian Darling, the former counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez.
Darling wrote the Republican strategy memo that said intervention in the Terri Schiavo case would be a "great political issue" for Republicans.
Martinez, a Florida Republican, said he never read Darling's one-page "talking points" memo. He said he inadvertently passed it on to Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, during debate over a federal law intended to win a reprieve for the dying Terri Schiavo.
From there, the memo made its way to ABC News and the Washington Post, both of which ran reports questioning whether Republicans might be seizing on a family's tragedy for political gain.
Rep. DeLay strongly supported legislation allowing the federal courts to review the Schiavo case, and some Americans have blasted him for comments he made before and after Schiavo's death.
Now for the murky part of the story:
The Campaign for America's Future issued a press release Thursday noting that Darling, the memo-writer, once worked for the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington-based corporate lobbying firm that is "heavily connected to Rep. DeLay."
Darling's clients included Universal Bearing, Inc., a company owned by the Hanwha Group, which -- according to the Campaign for America's Future -- "has direct ties to the foreign agent that paid for Rep. DeLay's improper trip to Korea."
There's more: The Alexander Strategy Group was formed by Rep. DeLay's former Chief of Staff Ed Buckham, who also introduced Rep. DeLay to corporate lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Campaign for America's Future said.
Former DeLay aide Jim Ellis, who was indicted for money laundering, was a consultant to the Alexander Strategy Group.
Former DeLay staffer Tony Rudy, former DeLay PAC director Karl Gallant, and Rep. DeLay's spouse, Christine DeLay, all worked for Alexander Strategy Group.
The Campaign for America's Future left it at that, simply outlining a web of connections that is a common phenomenon in Washington. The "get DeLay" crowd has not said -- yet -- that Brian Darling was reflecting Tom DeLay's thinking when Darling wrote that the Terri Schiavo case would be a good way to score political points with the pro-life base.
The Campaign for America's Future is one of several groups running television and newspaper ads questioning Rep. DeLay's ethics. The group argues that the controversy surrounding DeLay is "increasingly seen as a liability to his party."
So far, Republican leaders have circled the wagons around House Majority Leader DeLay, saying he is being singled out, not for the merit of the allegations against him, but because he is an effective promoter of the conservative agenda.
posted on April 8, 2005 12:05:28 PM new
More on Memogate II
By Cliff Kincaid
April 8, 2005
The Washington Post believes it has been vindicated by the revelation that a Republican congressional staffer really did write the controversial Republican memo on the political ramifications of the Terri Schiavo case. But this fact is almost beside the point. The memo was never an official Republican document and there's no evidence that any Republican Senator ever read it. The latest revelation adds to the perception that liberal Democrats play the media like a violin.
The news is that, after weeks of suspense about the authorship and origin of the memo, Brian Darling of the office of Republican Senator Mel Martinez has admitted writing it and has resigned. But the real story is that liberal Democratic Senator Tom Harkin has been confirmed as the source of the document for the media. How did Harkin get the memo? It was a mistake. Martinez was not aware that he had turned the document over to Harkin, nor was he aware of what was in the document. Harkin finally informed Martinez on April 6 that he had in fact received the memo from Martinez himself. That's when Martinez launched his own inquiry and discovered that Darling had written it.
This strange story gets even stranger as you learn more about it. What's clear, now more than ever, is that the Post and other media exploited this document for anti-Republican purposes and exaggerated its importance. It will be interesting to see how Post top brass defend their coverage of this memo at the company's May 12 annual meeting.
It turns out, according to the Post account of Brian Darling's role, that Martinez never read the memo and "distributed" it inadvertently to Harkin, a perceived ally in the Schiavo case. The evidence is now clear that it was Harkin and/or his aides who distributed the memo on a massive scale to other Democrats and the press, including Mike Allen of the Post, in order to make Republicans look bad.
Allen took the bait, falsely reporting that "Republican officials" were the authors, that the memo had been "distributed to Republican senators" and by Republican "party leaders." Allen also reported that the memo had been distributed "only to Republican Senators." None of this was or is true. The Post still has some explaining--and apologizing--to do.
The continuing controversy serves as a window into the political reporting of the Post and its use of anonymous sources. The reference to the memo being distributed "only to Republican Senators" was an obvious ruse designed to conceal the Democratic source.
Even before this new disclosure, one of Allen's stories had been partially corrected by the Washington Post wire service, which declared that, "The version of the article published later by the paper did not specify authorship and noted that the memo was unsigned. The authorship remains unknown." The original story claimed that the memo was "distributed to Republican senators by party leaders." This is false. There's no evidence that Martinez, a Senator for only three months, got the document from party leaders or that he distributed it to them or other Republican Senators. The version of the memo that was eventually released by the Martinez office in the form of a press release did not include any of the political references. It now seems clear that the Brian Darling memo seized upon by the media was an early draft that was not officially authorized or sanctioned.
Now I understand why Allen refused to respond to my early series of questions about his coverage of the case. These questions included:
# If the memo is unsigned, as you reported, how do you know it is authentic?
# Which Republican Senator authorized or assigned the writing of the memo?
# How do you know it was distributed "only" to Republican Senators?
Allen didn't answer these questions because the answers would have demonstrated how flimsy and partisan his story really was. He had to know that the document had been obtained by Senator Harkin or another Democratic Party source and that this fact alone would cast doubt on its importance or validity. So Harkin's role was carefully concealed. Allen falsely inflated the importance of the memo by claiming that it had been distributed by or to Republican Senators. Back-pedaling from his initial accusations, Allen resorted to telling Howard Kurtz, media reporter for the Post, that the memo was just a "sheet of paper." That's exactly what it was, but that's not the way the Post initially reported it.
In his story about Darling's role, Allen now tries to shift the burden to those who had questioned the document. He reports that "The mystery of the memo's origin had roiled the Capitol. Republicans accused Democrats of concocting the document as a dirty trick; Democrats accused Republicans of trying to duck responsibility for exploiting the dying days of an incapacitated woman. Conservative Web logs have challenged the authenticity of the unsigned memo that includes eight talking points in support of the bill and calls the controversy 'a great political issue.'" Yes, the authenticity of the memo had been challenged because it had no author or letterhead, and the Washington Times couldn't find one Republican Senator who had read it.
The stories about the memo carried by ABC News, the Washington Post, CBS News and other media are still questionable, even after the author has been identified as a Republican. And the use of this memo in a spate of anti-Republican stories on the Schiavo case still looks like a Democratic Party dirty trick. Indeed, the evidence on this score is stronger than ever. The only difference between two weeks ago and now is that the hand of the Democratic Party has been completely exposed.
Look at what the Post is itself reporting. According to Allen's story, Martinez said that "he had not read the one-page memo. He said he inadvertently passed it to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who had worked with him on the issue. After that, officials gave the memo to reporters for ABC News and the Washington Post."
Who were those officials? Obviously aides to Harkin and other Democrats. The media were given a memo with no identified author and no Senate letterhead. Recognizing this could make Republicans look bad, reporters ran with the story, refusing of course to disclose where they obtained the document.
So let's understand what happened here. Martinez has the controversial memo written by his own staffer, and he turns it over to Harkin because he thinks they supposedly see eye-to-eye about Schiavo's right to life. This fact alone would seem to confirm that Martinez had never read the memo. If he had read it, why on earth would he turn something so potentially controversial over to Harkin? After all, the memo said the issue was possibly useful against Democratic Senators. But Harkin, rather than return the document to Martinez because he had been given it improperly and accidentally, leaks it to the media and his fellow Democratic Senators. Harkin demonstrated in this conduct that he was more concerned in making political points against the Republicans than in helping Schiavo stay alive.
Harkin could have returned the document to Martinez, noting that it was a piece of crude work product and that he was sure it didn't reflect the views of Martinez or other Republican Senators. But that's not what Harkin did. Instead, he passed the memo on to other Democrats and the press, knowing that it would be transformed into another "scandal" for the GOP.
The New York Times had confirmed early on that the memo had been "distributed to news organizations by Democratic aides."
Now we understand why the Mike Allen story carried by the Post Wire Service had said that the memo was "intended to be seen" only by Republican Senators. This was another way of saying that it had been obtained by Democrats, who leaked it to the media. Now we know how Senator Harkin and his aides got it. Martinez had ineptly turned it over to them.
The Post's Mike Allen now reports, "Harkin said in an interview that Martinez handed him the memo on the Senate floor, in hopes of gaining his support for the bill giving federal courts jurisdiction in the Florida right-to-die case." Harkin said Martinez had told him that "these were talking points--something that we're working on here." This explains why ABC News called it the "GOP Talking Points" memo and suggested that it was an official Republican position. Linda Douglass of ABC News, like the others, obviously got the story from Harkin or his aides. They simply regurgitated what the liberals gave them.
Associated Press reports that "Martinez said that he pulled the document from his coat pocket and recently handed it to Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, thinking it was background information on a bill ordering a review of the Schiavo case."
It seems that Martinez, rather than his aide Brian Darling, has more to answer for in this case. He should read his documents before he turns them over to an ultra-liberal like Harkin. But in the congressional world the staff aide takes the rap for the mistakes of his boss. Darling's "crime," in the final analysis, was that he wrote a memo that included a few political observations about a case before Congress.
It was only through the work of those questioning the memo that the truth has now belatedly been disclosed. Because of the stonewalling by the media and the precedent of Dan Rather's Memogate scandal, there was every reason to suspect the memo was a fake. Now it turns out that the memo was real but of no consequence. It was one of thousands of memos that never get officially released or distributed. The fact remains that the media coverage was atrocious and biased because it was based on a partisan source with an axe to grind.
Ironically, it turns out that the Democrats and their media allies exploited a Republican memo for partisan political purposes. But it was their story line that the Republicans were guilty of such behavior. That, of course, is the line that media went with.
In the Dan Rather Memogate case, his defense was that the memo was fake but the story was real. That was ridiculous. In this version of Memogate, however, it looks like the memo was real but the stories were mostly fake or inaccurate. Both cases demonstrate the liberal partisan bias of the media. We must not lose sight of this critical fact.
posted on April 8, 2005 12:43:26 PM new
::Fenix, you mean the news reported by the main stream LIBERALmedia, like CBS, ABC, or NBC. If they ever start reporting the news honestly giving a fair & true reporting it might be worth watching. As it is all they are are rumor mongers.::
Last I heard, Fox news did not fall under the classification of "liberal new outlet" Bear but I did see coverage of the press conference there.
The best part about your comment is that it was FOX that tried to pass the memo off as a democratic plot and discredit it when it did indeed come from a rebulican source.
Even if I did see the coverage of the press conference on a broadcast network... It's a press conference Bear. It was a republican senator standing in front of mics stating that that the memo came from his office. How is that you feel that you can spin this off as some liberal rumor?
Like I said - just because you don't like it, does not mean it is not news.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 8, 2005 12:45:56 PM new
Read the following words Fenix:
Ironically, it turns out that the Democrats and their media allies exploited a Republican memo for partisan political purposes. But it was their story line that the Republicans were guilty of such behavior. That, of course, is the line that media went with.
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones that need the advice."
- Bill Cosby
posted on April 8, 2005 01:05:34 PM new
Poor Bear, he is trying to make another feeble attempt to cover for yet another very twisted member of his failing party.
HA,HA,HO,HO your smoke screens aren't working any longer just look at the public polls. There is always two sides to a coin this time Bear's side is tarnished.
ITS GOOD TO SEE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT THIS WHITE HOUSE IS DOING TO THEM.
posted on April 8, 2005 01:09:35 PM new
Bear - you seem to be forgetting that the entire topic of the memo was exploiting a womans death for political reasons and that it was generated by the Republicans.
The only place you are going to be able to spin this against democrats is in your own mind and I predict you are going to get pretty dizzy doing it unless you decide that actual facts are irrelevent.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 9, 2005 09:33:21 PM new
To long to C&P but here is the story about the memo about Terri Schiavo and who was responsible for it but who leaked it to the press. Url below.
posted on April 9, 2005 09:56:45 PM new
Libra - come on - I don't even have to read that one to know the twist on it. You guys complain about the liberal press and then post commentaries from a GOP website.... yeah... that's sure to be one truly balanced story. Oh wait... it's not a story... it's a personal opinion.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 10, 2005 01:45:03 AM new
So what everything here is a personal opinion. Can't we all have them...Even you.
I seem to remember certain people thought that the Dan Rather story was true. Everyone also watched that story unfold. Even the secretary, and BTW she has now passed away, but in the end it wasn't true. So who do we believe?
posted on April 10, 2005 12:06:06 PM new
Yes Libra - everyone can voice an opinion however you presented an opinion column from a GOP website as "the story about the memo" which it is not.
There is a big difference between news story and a commentary and way too often on this board, commentaries are portrayed as news.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
