In the aftermath of their historic victory last November, Democrats might have been forgiven for imagining that the right-wing slime machine — and even more, its abettors in the mainstream media — would have been knocked back on its heels a bit. But apparently not. ABC, CNN, NBC are still in the thrall of the same right-wing rags as much as they ever were in the days of the GOP majority. 

Take the case of Speaker Pelosi and her plane.

As you probably already know, after Sept. 11, 2001, with increased concern over continuity of government, the administration made an Air Force plane available to then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) for flying back and forth to his district in Illinois. The same service was slated for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Only, her San Francisco district is some 2,800 miles from D.C., as opposed to the 700-mile trip to Hastert’s district in Aurora, Ill. And the plane Speaker Hastert used, a C-20, which could easily manage the trip to Aurora, can’t make it nonstop to California.

That led Pelosi, or actually the House sergeant at arms on her behalf, to contact the Pentagon to ask for a plane for Pelosi that could fly cross-country nonstop. And it was all downhill from there. 

The Washington Times started the ball rolling by scooping up and dishing a batch of administration leaks about the Speaker’s request and larding it with a series of outlandish claims about Pelosi’s demands for a lavish jumbo jet with enough room to ferry her friends, family and colleagues and whoever else across the country in style.

Then a bunch of embittered members of the diminished House GOP caucus like Reps. Roy Blunt (Mo.), Adam Putnam (Fla.) and Patrick McHenry (N.C.) got into the act by castigating Pelosi for turning the Air Force into “Pelosi One,” demanding a “flying Lincoln Bedroom” and much else. As I write, I’m listening to Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who must have crawled out from under some rock, yapping on about it on the House floor. 

None of this surprises me much. I don’t expect straight journalism from the Washington Times. And I remember the pre-1994 days well enough to know the malarkey the Republicans come up with when they’re trying to work their way out of minority status. What is striking is the way the non-right-wing press has been led around by the nose on this stuff. 

First Lou Dobbs picked it up on CNN. Then it was on Wolf Blitzer’s “Situation Room.” With little or no actual reporting, the anchors hid behind “some are saying”- or “accusations have been made”-type dodges.

By mid-week most news outlets were waking up to the fact that the issue was how far the plane could fly, not its size. But was it really true that the plane Speaker Hastert used couldn’t fly nonstop from coast to coast like Pelosi wanted?

By week’s end the story was all across cable TV and showing up on tabs across the country. The fact that Pelosi was only requesting what her predecessor had had — a plane that could fly to her district without refueling — was usually buried in the story, while accusations of Pelosi’s high-living and arrogant ways held all the headlines. 

It all amounts to a pretty nice illustration of the iron triangle of right-wing sludge-slopping. Queued up by the freak-show right-wing press, churned by the White House and the House GOP and spread far and wide by the neutered mainstream press.

Some things never change. The Dems still have their work cut out for them.

Marshall is editor of talkingpointsmemo.com.
His column appears in The Hill each week.
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