During the lead-in to their 6 AM broadcast, WBAL (Baltimore) anchorwoman Mindy Basara said something to the effect of, "Less than a week into his role as chairman of the DNC and Howard Dean has put his foot in his mouth again."
At first, thinking she was referring to the
Minarik story, I bolted out of bed and began planning my own nuclear option. However,
this was the piece in question.
Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is calling for an apology from Howard Dean, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Speaking on WBAL-AM 1090 Wednesday, Steele took issue with Dean for telling what Steele said was a "racist" joke to the Congressional Black Caucus.
During a meeting with the black caucus on Friday, Dean joked: "You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here."
Steele, Maryland's first black lieutenant governor, called the remarks "racially insensitive and intolerable."
He said Democrats wonder why they are losing ground among African-Americans and other minorities, and they need look no further than Dean's remark.
While there is no overwhelming bias in the story itself, I feel the lead was grossly irresponsible, as I explain below in a letter to WBAL.
Dear WBAL:
For a moment, I thought I was watching the Fox News Channel this morning when, during the lead-in to the 6 AM news, Mindy Basara stated that Howard Dean had "put his foot in his mouth again." As a result of this irresponsible lead, the succeeding story on Dean and Michael Steele was tainted with bias before it began.
While I can understand that Mr. Steele was unhappy with the way Dean's joke characterized the Republican Party, it is my opinion that WBAL, at the very least, had a responsibility to interview a sampling of African Americans before claiming that Dean had "put his foot in his mouth." Given that 88% of African Americans voted Democrat in the last election, it seems reasonable to believe that a majority would have agreed with Dean's characterization of the Republican Party, rather than be offended by it.
While I expect a strong conservative bias and irresponsible journalism from your sister station, WBAL radio 1090, I have always seen the WBAL 11 news as a source of fair, untainted information. I hope my view of your station is not outdated.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Chris Taylor
It appears that WBAL does not give out e-mail addresses. Instead, you have to go here and fill out the "Contact Us" box on the right. Or, you can call WBAL at 410-467-3000.
While, in the grand scheme of things, this is small change, I still think we should have Dean's back on it; he's got ours.
Or, as the once-great Mobb Deep famously (or should it be "infamously") said:
"Just watch my back, I got your front."
UPDATE: It looks like Ken Mehlman is running with the story on some level; I found
this at
News Max.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman blasted newly elected DNC chief Howard Dean on Tuesday for telling what he said was a "racist" joke to the Congressional Black Caucus.
"It's pretty offensive," Mehlman told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity. "It's pretty racist, if you ask me."
There's more if you can stand to follow the link.
Additionally, Steele was on Hannity and Colmes talking about the incident last night.
From
News Hounds:
The first attack concerned a comment Dean made while speaking to the Congressional Black Caucus. Hannity and Michael Steel claimed that Dean's comment was racially insensitive despite the fact that Dean recieved a standing ovation at the end of his speech.
Tony Coelho refused to fall into Hannity's trap and started talking about the budget cuts that would radically affect the Black community. Hannity immediatly interjected, "I don't have a lot of time here." Colmes cornered Steele with a direct question, "Are you calling Dean a racist?" Steele backed down. The big scandal quickly turned into a meaningless non issue and it was finished.
Hopefully they're right, although this will probably continue to get some traction in MD.