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November 8, 2010

With the Journal's Hot Air in His Sails

Justin Katz

This paragraph, from a post-election article by Providence Journal staff writer Peter Lord deserves some reflection:

For much of the general election campaign, polls indicated there was no contest. Cicilline was running ahead by 20 points or more. And he raised and spent about $1 million more than Loughlin, though that included financing his primary campaign.

Any list of Cicilline's advantages should include the assistance that the Providence Journal offered — notably through its ostensibly neutral PolitiFact feature (as we noted several times, including here, here, here, here, here, and elsewhere). There's simply no denying the bias; the Projo's own handling of headlines shows some awareness of the fact. For the online version of the story — which will remain as a public record for people around the world to see — the title is "Cicilline holds off GOP's Loughlin." On the front page of last Wednesday's print edition, however, the headline jubilantly proclaims, "Cicilline sails past GOP's Loughlin."

Sorry, ye power brokers, given advantages of fundraising, name recognition, local partisan preferences, media adulation, presidential campaigning, and so on, Cicilline should have won by a much greater margin than 6% of the vote.

Let's hope that Loughlin continues to campaign over the next two years — including a dedicated effort to remain relevant and heard on issues in the news — and begins 2012 on a more equal footing for a race with a different outcome.

Comments

The real funny one was the Phoenix editorial. One of the many reasons they gave for rejecting Loughlin was that "we don't want a powerless freshman who will be part of the minority"
LOL

Posted by: Tommy Cranston at November 8, 2010 7:08 PM

Justin,

Good post as usual, but I have two questions. First, why did the Projo support Cicilline during the election (and before, when it ignored more than ample evidence of wrongdoing in his administration)? Second, what were the "special interests" who were said to have supported Cicilline seeking directly or indirectly in return for their support -- or why otherwise did they support Cicilline?

Posted by: Bill at November 8, 2010 8:39 PM

Bill, you must be new to RI. Projo, like most of the dying media, is a tool of the Left. Sissy was the candidate of the Left. Projo has been covering up for him ever since he became Mayor.

Notice I did not say of the Democratic party. As the election of Governor Barney showed, Projo supports the most extreme Leftist.

Posted by: BobN at November 9, 2010 1:26 PM