Politics: Eleven Days to Stop Hagel

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Politics Eleven Days to Stop Hagel How the right-wing media found a powerful new ally: Senate Republicans. By David Weigel Posted Saturday, Feb 16, 2013, at 12:49 AM ET The Daily Caller, Tucker Carlson's full-service politics magazine, just celebrated three years in business. The Washington Free Beacon, founded by comrades and scions from The Weekly Standard, just turned one. Thanks to them, two administration allies—Sen. Bob Menendez and former Sen. Chuck Hagel—have added that terrifying Washington word, embattled, to their business cards.* Matthew Continetti, the editor of the Free Beacon, said so in his weekly column for the site. Politico's media reporter, Dylan Byers, had heaped scorn on the Free Beacon for dogging the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee for 990 tax forms and a 2008 tape of a Chuck Hagel speech. The tape, once discovered, was a snoozer. But the Free Beacon's reporting had pulled it loose, along with the 990s. And the Free Beacon and the Daily Caller had been asking questions about Menendez's Bill-and-Ted relationship with Salomon Melgen, a wealthy eye doctor who traded trips to the Dominican Republic for a little senatorial clout in his negotiations over a lucrative port deal. "When Chuck Hagel withdraws his nomination," wrote Continetti, "and Bob Menendez resigns his Senate seat, the usual suspects will bemoan the state of affairs that have allowed horrible conservatives to besmirch the reputations of such honorable and decent men. The usual suspects, of course, will have missed the real lesson: reporting works." The national Republican Party is splintered, angry, and captivated by infighting. Fox News is putting up surprisingly weak ratings. But the conservative new media is having a great ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate FBI Files Unlock History Behind Clandestine Cellphone Tracking Tool Keanu Reeves Is Right About the Future of Cinema Are Oysters Doomed?	Advertisement
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