The Quiet Conservative August 9, 2008
America’s Newspaper of Record
America’s newspaper of record isn't the New York Times. It isn't the Los Angeles Times. It most
certainly isn't the Kansas City Star. It is the National Enquirer. Yes, that’s right, the paper that
brings you the latest diets of the stars and juicy tidbits on Paris Hilton is proving more of a
journalistic powerhouse than the snooty big city papers.
The National Enquirer broke the story on Monica Lewinsky’s sexual scandal with her boss- who
was old enough to be her father, Bill Clinton. They were the ones to break the story on Reverend
Jackson’s illegitimate love child. (It seems the reverend was brought in to spiritually mentor Clinton
in the midst of his Lewinsky scandal. Only Rev. Jackson brought his mistress and future mother of
his child along. The Democratic Party is the party of family values.) They even broke the story on
Rush Limbaugh’s painkiller addiction showing they were more than willing to go to both sides of the
ideological aisle in their reporting.
The National Enquirer out reported the established press again when they reported on an affair
between presidential contender John Edwards and his Internet video producer Rielle Hunter. They
reported it in October of 2007. Well, like sharks in the water smelling blood, the rest of the national
press followed it up by doing absolutely nothing. There hasn't been this much lack of interest since
the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth held their initial press conference.
Almost a year has passed with no effort by the mainstream media at a follow up. At least the
reporters at the National Enquirer hadn't forgotten their role of keeping the people informed of a
presidential candidate‘s...indiscretion. They staked out a Beverly Hills Hotel where Ms. Hunter was
staying. On July 24th they caught John sneaking out of her hotel room at two thirty in the morning
only to have a comical chase around the hotel with John finally barricading himself in a men’s room.
This was a story! What was the former running mate to John Kerry, recent presidential candidate,
and potential vice presidential pick for Barak Obama doing visiting a woman in a hotel room in
California in the middle of the night? Especially when he was a married man with a dying wife living
in North Carolina? Was the woman’s baby his? Was he visiting his child? Was he continuing in the
affair?
After the Enquirer had initially published the story John Edwards had responded in an AP story
with: “"The story is false," he told reporters then. "It's completely untrue, ridiculous." He professed
his love for his wife, who had an incurable form of cancer, saying, "I've been in love with the same
woman for 30-plus years and as anybody who's been around us knows, she's an extraordinary
human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known. So the
story's just false." He called the story “tabloid trash.”
The LA Times was quick to jump into the fray with the following memo to it’s bloggers as reported
from the Klausfiles:
From: "Pierce, Tony"
Date: July 24, 2008 10:54:41 AM PDT
To: [XXX]
Subject: john edwards
Hey bloggers,
There has been a little buzz surrounding John Edwards and his alleged affair. Because the only
source has been the National Enquirer we have decided not to cover the rumors or salacious
speculations. So I am asking you all not to blog about this topic until further notified.
If you have any questions or are ever in need of story ideas that would best fit your blog, please
don't hesitate to ask
Keep rockin,
Tony
It seems the LA Times response was to crack down on its reporters and bloggers to prevent any
news of the scandal from leaking out to its readers. When FOX News confirmed the late night farce
with the hotel security guard, the national press continued in full blackout mode. But the press does
not have the ability to bury a story like they used to. While Stalinesque in their approach to the
story, it didn't go down the memory hole. The National Enquirer had photos and kept on the story.
Finally the Enquirer released some of the photos showing a blurry picture of John Edwards and a
baby. There were statements by the paper there were more photos to come. As the noose tightened
there was only one thing for the Democratic politician to do, admit to what everyone already knew.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS
August 8, 2008
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my
family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with
another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with
my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used
the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99% honest is no longer
enough.
I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become
public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full
responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then.
I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the
father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively
established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the
baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or
supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.
It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say
to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe
that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up
– feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped
bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.
The only problem is there is no logical reason for John Edwards to be sneaking into a hotel in
California in the middle of the night to see his ex mistress and her illegitimate baby; unless the affair
never ended or the baby is his, or possibly both. The baby was originally claimed by his married
staffer Andrew Young. But there is no father’s name listed on the birth certificate. John Edwards
has stated he will take a paternity test. But then again, we are still waiting for John Kerry to release
his military records and for OJ to find the real killers of Nicole.
John Edwards damage control statement was followed by his wife’s: “Our family has been through
a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some – most recently – caused
by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None
of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John
believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes
behind him, he has his family waiting for him.
John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made
before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did
tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier
with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be
private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well.
Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a
picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had
fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private.
The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed.
John has spoken in a long on-camera interview I hope you watch. Admitting one’s mistakes is a
hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face
of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway
is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I
ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John’s conduct has done to us, think
also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy
we need at this time.”
The only problem with the “absurd lies” part is the only lies anyone can prove are on behalf of
John Edwards. The press, having been scooped by The National Enquirer once again, has finally
sought fit to begin to cover the story now that Edwards has issued his admission and released that
admission on a Friday- typical damage control tactics. However, the story isn't going to die quick as
the press hopes it will. There are more questions being raised.
In Dallas the Dallas Morning News reported that Fred Baron, the former chairman of John Edward’s
presidential campaign finance committee made regular payments to John’s mistress and paid to move
her quietly out of North Carolina to California. “The money was purely and simply to get them out
of North Carolina and to get them into a stable place.”
Now the Enquirer is reporting on their web site the following “ John Edwards' mistress, Rielle
Hunter – the mother of his "love child" – has been secretly receiving $15,000 a month as part of an
elaborate cover-up orchestrated by the former presidential contender. ...The money is being
funneled to Hunter by a wealthy colleague who was closely tied to the Edwards' campaign ...”
Why the elaborate financial shenanigans for the woman who is carrying the baby of a former staffer?
Also of interest to reporters, not the major paper ones of course, is where did all the money come
from? Was it campaign funds that paid for the moves and the hush money? Will you have to buy
the National Enquirer at the check out stand to find out?
Now that the story is finally out there and can’t be killed, the press has belatedly found they could
look into the story. The information is coming fast and heavy in damage control mode. Reille’s
sister is calling on John Edwards to go ahead and take the DNA test. Uh oh, after admitting the
affair but denying paternity, will the former senator be caught in another lie? Quickly Reille came out
and said she would not participate. This gets John off the hook. Now he can say he would take a
paternity test without actually having to take one. One only wonders how this affects the payments
made by 'anonymous' to Reille and her baby who are living in a three million dollar mansion paid for
by 'anonymous'.
Of secondary interest was the statement by John Edward’s people that he was undecided on whether
he was attending the Democratic convention or not. Senator and presumptive nominee Barak
Obama has already given a statement that John and his family would not be making an appearance
due to personal reasons. That seems pretty clear. Don't Come! Although it is confusing. If it was
just sex, then why should Edward’s personal life have any bearing on his public life? Wasn't that
hammered home all through the Clinton saga? Why wouldn't Edwards still be on the short list for
VP or attorney general? Unless character does matter after all?
As the sordid drama plays out on the papers, now that they are forced to cover it, what about stories
closer to home and not large enough for the National Enquirer to cover? What about stories on the
Kansas state level? What about Tiller’s special dinner with his staff at the Governor’s mansion?
What about the payments shunted through Missouri PAC’s to influence Kansas elections? What
about the liberal....sorry, moderate, Republicans targeting conservatives in the primaries? Who will
cover these stories the press won’t cover on the local level?
We have the Kansas Meadowlark. We have one person with a full time job investigating news
when whole news corporations with hundreds of staff on them will not. The Quiet Conservative
would love to, but cannot without funding. Maybe soon we will be reporting what the press refuses
to cover. But until then you have one person in the state of Kansas actively finding stories the press
will not cover. Go to www.kansasmeadowlark.com and bookmark this page. Check it regularly.
Find out what is happening at the state level. Then wonder why your paper with its editorial board
and wealth of reporters can’t do what one person does in his spare time.
Our national paper of record is now The National Enquirer. Our local paper of record is an Internet
blogger. Most people are now realizing that for far too long they have not been getting the news
from the traditional papers. So all hail The National Enquirer and their diets to the stars. You got to
get the news somewhere.
Is it any wonder why the established national papers are in decline in both circulation and revenue?