The fall of Jesse Jackson Jr: yet another lesson in Media Bias

Put. Your coffee. Down. 

Trust me.

‘Cause if you haven’t had a chance to see this yet, at least now you won’t ruin your computer screen.

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While you watch (it’s only 2 minutes), test yourself and see if you can see both ways that THIS story is handled differently than reports  about Republican/Conservative/Tea Party politicians. 

First of all, you may have noticed that there was no mention of Jackson Jr’s political party (hmmm, ....guess which one HE is??). But even worse was the tone. Sadness? Really? He ripped off three-quarters of a million bucks from his campaign funds, yet it’s “sad” since he had such talent and a promising career? 

This was political arrogance, plain and simple. How is that sad? Stupid, sure. Selfish, no doubt. But sad?

I’d possibly feel sorrow if he’d gotten himself hooked on drugs or booze. Addiction is sad. I’d certainly feel sadness if he was hurt in a car crash, or was diagnosed with an incurable disease. But this? Jackson Jr. blew $43,000 of other people’s money just for a wristwatch, and the emotion MSNBC wants me to feel is “sad“??!?

No, I feel outrage. Fury. And some small sense of justice that at least he’s partially paying for his crimes.

He’s another Chicago politician going to jail for behaving as if he were owed his elected position (seems to occur pretty often up there, doesn’t it?). He showed contempt and disdain for the law, his supporters, and for the opportunities that he was given. Good riddance to him.

Obviously, this hasn’t gotten nearly the wall-to-wall coverage that we’d have expected if his party affiliation was different. But I suppose we should feel relieved about one aspect of Jackson Jr’s story:

At least he didn’t do something REALLY horrible, …like take a sip from a water bottle on TV.