Donald Trump can’t renounce David Duke strongly enough for the media and bi-partisan circle jerk around him. Even when he did it on “Good Morning America” on March 2, Washington Post reporter Janell Ross lied and said it was more than 48 hours since his last denunciation.
Of course, the ex-Klansman has no official role with Trump’s presidential campaign and even less connection with Trump as the human pooper scooper wife of WaPo media blogger Erik Wemple does to good hygiene.
Compare all this to how Democrats are treating news that former New York State Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver remains a convention superdelegate despite his conviction last December on federal corruption charges. Party grand poohbahs, plus the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns today all declined to disavow Silver.
Superdelegates, of course, are political officeholders, DNC members and party luminaries not pledged to any candidate. Their votes could conceivably determine the party standard bearer if neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders snags the nomination on the first ballot. They include some of the few white males even allowed at the convention given the party’s rarely-discussed cast iron race and gender delegate quotas, which this reporter previously documented for JewishWorldReview.com.
Silver, apparently a DNC member in good standing, actually endorsed Hillary in 2008. But her campaign Tuesday ignored inquiries about whether she wants his support this time around. Press secretaries for Bernie Sanders and the Democratic convention also pulled a deaf mute routine.
Ditto for former DNC chairman Ed Rendell and current vice chair Donna Brazile.
So, there you have it. Democratic Party luminaries do not see any reason to renounce the convicted felon who could play a crucial role in determining their nominee. But these are the people who say Donald Trump is an affront to mainstream American values?
Meanwhile, Silver is scheduled for sentencing next month. So it’s not clear if he could even attend the convention. But if not immediately dispatched to the Big House would he like to join the festivities in Philadelphia this July?
With all these Dems keeping their traps shut, Silver’s lawyer, Steven Mulo, seemed like an obvious person to ask that question.
Alas, in contrast to Wemple, WaPo executive editor Marty Baron and BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith, Mulo this afternoon showed he knows how to handle embarrassing inquiries without lying or sounding defensive or hanging up immediately.
“You’ll have to call [Silver’s] office,” he said.
But you’re his lawyer!
“I don’t represent him in connection with his Democratic Party work, OK? Take care [click].”