Len Downie's (WaPo Editor) Lap Dance With Drag Queen (Coverup/Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

The Washingtonian ^ | December 21, 2006 | Harry Jaffe

[abb]

Looks like the FreeRepublic crack investigative team should take a look at this...

[abb]

Ping

[Red Badger]

Lap Dance with Drag Queen? You can't make this stuff up!.........

[abb]

IIRC, wasn't it another WaPo editor who made famous the observation, "It isn't the crime, it's the coverup?"

[Rembrandt_fan]

While no fan of the WaPo, I think this has all the makings of a nonstory and a non-scandal. The guy was more or less ambushed by the entertainment, pictures were taken, and he behaved as well as just about anyone would in a similarly awkward, uncomfortable situation. So what?

[abb]

So what?

Substitute the name "Rush Limbaugh" or "Sean Hannity" in place of Len Downie and tell me what the Drive-By Media would be doing now? The earth would cease rotation until pictures of said event were found and broadcast worldwide for days...

[SmithL]

Did he get a pole dance?

[Tribune7]

The Post's editor had a R-rated encounter with a drag queen during a Post party this month

Doesn't this party violate a whole host of HR rules? Or would that only apply if the dancers were actually female?

[abb]

Doesn't this party violate a whole host of HR rules? Or would that only apply if the dancers were actually female?

But one of a plethora of questions that won't be answered until the coverup is undone...

[roses of sharon]

Absolutely, American's should know their "news" comes from the NY bathhouse boys.

[Rembrandt_fan]

You wrote, in response to my 'so what?' comment, "Substitute the name "Rush Limbaugh" or "Sean Hannity" in place of Len Downie and tell me what the Drive-By Media would be doing now?"

It's a matter of milieu, I think: the consensus of one's peers regarding decorum, taste, and mores. For someone in Downie's crowd, the appearance of lap-dancing drag queens has the feel of a prank, a bit over-the-top, but not shocking, so the MSM would (probably) view it as I do: no conflict, no scandal, no story. However, the deliberate introduction of transvestites at a conservative gathering would be so contradictory, so implausible, that it couldn't help but be newsworthy. I can't imagine a possible world where Limbaugh or Hannity would attend a party or dinner or function where drag queen entertainment, booked by staff, would be acceptable.

[Doctor Raoul]

The public has a right to know...

[Doctor Raoul]

If nothing else, Woodward and Bernsteen taught us, "IT'S NOT THE CRIME, IT'S THE COVER UP!"

[Rembrandt_fan]

Turn down the volume, willya?

The Watergate comparison simply doesn't hold up. Downie is not an elected official, for one thing. For another, no crime was committed. A Washington Post editor can have a thousand drag queen lap-dancing moments--and even attempt to squelch dissemination of photos taken while engaged in such flamboyant, outrageous behavior--with no legal charges pending and no effect on the body politic.

Again: no crime, no cover-up, no conflict, no story. You're simply not going to get traction from this.

[abb]

We think it's important. News is what the editor says it is unless the publisher says it isn't. Dr. Raoul and I, in all modesty, qualify as editors here at Free Republic...

[Rembrandt_fan]

You wrote, "Dr. Raoul and I, in all modesty, qualify as editors here at Free Republic..."

I have no idea what 'qualify as editors' means on a forum like Free Republic, but sure, okay, by all means, go right ahead. Throughout my freelance career, I have written the occasional newspaper article and magazine piece, and based upon my experience--as a writer, mind you, not as an editor--this cover-up story of yours is going absolutely nowhere.

[Rembrandt_fan]

One more thing: Carl 'Bernstein', not 'Bernsteen'. If you're going to try your hand at journalism, at least get the names right.

[Doctor Raoul]

Evan Thomas spiked Monica, which made Drudge a millionaire.

The Post is spiking this photo, so "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"...

The media are losers who were too dumb to qualify for the a job in the military.

[Doctor Raoul]

I have no idea what 'qualify as editors' means on a forum like Free Republic,...

As opposed to the smarmy. self centered critics?

[abb]

As opposed to the smarmy. self centered critics?

I wouldn't edit a thing in your reply...