[xzins]

Your points are both well made and well-taken. Lake believes the mistake was so egregious that it would have painted the entire party. CEdmund believes he was simply a placeholder.

Honestly, gentlemen, I have no problem with your points.

My point has to do with combatting the media frenzy or joining it.

Senator Menendez was also running and he was hit with an incredible scandal: underage prostitution, illegal flights on a donor's plane, and shady multi-million dollar contracts for that same donor.

How did the Democrats handle it? This is what Jordy Yager wrote for theHill.com:

It is more important for Menendez’s political future, however, that Democrats refrain from criticizing him publicly. If that occurs, the chances of him surviving this public relations crisis decrease dramatically.

So far, Democratic leaders are opting not to comment beyond a few words.

“Bob Menendez is my friend. He's an outstanding senator,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this week, when asked about the emerging allegations.

Similarly, White House press secretary Jay Carney dodged a question at Friday’s press briefing about whether the president is concerned that a Senate Ethics investigation will hinder the immigration reform push because of Menendez’s key role.

“Well, I have nothing to say about that. I would refer you to the Senate,” Carney said.

They refrained from public criticism in a grossly worse case that involved real illegality and not just a slip of the tongue, because they knew it would sink Menendez' campaign.

So, I continue to think the problem was the piling on and contributing to the media frenzy. Rove was "the architect" of that.

It was a dumb, dumb response....or perhaps a sinister one.

[Blackirish]

I disagree. To blamed it on the media is like blaming it on the weather it is what it is and those are the rules. Repubs will get slaughtered for what dims will get a pass on. If you can’t deal get out.

Second what Akin and Murdock said played into a whole narrative “The war on woman” that the Obama campaign and the media had been carefully constructing for over a year.

[Lakeshark]

I was not aware that the Menendez scandal broke in any full blown way before the election, I believe the media held it back (and actually still are), as is their style. Make up things about (R)'s, don't report anything bad about (D)'s. No one knew about Menendez before the election, it wasn't just the dems that withheld info, it was the media itself.

Unfortunately the media is like that, until we figure out how to take them out we will continue to lose. They loved Akin, he was the perfect face for their GOP (and conservative) narrative. Scientifically stupid, narrow minded, bigoted, and mean spirited. Of course that isn't all true, but the comment made it easy to say it that way.

Trust me, they will soon throw Menedez under the bus, and Christie will nominate a democrat who will help him in his reelection. The media will conveniently forget the continuuing sleaze of the rats, and all will proceed as normal.

Btw, once Akin made his ill fated decision, I backed him in spite of how I thought about him, and thought it ill advised to mention how silly he was on FR. I wish that the dumb 1%er purists here had taken your advice about banding together during the last election, we wouldn't be gnashing our teeth, pissing and moaning every week for the next four years as Bambi dismantles America..........private joke/jab for a certain chaplain I happen to like........:-)........