Oliver Willis

The paper of record strikes again with yet another story whose headline promises way more than the words in the story can deliver. Once again that shopworn story about Hillary Clinton will drag down Democratic pols is hauled out. And once again, the NY Times uses as its support… Republicans.

Vulnerable Democrats Fret About Clinton Ticket

…

But Patrick Leopold, campaign manager for Ms. Jenkins, said a Clinton nomination would work in favor of either his candidate or Mr. Ryun, the other prospective Republican opponent of Ms. Boyda. “Whether you are a moderate Republican or a conservative Republican in Kansas, you are pretty much of the same mind on Hillary Clinton,” Mr. Leopold said. “There is no question Hillary is going to be a drag for Boyda.”

The mere mention of Mrs. Clinton’s name as a potential president dew a strong reaction from Tom Doperalski, an official in rural Pottawatomie County who had just finished meeting with Ms. Boyda about how to contend with growth issues arising out of the increase of troops stationed at nearby Fort Riley.

“The people I talk to, they just cannot imagine a worse scenario,” said Mr. Doperalski, a Republican who heads the county commission. “They just don’t think she can be trusted.”

Ms. Boyda, who is trying to establish a political identity as independent, said her intent was simply to show the voters of both parties in her district that she was delivering for them. Of the presidential race, she said: “It is something I have no control over, quite honestly. They will demonize any Democrat who becomes the nominee. I just put my head down and work.”

She said she was putting her faith in Kansans’ willingness to split tickets. “Kansans are very practical people,” she said. “They just want people who will get the job done.”

Perhaps the Times might invest its considerable resources into a story about how George Bush and the eventual Republican nominee aren’t doing so hot for those congressional Republicans in blue-purple districts, so much so that they are abandoning the congress at record rates.

Oh, that’s too inconvenient.