Wash. Post hires partisan Republican activist

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Yesterday, The Washington Post launched Red America, a weblog written by Republican activist Ben Domenech. Domenech's partisan political credentials are well-established -- he served as a speechwriter for former Bush administration Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and he is a co-founder of the partisan Republican weblog RedState.com. But his journalism credentials are thin, seemingly limited to writing for conservative publications during his teen years.

As the Post's bio of Domenech indicates, he is now an editor at conservative publishing house Regnery, where he claims he "has edited multiple bestsellers and books by Michelle Malkin, Ramesh Ponnuru, and Hugh Hewitt." Regnery, of course, gained notoriety for publishing the thoroughly discredited attack book, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, authored by John O'Neill, founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and Jerome Corsi.

Domenech's inaugural post on his Red America blog referred to "the shrieking denizens of their [the Democrats'] increasingly extreme base" and "the unhinged elements of their base, motivated by partisan rage." The Columbia Journalism Review noted that "Domenech is off to an auspicious start, fudging the facts and generally just making things up." And it turns out that just last month, Domenech expressed anger that President Bush attended "the funeral of a Communist" -- referring to Coretta Scott King.

Surely The Washington Post can do better than this.

Earlier this year, the Post removed reader comments from its website, explaining that if the comments were not deleted, "they would have obliterated any semblance of civil, genuine discussion." Domenech's references to progressives as "shrieking" and "unhinged" are inconsistent with the guidelines the Post has established for reader comments. So why has it hired a blogger who makes these comments? The Post explained Domenech's hiring by saying it "hires writers for their ability to add something substantive to the national conversation." Apparently, the Post believes that referring to progressives as "unhinged" and "shrieking" is a "substantive" addition to the "national conversation."

Contact Deborah Howell, the Post's ombudsman, and urge her, in a professional and courteous manner, to address this issue. The Washington Post should not serve as a platform for a partisan political activist.

Deborah Howell
ombudsman@washpost.com
(202) 334-7582

Additional resources:

Letter to Wash. Post executive editor re: blogger Ben Domenech
Wash. Post starts Red America conservative blog
Domenech called Coretta Scott King a communist