Politico ignored Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Monday comparing long wait times at the VA to Disneyland, except to note that his comments angered Republican lawmakers.
McDonald’s remarks suggesting the VA is held to an unfair standard that amusement parks are not came Monday morning as he spoke to reporters at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
“When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important? What’s important is, what’s your satisfaction with the experience?” he asked. “And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure.”
The VA secretary’s comments set off a wave of criticism on both sides of the aisle, with some of the harshest responses coming from Republican lawmakers.
However, Politico barely touched the story Monday, and did so only to note that’s McDonald’s statement angered GOP lawmakers.
“Republicans lash out at VA secretary for ‘Disney’ comparison,” read the story’s headline.
The article reported, “Republicans quickly seized on the comments, holding them up as the latest example of the Obama administration’s callous approach to veterans.”
Other than that, though, the Virginia-based political news group published nothing else on the issue.
Politico’s choice of coverage Monday shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering its editors happen to be particularly interested in stories about lawmakers “lashing out” at things, especially when it involves Republicans.
“In debate, Republicans lash out – at each other,” reads one Politico headline from 2012.
Another more recent example reads, “House conservatives lash out at Boehner’s ‘culture of punishment.'”
“McCain lashes out at press over Palin,” reads yet another.
There’s more: “Graham lashes out on immigration,” “Conservative news sites lash out at Facebook over bias claims,” “Right lashes out at Rice,” “Cuccinelli lashes out at McAuliffe,” “Trump, pivoting to general, lashes out at everyone,” and “Trump lashes out at Clinton over gun control.”
