In a report detailing the news that Rep. Shelley Berkley violated House rules, albeit unintentionally, The Hill displayed its usual bias for Democrats and against Republicans.
The House Ethics Committee asserted that Berkley and her husband benefited by her improper use of her office, but because the committee decided the actions were unintentional, she would not be punished.
The Hill spoke of Berkley’s bout with Dean Heller for Nevada’s Senate seat this way:
Berkley lost her Senate bid last month after waging a gritty campaign against Sen.-elect Dean Heller (R-Nev.) that focused a great deal on her ethical woes.
Gritty? What is that supposed to mean, that she had no support? She had the godfather of Nevada politics, Harry Reid, behind her. Gritty? Please.
The Hill then smugly notes, after reporting her non-punishment:
The Nevada lawmaker has long maintained her innocence.
And The Hill wasn’t about to let the opportunity to slime Heller now that Berkley had escaped punishment:
Heller wasn’t shy about using the ethics probe to target Berkley during the campaign. Berkley has pointed to the political ammunition it gave her opponent as one of the top reasons for her loss.
The fact that the House essentially chastised Berkley without punishing her isn’t on the Hill’s agenda. Defending Democrats and sliming Republicans is, for the “non-partisan” website.