Chgo Sun-Times: Turning Big Dem Contributor into ‘Staunch Republican’

July 17, 2007 | Filed Under Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Media Bias, President, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Uncategorized, Warner Todd Huston |

-By Warner Todd Huston

Why is it that every time the MSM writes a story about a supposedly “staunch Republican” who is vocally supporting the opposing Party, we have to wonder of its veracity? Maybe it’s because there always seems to be a few little problems with the claim of “staunchness” on the part of the MSM’s favored Party hopper du jour? And in this case, the Chicago Sun-Times story titled “GOP lawyer sold on Dems” by Jennifer Hunter, we have no better assurances than we ever do that the claimed “staunch Republican” is either very “staunch” or very “Republican.”

Sun-Times writer Hunter dug up a supposedly “staunch Republican” named Jim Ronca, a trial lawyer from Pennsylvania. Mr. Ronca, claims Hunter, is “certain of one thing: He is not going to vote Republican in the 2008 presidential election.”

But there is more than that. He also says he’ll financially support Democrats, and he makes this announcement as if this is somehow an earth shattering rebuke to the GOP, or so the Sun-Times wishes us to believe.

“I’m not only going to vote Democratic, I’m going to financially support the Democrats,” Ronca said after a luncheon forum of the American Association for Justice, featuring Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Joe Biden. “The Republicans in Washington are an embarrassment.”

Well…. he told them, eh?

So this “staunch Republican” is now going to financially support the Democrats? This seems an about face for a Republican, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately for the Sun-Times’ attempt to make Ronca seem the dyed-in-the-wool Republican, Mr. Ronca has a long, long history of being a Republican who financially supports Democrats. In fact, a quick review of his public donation record proves that he almost never gives to a Republican at all. Out of the 10 candidates he’s donated to, only two of them were Republicans… and one of those was Arlen Spector who hardly counts as a Republican in the first place! (One of the candidates he donated to I could not quickly identify the party affiliation. If anyone knows what party Bruce Bradley was in I’d appreciate the info.)

Some “staunch Republican” Ronca turns out to be!

Here are some of his political donations:

James R. Ronca
Schmidt, Ronca and Kramer

$1,000 Harris Wofford (Democrat, PA) 6/22/1994
$250 Charles Oberly (Democrat, PA) 10/3/1994
$500 Edward Kennedy (Democrat, MA) 11/16/1995
$250 Stewart Greenleaf (Republican, PA) 12/29/1999
$250 Patrick Casey (Democrat, PA) 6/3/2000
$500 Ron Klink (Democrat, PA) 6/13/2000
$500 Ron Klink (Democrat, PA) 9/15/2000
$500 Arlen Specter (Republican, PA) 11/5/2001
$500 Allyson Schwartz (Democrat, PA) 3/30/2004
$2,000 John Kerry (Democrat, MA) 5/27/2004
$500 Allyson Schwartz (Democrat, PA) 8/23/2005
$1,000 Bob Casey (Democrat, PA) 9/13/2006
$500 Bob Casey (Democrat, PA) 9/30/2005
$500 Bruce Bradley (?) 9/5/2006

Wow, thousands to Democrats, and pennies to the GOP. You know, the Party he is supposed to be a “staunch” member of?

Now, one might say that since Rona is a lawyer in Pennsylvania, he would have to support quite a few Democrats. After all, he is surrounded by them in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, right? All right, that might be a fair question. But that does not answer to why he has donated to a Massachusetts leftist (Teddy Kennedy) and supported the horribly leftist presidential candidate for the 2004 presidential election (John Kerry)? Maybe his support of local Democrats can be explained away, but not his support for lions of the left outside his state.

How many “staunch Republicans” do YOU know who would donate to Teddy Kennedy? I’d lay odds that such a creature is far and few between.

So, the claims that Jim Ronca is a “staunch Republican” doesn’t hold much water and neither does the Sun-Times’ story!

My last question is also a curiosity. We see these stories of so-called Republicans who are jumping ship to support the Dems all the time. Why is it that the MSM never sees fit to publish a story where Dems are jumping ship to go with the GOP? Did they get so discouraged with the Reagan Democrat that they vowed never to write such a story again?

It would seem so.

Update

I have found out that there was a misspelling on the one candidate that I could not identify. His name is Bruce Braley, not Bradley. “He’s a Democrat who won election to Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in 2006, replacing a Republican who retired to run for another office.”

This means, and I quote a reply on one of my other web outlets… “that this ’staunch Republican’ gave $8000 to Dems, as opposed to $750 for Republicans. I don’t know of many staunch partisans who give money in a 10:1 ratio to the *other* party.”

Yeah. Ronca is SOME “staunch Republican,” indeed!

Update #2

I want to mention that John Hinderaker of Powerline blog, one of the top visited conservative blogs on the Internet, linked this story as it was posted by the author on Men’s News Daily. Thanks for the link, Powerline!
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Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, men’snewsdaily.com and americandaily.com among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a guest on several radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston