Newsbusters' Tom Blumer demonstrates once again the idiocy upon which the Right's media criticism is based.

Blumer is upset that an Associated Press article about a former Detroit city councilwoman's bribery sentencing didn't mention in the headline that the councilwoman is married to Democratic Congressman John Conyers. Blumer thinks this reflects a pro-Democrat double-standard because a separate AP article about a former aide to Republican Congressman Chris Shays pleading guilty did mention Shays in the headline.

Now, on its face, Blumer's complaint probably seems like small potatoes -- but that can be forgiven. Sometimes small transgressions can be representative of greater trends. No, the problem with Blumer's complaint isn't that it doesn't identify a problem of sufficient magnitude. The problem with Blumer's complaint is that it's really, really stupid.

See, Monica Conyers is a public figure in her own right, and she was sentenced for crimes she committed as a Detroit city councilwoman -- crimes that had nothing to do with her husband. That's why the AP's headline identified her as “Ex-Detroit councilwoman”: because she was convicted of taking bribes in her capacity as a councilwoman. That isn't terribly complicated, is it?

Meanwhile, the former Shays aide is ... just a former Shays aide. He isn't a public official in his own right; his significance stems directly from his relationship to Shays. And -- now, pay attention, this part is important -- he is pleading guilty to crimes he committed in his capacity as Shays' campaign manager, including embezzling funds from the campaign. I assume it is quite obvious to everyone other than Tom Blumer why Shays' name would appear in the headline.

Basically, Blumer's complaint boils down to this: The Associated Press handled different situations differently. Bias!