New York Times Labels Shady Sen­a­tor Bob Menen­dez as a Dem…When It Fits the Nar­ra­tive?

Peren­ni­al­ly shady Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen. Robert Menen­dez (NJ) was indict­ed by the Jus­tice Depart­ment on bribery charges Fri­day, and the par­ti­san label­ing by the New York Times has been unpre­dictable, some­times aggres­sive­ly iden­ti­fy­ing Menen­dez as a Demo­c­ra­t­ic sen­a­tor, some­times absolute­ly ignor­ing his par­ty.
Cov­er­age has been vig­or­ous, with the Times unable to deny itself the juicy details of gold bricks and wads of cash involv­ing a qua­si-local pol. And elec­toral­ly speak­ing, a Menen­dez indict­ment may not be per­ilous for the Demo­c­ra­t­ic Par­ty, giv­en that New Jer­sey is run by a Demo­c­ra­t­ic gov­er­nor, who would appoint a Demo­c­rat to replace Menen­dez if he was com­pelled to resign f …