This morning’s New York Times includes an article by Elisabeth Bumiller about Bruce Bartlett, a respected conservative expert on budget and tax policy (among many other things). The article reports that Mr. Bartlett was dismissed from his post at a think tank after he wrote a book critical of the Bush administration. As her stories usually are, Ms. Bumiller’s piece is well-written and interesting.

There’s just one problem. The Times already reported the story.

On October 17 of last year, Ms. Bumiller’s colleague in the Times‘ Washington bureau, Richard Stevenson, wrote a story headlined: “In Sign of Conservative Split, A Commentator Is Dismissed.”

So why re-report this non-news?

As it so often does, the Times‘ agenda is apparent: paint the appearance of divion amongst conservatives and provide fodder for the argument that right-leaning organizations, from the White House on down, don’t tolereate dissention.

Whether the story is on target or not, no newspaper should be letting an agenda drive its news coverage. (Or, non-news coverage, as the case might be.) Of course, that never stopped the Times before.

Cam: I’m surprised they didn’t bring up Colin Powell or Paul O’Neill. I’ve never been a big fan of Elizabeth Bumiller’s reporting. Then again, I’ve never been a big fan of the NYTimes in general.

Jim: Aside from the usual, “hey, look! Conservatives are fighting” enthusiasm of the Times, the story does raise an interesting topic. If you’re a member of a party (GOP) or a movement (conservatism) and you think that your conservative/Republican President is screwing up, there’s a way to make criticism that’s constructive, and there’s a way to look like a jerk.

When your book is titled, “Impostor: Why George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy,” conservatives may not be all that thrilled with ya. That’s the tone they hear from Democrats all day long.

There are plenty of reasons for a conservative to disagree with Bush - from the prescription drug benefit to immigration to spending to Harriet Miers to Iraq to steel tariffs to what have you. But when you begin to trash the leaders on your side in a manner indistinguishable from the other side of the aisle, it’s not surprising that a lot of conservatives might decide you’re no longer on the same page.