( - promoted by Clem Guttata)
By misoverstood
Charleston Gazette statehouse beat reporter Phil Kabler may be a little bit too much of an insider to think clearly. At least that is what his story in today's Charleston Gazette leads me to believe. The story is largely about the primary race for the 8th District of the West Virginia State Senate. There are three candidates in the primary: Senator Erik Wells and challengers Richie Robb and Rich Lindsay. Kabler's attempt to write a story about who is funding each candidate in their election attempt failed miserably.
Don't get me wrong, Kabler hit his favorite talking point: Robb gets all of his money from the unions and Wells gets his from the business community, including the Chamber of Commerce itself. Where the article failed was in its attempt to give the public any information about Rich Lindsay. Kabler writes in full about Lindsay:
A third Democrat in the race, Charleston lawyer Richard Lindsay II, raised $1,719 during the period, according to his disclosure filed with the secretary of state's office.
Kabler failed his readers and the citizens of Kanawha County in two respects. First, Lindsay may have only raised $1,719 during the last month, but he has raised over $15,000 to date. Second, and most importantly, Kabler did not make any mention of where Lindsay's money came from. Perhaps that is because all of Lindsay's money comes from individual donations. That's right, actual human beings. Lindsay has raised more money from individual contributions than either of the other candidates. Rather than taking money from businesses and other special interests, Lindsay has raised his money the same way that President Obama did. Kabler must not have found this important?
I can't understand how a reporter would write an article about money raised and where it came from, without ever mentioning where Rich Lindsay's money came from, particularly since Lindsay sent the press release that likely led to the story being written. I guess I shouldn't expect much more from an insider like the statehouse beat author.
If you are interested in Kabler's full story, you can find it here. |
