J.D. Prose – 10/10/10

This page was last updated on October 11, 2010.

Altmire declares independence from Democrats; J.D. Prose; Beaver County Times; October 10, 2010.

As you read this opinion column, keep in mind Mr. Prose wears at least one other hat for the Times. In addition to being an entertainer/pundit, Mr. Prose is a part-time reporter covering political stories. Ask yourself this. When a pundit gives his political opinions in one part of the paper, can he be trusted to report politics objectively elsewhere in the paper? After all, would a person whose opinion is 1+1 equals 3 report 1+1 really equals 2? Does he have a “Chinese wall” in his head to keep his opinions from bleeding into his reporting? If it can get worse than that, Mr. Prose has made name-calling and personal attacks a foundation of his columns. If pushed, I’d be willing to bet Mr. Prose would try to excuse his writing by claiming he’s paid to be controversial and stir debate. The problem is, you don’t need to get into name-calling and personal attacks to accomplish those goals.

You can find the archive of my Prose column critiques here.

This column is yet another exercise in name-calling and anonymous sources.

Let’s look at a few comments. Mr. Prose wrote, “Coincidentally enough, Altmire voted against health-care reform and cap-and-trade and, we assume, is also concerned about the country, much like those constituents who voted overwhelmingly for Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain for president back in 2008.” I don’t know how many voters in Mr. Altmire’s district voted for Mr. McCain, but in Beaver County Mr. McCain won 50.6% to Mr. Obama’s 47.5%. That’s what Mr. Prose represents as “constituents who voted overwhelmingly for Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain?”

Mr. Prose wrote, “While some people, like us, find it irritating to see a Democrat running against a president dragging the country into the 21st century, Altmire said his vaunted independence is nothing new.” You’ll note Mr. Prose didn’t tell us how our “president dragging the country into the 21st century?”

Mr. Prose wrote, “But, we asked, is that good for the Democratic Party? Congressional Republicans unapologetically march in goose-step with their Do-Nothing leaders. Heck, Hart sort of admirably stood by Dubya in 2006 when all hope was lost.” Does Mr. Prose really believe an elected representative is supposed to represent his party over his constituents? “Congressional Republicans unapologetically march in goose-step …?” Sure. Do names like Arlen Specter, Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John McCain (R-AZ), and others ring a bell? In any case, what’s surprising in members of the same party voting similarly?