J.D. Prose – 4/28/13

This page was last updated on April 29, 2013.

Christiana says it’s time to expand the WATCH list; J.D. Prose; Beaver County Times; April 28, 2013.

According to his Twitter page, Mr. Prose is a self-described “Surly progressive.” As you read this opinion column and his Twitter “tweets,” keep in mind Mr. Prose wears at least one other hat for the BCT. 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? (You may recall NPR claimed it fired Juan Williams for doing exactly what Mr. Prose does.) 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.

Below is a critique of portions of this column.

“PA > WY

[RWC] In the print edition, this column appeared in the op-ed section labeled “ON THE LEFT.” Given Mr. Prose’s body of work and the BCT’s left-leaning positions, did the BCT really think readers didn’t know he’s a “Surly progressive?”

“Speaking of our beloved governor, it was news last week that Pennsylvania is now, drum roll, please, 49th in the U.S. of A. in job growth under Corbett. Yayyyy!!!!!

“Hmmm. Maybe we were 50th when Corbett became governor. What’s that? Pennsylvania ranked 7th? Oh. Never mind.

“Which state did Pennsylvania beat out in the job-growth rankings? The business hub known as Wyoming. That just makes it all worse.”

[RWC] You’ll note Mr. Prose didn’t tell readers which Rendell and Corbett policies were responsible for “the job-growth rankings” during their administrations. In the meantime, President Obama has been in office just over four years and lefties still blame George W. Bush for our lousy economy.

“CENTER FIELD

“First, it was Democrat Erin McClelland, an ‘alternative medicine guru’ (hat tip to @JakeSternberger) from New Kensington entering the race. Now, Johnstown’s Larry Stiles, a centrist GOPer and Marine Corps/Vietnam veteran, has said he will challenge U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus in the 12th Congressional District primary, which we’re sure Keith just loved to hear.”

[RWC] As you will read below, Mr. Stiles “left the GOP in 2007 and returned in 2012.” That, Mr. Stiles’ support for “the late Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a Marine veteran, and Murtha’s replacement, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Critz” plus a description of “centrist GOPer” pretty much paints Mr. Stiles as a RINO.

“As if on cue, Stiles called us Friday and we learned that he’s from Prince George’s County, Md., just like us. Need we say more? Vote for this man, GOPers.

“Besides our shared roots, Stiles has run a collections agency for more than 30 years and become an advocate for veterans via veteranscongressionalwatchdog.blogspot.com.

“Stiles’ focus is on veterans issues with good reason. He said his VA claim has been lingering for 17 months and he has been diagnosed with diabetes and leukemia linked to exposure to Agent Orange.

“Rothfus drew Stiles’ wrath for ‘not doing anything’ for veterans while also voting against Hurricane Sandy relief and the Violence Against Women Act. Hey, we did say he was centrist.”

[RWC] Please read my critiques of the Prose columns entitled “Voting for anti-violence bill before voting against it” and “Rothfus’ Sandy relief votes aren’t a good start.”

“Turns out Stiles left the GOP in 2007 and returned in 2012, which has prompted rumors that he’s a Democratic plant. He backed the late Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a Marine veteran, and Murtha’s replacement, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, who lost to Rothfus last year.

“Stiles said the attacks come from disgruntled supporters of former GOP congressional candidate Bill Russell, whose campaign Stiles managed before, as Somerset County’s Daily American said, ‘the two had a falling out and traded barbs online.’

“So far this race has a Marine, an alternative medicine guru and a millionaire Teapublican. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker can’t be far behind.”