This page was last updated on July 4, 2011.
Taking care of themselves first; Editorial; Beaver County Times; July 3, 2011.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.
The data source for this editorial is Democracy Rising PA (DRP). According to their website, “Democracy Rising PA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working for integrity, value, transparency, and citizen confidence in government.” Without spending a lot of time on this, I have some reasons to doubt the “nonpartisan” claim. First, on all pages except the website’s home page you’ll find a logo at the bottom similar to a monochrome rendering of the 2008 Obama campaign logo. It’s possible DRP used this logo before Mr. Obama’s campaign but I have no quick way of finding out. Second, at the time of DRP’s founding in 2004 there existed a leftist organization named Democracy Rising (DR). If I were starting a “nonpartisan organization,” I would not name my group as if it were a state affiliate of a decidedly partisan national group. According to Wikipedia, DR disbanded in 2007.
At one point the editorial says, “The House plans a 25.8 percent increase in ‘Caucus Operations.’ On June 29th DRP issued a correction saying, “In yesterday’s edition of DR News, we reported an increase of 25.8% in House ‘Caucus Operations.’ The correct number is a 10% increase. We apologize for the error.” The BCT had plenty of time to correct the error but did not. This situation also seems to indicate the BCT took DRP’s info without checking its accuracy. Inaccurate reporting is not new for DRP. After a piece on vouchers in May, DRP had to issue a correction.
I wouldn’t doubt the gals and guys in Harrisburg did some things we won’t like, but I wouldn’t use this editorial or its data source if I were trying to make that case.
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