Extra! FAIR to oversee David Reinhard's columns!
Let's consider a hypothetical situation. Let's say that David Reinhard becomes the managing editor of The Oregonian. Columnists and associate editors are free to write and contribute whtever they'd like, but Dave has the final say on the content of what appears on the pages of The Oregonian. Everything is sailing along smoothly, and Dave thinks that he's doing a heckuva job.
One day, columnist David Sarasohn walks down to a Starbucks on S.W. Broadway for a mid-afternnon "pick me up" of a latte and a cream cheese danish. While he's there enjoying his snacks, a fellow sidles up and introduces himself to Sarasohn as a member of FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, and expresses concerns that the editorial content of The Oregonian may be a little bit one-sided. The FAIR member asks Sarasohn to contact him if he notices a trend of The Oregonian losing its objectivity in its reporting and sliding towards a conservative, one-sided view of news and opinion, and hands Sarasohn his business card. Sarasohn returns to his office and shares this encounter with his colleagues. Word buzzes around, and it quickly reaches Reinhard's ears.
What would Reinhard's response be? Well, according to his new column concerning Mayor Tom Potter's reaction to the FBI attempting to recruit a source in City Hall, I would assume Reinhard would simply shrug it off. No big deal, right? This seems to be the message that's coming across from Reinhard to Potter in his column: "Look the feds are the feds, and as we've recently found out they spy on everybody all the time. Why should City Hall be any different?"
Contrary to what Dave purports in his column, if this hypothetical situation I described above were to occur, I bet Dave would be pissed. And judging by the reaction of Mayor Tom Potter this past week in reponse to the news of the attempted recruitment by the FBI, that would be a fair word to describe how the mayor must've felt.
Dave defending the feds muscling in on local politics at City Hall? What an unusal stance for a supporter of "limited government" to make, huh? Well, similar as to how one respondent pointed out the anti-free market stance Dave took regarding the film of "The Da Vinci Code," its become quite clear that you just can't tell where Dave is coming from. The only thing consistent about him is his inconsistency. It would be safe to call him, yes, a flip-flopper.
Here's a thought: if the feds want to investigate City Hall, how about stating a reason? Dave bemoans the fact that the Mayor is attacking the feds for "just doing their job" and argues that the actions taken by the feds is akin to the "community policing" trumpeted by Tom Potter. Well, here's the thing- anytime a policeman or detective visits a business, especially one that has had no problems in a trouble-free part of town, and suggests contacting him if trouble arises, it has a psychological effect on those attmepting to run the business. Are they being watched? Are they in trouble? What the hell is going on? Those might be the first few questions that roll through their mind.
With the number of revelations by whistle-blowers to the national press over the past year and change, I would wager that if any employee at City Hall thought some corruption was afoot, they would not be afraid to contact authorities or, yes, even the local press. (Of course, Dave would then have to write a missive on how such whislte-blowing should never have occurred.) Portland should consider itself lucky that it has a corruption-free City Hall (the tram vote notwithstanding). For the most part, local government has been very transparent and responsive. Contrary to Dave's statement that the mayor's actions indicate that he has "something to hide," it appears that the mayor is upset that any shroud of guilt is being placed on City Hall at all.
If it's oversight Dave seeks, I would hardly leave that up to the feds, who appear to lack oversight themselves. Remember, Portland pulled out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force because the FBI didn't want any local oversight over what, exactly, it was doing. And Dave expects for us to turn around and allow the feds to have oversight on local politics? Please.
The day that will happen will be the day that FAIR has oversight over Reinhard's columns.
One day, columnist David Sarasohn walks down to a Starbucks on S.W. Broadway for a mid-afternnon "pick me up" of a latte and a cream cheese danish. While he's there enjoying his snacks, a fellow sidles up and introduces himself to Sarasohn as a member of FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, and expresses concerns that the editorial content of The Oregonian may be a little bit one-sided. The FAIR member asks Sarasohn to contact him if he notices a trend of The Oregonian losing its objectivity in its reporting and sliding towards a conservative, one-sided view of news and opinion, and hands Sarasohn his business card. Sarasohn returns to his office and shares this encounter with his colleagues. Word buzzes around, and it quickly reaches Reinhard's ears.
What would Reinhard's response be? Well, according to his new column concerning Mayor Tom Potter's reaction to the FBI attempting to recruit a source in City Hall, I would assume Reinhard would simply shrug it off. No big deal, right? This seems to be the message that's coming across from Reinhard to Potter in his column: "Look the feds are the feds, and as we've recently found out they spy on everybody all the time. Why should City Hall be any different?"
Contrary to what Dave purports in his column, if this hypothetical situation I described above were to occur, I bet Dave would be pissed. And judging by the reaction of Mayor Tom Potter this past week in reponse to the news of the attempted recruitment by the FBI, that would be a fair word to describe how the mayor must've felt.
Dave defending the feds muscling in on local politics at City Hall? What an unusal stance for a supporter of "limited government" to make, huh? Well, similar as to how one respondent pointed out the anti-free market stance Dave took regarding the film of "The Da Vinci Code," its become quite clear that you just can't tell where Dave is coming from. The only thing consistent about him is his inconsistency. It would be safe to call him, yes, a flip-flopper.
Here's a thought: if the feds want to investigate City Hall, how about stating a reason? Dave bemoans the fact that the Mayor is attacking the feds for "just doing their job" and argues that the actions taken by the feds is akin to the "community policing" trumpeted by Tom Potter. Well, here's the thing- anytime a policeman or detective visits a business, especially one that has had no problems in a trouble-free part of town, and suggests contacting him if trouble arises, it has a psychological effect on those attmepting to run the business. Are they being watched? Are they in trouble? What the hell is going on? Those might be the first few questions that roll through their mind.
With the number of revelations by whistle-blowers to the national press over the past year and change, I would wager that if any employee at City Hall thought some corruption was afoot, they would not be afraid to contact authorities or, yes, even the local press. (Of course, Dave would then have to write a missive on how such whislte-blowing should never have occurred.) Portland should consider itself lucky that it has a corruption-free City Hall (the tram vote notwithstanding). For the most part, local government has been very transparent and responsive. Contrary to Dave's statement that the mayor's actions indicate that he has "something to hide," it appears that the mayor is upset that any shroud of guilt is being placed on City Hall at all.
If it's oversight Dave seeks, I would hardly leave that up to the feds, who appear to lack oversight themselves. Remember, Portland pulled out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force because the FBI didn't want any local oversight over what, exactly, it was doing. And Dave expects for us to turn around and allow the feds to have oversight on local politics? Please.
The day that will happen will be the day that FAIR has oversight over Reinhard's columns.
posted by true_slicky at 4:43 PM
2 Comments:
I have tried to find Reinhard's bio on The Oregonian site and have not been successful. I can find other writers' and columnists' but not his. I am looking because, in addition to being "an RNC talking points regurgitator," I suspect he is also a classic chicken hawk. He writes like one. Most people who have been shot at are not war mongers. His writing is so typical of the Republican chicken hawks. My guess is that he is hiding his lack of service.
you couldn't be more correct schmedlap. if you're interested in reading about David Reinhard's lack of service and classic chicken hawkedness, do a search for his name over at blueoregon.com, where you'll find the bio that was in The Oregonian when Reinhard was hired.
it appears he got three degrees, worked on a Congressional campaign, then worked for the Reagan administration before blowing smoke in the pages of The Oregonian. hard to fit in time to serve the armed forces with all that going on...
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