Exposing the Clique
A smug, meant-to-be-insulting response from the "Senate Site" Friday to my innocuous blog item about Legislative Fiscal Analyst John Massey leaving that post begs a follow-up from me. The response shows the attitude of the Senate and helps explain why the general public so often feels ignored by their so-called representatives in the Legislature.
I posted on my blog that "word is leaking out" Massey was leaving, and that a press release would be out later in the day.
A nasty little post on my blog by the deliberately misnamed Senate Site (it's actually nothing more than a Republican propaganda site using taxpayer funded resources), then said "By word is leaking out this morning ... you probably meant the official E-mail he sent to legislators and staff..."
That response is illustrative because it shows so clearly who Republican leaders in the Senate think are important - in fact, the only people who are important.
Memo to Senate leaders: There is a whole big world out there beyond your club. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are not legislators or legislative staff who actually count.
What a shock that statement must be to you.
It was the constituency beyond just the legislators and staff that I was spreading the word to. Massey did not send them an e-mail. And here is another shock: Those people deserve to receive information about the Legislature that actually goes beyond the campaign fliers you send out every two years.
The attitude revealed in the Senate Site post helps explain why the Senate has ignored the wishes of the majority and voted for vouchers despite what the polls say. And it shows why the Senate voted to bind Salt Lake County residents with sales tax obligations for Real Salt Lake's soccer stadium despite polls showing the majority did not want that.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
I posted on my blog that "word is leaking out" Massey was leaving, and that a press release would be out later in the day.
A nasty little post on my blog by the deliberately misnamed Senate Site (it's actually nothing more than a Republican propaganda site using taxpayer funded resources), then said "By word is leaking out this morning ... you probably meant the official E-mail he sent to legislators and staff..."
That response is illustrative because it shows so clearly who Republican leaders in the Senate think are important - in fact, the only people who are important.
Memo to Senate leaders: There is a whole big world out there beyond your club. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are not legislators or legislative staff who actually count.
What a shock that statement must be to you.
It was the constituency beyond just the legislators and staff that I was spreading the word to. Massey did not send them an e-mail. And here is another shock: Those people deserve to receive information about the Legislature that actually goes beyond the campaign fliers you send out every two years.
The attitude revealed in the Senate Site post helps explain why the Senate has ignored the wishes of the majority and voted for vouchers despite what the polls say. And it shows why the Senate voted to bind Salt Lake County residents with sales tax obligations for Real Salt Lake's soccer stadium despite polls showing the majority did not want that.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
1:26 PM
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6 Comments:
The Senate Site is paid for by my tax dollars?
Hey SS, is this true?
Right on, Paul.
Very nicely summed up.
Paul, Paul, Paul
The truth meter went off the charts on this one. You arogantly tried to claim credit for a scoup, when the reality is the issue was already public knowledge, INCLUDING the email sent to legislators.
I think we will begin keeping score each time you arrogantly and erroneously claim credit for breaking a news story, blog story, or op-ed piece. We'll also keep score each time you fabricate, exagerate, mis-state, mis-quote, outrigtht lie, and all of the other less than professional tactics you use.
Unfortunately, you have been doing these things so long, I'll bet you have begun to believe yourself.
Wow. I guess we hit a nerve.
So, then.
Hi Paul.
Hope you’re feeling better.
The insinuations in your previous post made it likely your readers would infer that one of our top employees is being forced out, or is leaving under a cloud. That is not true.
It would be a disservice to misjudge the event or the man. John has served the state for 20 years. He has performed mightily in a high-pressure arena and we think he deserves a better farewell than false rumors spurred by innuendo. We took the opportunity your post presented to offer a bit of clarifying information.
At the very least people need to know there is additional perspective out there.
Additional perspectives --> Depth Perception. That’s one of the reasons blogs are so healthy for, say, a little democratic republic like this one. People can weigh your perspective with ours, along with whoever else cares to offer insight, and come to a better impression about the truth of an issue.
Smug/nasty/insulting…? Not consciously. Tone and emotion are notoriously hard to judge via text on a computer screen. Obviously, I was teasing you a little – something along the lines of: "Oooooooo! Your super-stealthy inside spies…!" Reading it again, I can see where a guy might take offense. None was intended.
As far as your other opinions, above, I sincerely believe you misjudge us, our perspective, what we hope to accomplish with legislative blog sites, and even how our site is financed. (All $260 bucks of it. A little more if you count the camera.)
Your blog is worth reading, most of the time, and an interesting part of the Utah blog phenomenon. Same goes for Out of Context and the other Trib blogs. We all add a little unique perspective that gives Joe Citizen a fighting chance to discern the truth.
Anyone who wants more info about John Massey's retirement can read a copy of the press release we sent to every media outlet in the state (including Paul Rolly's) last Friday.
I don't agree with much of the view/attitude on the Senate Site. I'm glad it's there, though. It will take a lot more to make our government more transparent, but this is a start. So far, none of my comments have been removed, and most of them disagree with the status quo, so it's also another way to make my voice heard. I think this is one of the better ways my tax dollars are being spent.
Dear J-man-
No, it is NOT true the Senate Site is paid for by your tax dollars. It was set up with private funds as another venue for the Senate to relay information to its constituency, the people of Utah.
As for transparency, I appreciate Misty's comment. Perhaps what people don't realize is the government’s attempt to relay information to the people of Utah is squashed by the filter of an editor (or reporter) in order to fit within the time or space allotted—and, let’s be honest, to make the story more interesting/juicy to readers. So—perhaps government isn’t as bad as the front page makes it seem. Lest we forget, there ARE two sides to every story, so which one do we get, and which one do we believe?
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