No correction necessary
We made the rounds to Utah's U.S. House delegation Wednesday to talk about fair and balanced coverage of their offices.
An exchange with Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah's lone Democrat in office, was revealing.
In inviting the politician to freely contact The Tribune in case of erroneous or disputed reporting, we cited as an example of our human foibles this recent front-page tease: "Matheson joins his GOP colleagues in House, votes against bill" to set a 2008 troop withdrawal date from Iraq.
The conservative Matheson shrugged it off with a smile, making clear he wasn't particularly interested in a correction. He said he was OK with the tease.
He stopped short of asking permission to use it in his next re-election campaign in his Republican-leaning district.
-- Dan Harrie
An exchange with Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah's lone Democrat in office, was revealing.
In inviting the politician to freely contact The Tribune in case of erroneous or disputed reporting, we cited as an example of our human foibles this recent front-page tease: "Matheson joins his GOP colleagues in House, votes against bill" to set a 2008 troop withdrawal date from Iraq.
The conservative Matheson shrugged it off with a smile, making clear he wasn't particularly interested in a correction. He said he was OK with the tease.
He stopped short of asking permission to use it in his next re-election campaign in his Republican-leaning district.
-- Dan Harrie
11:24 AM
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6 Comments:
That's exactly what I thought when I saw that headline: Matheson finally comes out of the closet and admits he's a republican. How any Democrat can support this guy is beyond me; yes, I know the crazies who run against him are even worse, but what good does having a Bush boot-licker who calls himself a Democrat do any of us who advocate a progressive agenda? Matheson should go; he's sure never getting another cent from me--hasn't for years--and he's never getting another vote. I don't care if Gayle Ruzicka herself is running against him, I'm not voting for Matheson.
Matheson is no Republican. He called on Rumsfeld to resign. He voted against the surge. And, he was consistent throughout his campaign in saying that he would not support a specific deadline for withdrawal of the troops.
Jim Matheson is a Democrat, an independent thinker, a adovcate for Utah and his constitutents, and a man who can be trusted to keep his word.
As a Democrat myself, I will proudly continue to support Jim Matheson in office.
Jim Matheson is 70% Democrat. If you look at his voting totals, that's not bad. Especially compared with Cannon and Bishops 5%.
But, you have to admit, when Jim votes against the Democrat Issues, they're always shocking.
CAFTA, Endangered Species Act, etc. etc.
He only screws his party when it comes to a core issue (granted, by that logic, if he was a Republican, he'd look about the same, just with better votes on core Dem issues ... hmmmm)
Matheson voted to kill habeas corpus, and when I wrote him about it, he said that his vote didn't really take habeas corpus away from American citizens, or anyone else for that matter. Matheson can claim the Democratic party just as much as Lieberman can, if you ask me.
To respond to todd, Matheson only called on Rumsfeld to resign and voted against the surge *after* the November elections, when he saw how the political winds were blowing. Besides being a weasel he's an opportunist, who is more interested in his political future than in representing Democrats in Utah. "As a Democrat myself," who has voted for Democrats in every election since 1974, Matheson is at best an embarassment and at worst a self-interested betrayer of the public trust. Also, I remember reading that Matheson voted with the Repubs over 50% of the time. And finally, misty's comparison of Matheson to that other weasel, Lieberman, is spot-on. I've given up writing outraged letters to Matheson, because his obfuscatory replies only make me madder.
To respond to todd, Matheson only called on Rumsfeld to resign and voted against the surge *after* the November elections, when he saw how the political winds were blowing. Besides being a weasel he's an opportunist, who is more interested in his political future than in representing Democrats in Utah. "As a Democrat myself," who has voted for Democrats in every election since 1974, Matheson is at best an embarassment and at worst a self-interested betrayer of the public trust. Also, I remember reading that Matheson voted with the Repubs over 50% of the time. And finally, misty's comparison of Matheson to that other weasel, Lieberman, is spot-on. I've given up writing outraged letters to Matheson, because his obfuscatory replies only make me madder.
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