Of Washington Daily News and the Mob | Eastern North Carolina Now

     I have not fully weighed in on this fact, as others have in Beaufort County Now and in the Beaufort Observer, but honestly, with my time in such short supply, I have to pick my spots. Being a Conservative Beaufort County Commissioner at this time of profound controversy, and with my comments being parsed in the Washington Daily News (to present yet another negative image), I'm forced to stand up for the truth in regards to what I related to the WDN, and their reporter, Betty Gray.

    In today's edition of the WDN, complete with a file photo of me taken at another time, I was quoted as saying, "I have heard from people who do not vote for me. I haven't heard from my constituents. If you didn't vote for me, then you're not going to get far with me."

    This is a reasonable expression of part of what I said.

    Gray curiously omitted every bit of context with which I prefaced my aforementioned comment about representing the voices of those who vote for me to do so. In our conversation, I told Gray that I have spoken to many of my constituents, and the vast majority of those with whom I have spoken have said that, in regards to the hospital, 'do what I think is best for the county' and 'don't feel pressured by the mob.' I told Gray that my constituents vote for me to stand up against the powerful elite that are seeking to control the conversation about our hospital with propaganda that is largely misinformed. I related to Gray a particularly jarring phone call I received from one such propagandist who started our talk with, "Everyone knows that you are taking money under the table for CHS. The whole community knows it." I told Gray that when I challenged these comments, with great veracity, I was summarily threatened with physical violence. I also told her that I would not tolerate lies about me that are being proffered by elements within the emerging mob, that I had suffered these lies in the past when I ran for State House against Zeno Edwards, and I would not endure that again. Furthermore, I would not tolerate rude behavior or threats, from people who were my constituents, or not my constituents. Fortunately, my real constituents have acted in a manner befitting decent folk.

     After all that, I gave Betty the quote that was strategically parsed and printed.

     After I considered the parsed WDN quote, I further considered that, like my quote to Gray, the Washington Daily News is only reporting parsed portions of every story. It is not my place, at this time, to question their motives; but I can unequivocally state that they are doing it.

    Most people would consider the fact that I was threatened the larger story; or at least that I refute the lies spread about me, who started them, and why. But for whatever reason, the WDN printed one sentence from me and published an old picture of me as the guy you look for, and then printed multiple sentences as quotes from the other commissioners. If you, like me, feel that this is completely disingenuous journalism, you may also question: Has the WDN published the real mathematical difference between the two offers? I, for one, have not yet read in the WDN that the CHS offer is $60,415,401 stronger than the UHS offer. Beaufort County Now and The Beaufort Observer have published this important fact, as it is the primary reason for the hospital board's recommendation for a merger with CHS. The WDN also has not questioned the motives of those who are encouraging the mob's scripted refrain that "the money doesn't matter." Trust me on this one, the money always matters. The mismanagement of money is why the hospital finds itself in such a financially defunct position to begin with. To say otherwise is beyond the pale of disengenuous comments.

    What is also completely disingenuous, is the WDN's illustration of Commissioner Hood Richardson as the "bad guy" throughout the negotiations, while celebrating Commissioners Al Klemm and Jay McRoy, who publicly expressed a preference for UHS while Richardson and the negotiating team were attempting unbiased negotiations. The WDN suggested these two were men of vison, when actually one could more easily make the argument that they were serving a different master, their ongoing special interests, rather than their fiduciary to the Beaufort County taxpayer, as their representative, within the specific ethical confines relegated by any normal bid process.

    What I am seeing is a management of the information by the WDN, well beyond their editorials, which have been in the UHS camp from the onset. That may be their perogative, and I respect it, I just don't have to appreciate it.

    Managing and parsing the news does not help to educate their readers, and an uneducated people can make very bad decisions, and eventually devolve into a mob. I have seen first-hand evidence of such, and I pray it will abate ... quickly abate. Most of the calls and comments that I have received are incredible in their complete lack of understanding of the gravity of this situation. The adjective of complete, unabashed sophistry would be an understatement; and, yes, most of these people admit that they have not and would not vote for me. I actually appreciate their honesty, but they, at some point must understand that they are not my constituents, or even potential constituents. Sadly, I just do not think they understand how our Republic works.

    Truly, they are not getting any help from the Washington Daily News on this issue, and we, conversely at Beaufort County Now, will always endeavor to inform our readers by never parsing the truth. I suppose we will always be at cross purposes in this regard with the local newspaper.