( - promoted by Jay Stevens)
A story appeared in the Missoulian this week that purports to be about, "A criminal case certain to reveal the details of an August boat wreck - in which a congressman and a state senator were badly injured."
In what has become the norm, the reporter covering the story sought comment from college professors who, because of their profession, are apparently political experts. But this "expert" has an interesting story:
In addition to teaching at Billings, Wilson has a somewhat direct tie to Rehberg - "my son is his political director."
It should stop there. This alone should disqualify Prof. Wilson from weighing in on anything that Rep. Rehberg does. His son's success at work is directly tied to "independent" sources saying nice things about the congressman. Ask yourself this: if you needed work done on your truck, would you seek a referral from a mechanics mother?
Because of countless ethical conflictions, no reporter should ask for comment from this guy. And for the sake of his own reputation, he should refrain from giving any.
And then it gets worse:
Wilson believes the general race likely will pit McDonald against Rehberg. Rehberg's camp, he predicts, will make much of McDonald's reported ties to the Mafia (McDonald was once the lawyer for the acting boss of the West Coast Cosa Nostra crime family.)
All of the potential conflicts that I conjured up earlier just came true. In a story that is supposed to be about a drunken boat ride/crash that Congressman Rehberg was in, Rehberg's chief attack on his opponent was just introduced. It had nothing to do with when Rehberg and his pals need to appear in court. It had nothing to do with what the story was about. And it was introduced not by Rehberg or a spokesperson for him.
IT WAS INTRODUCED BY THE "INDEPENDENT" PROFESSOR.
Wilson could have - and may have - been reading talking points put together by his son. If you don't believe that, you're not paying attention. |
