Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Walker & the Truth
The event at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, sponsored by the Madison Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, was titled “Challenges amid the Chaos: Reporters on Covering Scott Walker.” It brought together DeFour and two other reporters, Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Jessica Arp of WISC-TV in Madison, as well as University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism and political science Professor Michael Wagner.
Walker’s relationship with the truth was a recurring theme. The questioner to whom DeFour responded had asked about the high number of “Pants on Fire” ratings given to Walker over the years by PolitiFact Wisconsin, a project of the Journal Sentinel and national PolitiFact to test the accuracy of political statements.
The questioner thought Walker had gotten a dozen such ratings, indicating the highest level of untruthfulness. Actually, in the interest of factual accuracy, Walker’s truth-tested statements have received the “Pants on Fire” designation ten times, along with thirty-eight statements rated “False” and twenty “Mostly False.” That’s sixty-eight ratings on the false side of the ledger, compared to forty-six statements deemed “True” or “Mostly True,” with twenty-five “Half True” ratings in the middle.
Among the “Pants on Fire” ratings are Walker’s claims about Wisconsin’s record of job creation and his initial explanation that the removal of key language from the University of Wisconsin’s mission statement was a “drafting error.” (Walker’s office has denied requests for some records regarding this change, drawing two lawsuits alleging violations of the state’s open records law, including one by The Progressive.)
DeFour, in discussing Walker’s track record on honesty, said he was surprised when he spoke to people in other states—who “don’t know Governor Walker as well as people in this room, people in Wisconsin”—say they support Walker because “they think he’s an honest person.”
Walker’s relationship with the truth was a recurring theme. The questioner to whom DeFour responded had asked about the high number of “Pants on Fire” ratings given to Walker over the years by PolitiFact Wisconsin, a project of the Journal Sentinel and national PolitiFact to test the accuracy of political statements.
The questioner thought Walker had gotten a dozen such ratings, indicating the highest level of untruthfulness. Actually, in the interest of factual accuracy, Walker’s truth-tested statements have received the “Pants on Fire” designation ten times, along with thirty-eight statements rated “False” and twenty “Mostly False.” That’s sixty-eight ratings on the false side of the ledger, compared to forty-six statements deemed “True” or “Mostly True,” with twenty-five “Half True” ratings in the middle.
Among the “Pants on Fire” ratings are Walker’s claims about Wisconsin’s record of job creation and his initial explanation that the removal of key language from the University of Wisconsin’s mission statement was a “drafting error.” (Walker’s office has denied requests for some records regarding this change, drawing two lawsuits alleging violations of the state’s open records law, including one by The Progressive.)
DeFour, in discussing Walker’s track record on honesty, said he was surprised when he spoke to people in other states—who “don’t know Governor Walker as well as people in this room, people in Wisconsin”—say they support Walker because “they think he’s an honest person.”
- See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/06/188160/scott-walker-and-%E2%80%98-l-word%E2%80%99#sthash.RfTAMdd4.dpuf
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
