News-Record.com

The JLF non-partisan charade is just that. And why not? What's the point of letting a little thing like the "law" get in the way of their ideological agenda?

Pope got away with gaming the system to get around electioneering laws. Civitas games the system every month to promote the NCGOP agenda.

If there was ever a case where IOKIYAR applies, this is it.

Mark,

Thank you for your comment. It offers a good opportunity to clear up some confusion about our work.

Starting this session, we've been placing long excerpts or entire news conferences from the Legislative Building on our blog (www.johnlocke.org/lockerroom).

Not being a member of the Capitol Press Corps, we do not get notices of every news conference that takes place at the Legislative Building. Nor would we be able to cover all of them given other job duties.

I have videotaped the regularly scheduled House/Senate GOP news conference each week because: it's generally scheduled about the same time each week; it covers a topic of the legislators' interest, along with the topics of interest to the reporters who show up; and there's not yet been a scheduling conflict.

I would love for the House and Senate Democrats to hold a similar weekly event — or events, if they preferred to conduct separate news briefings. They don't conduct such regular briefings now. That's unfortunate, since those briefings would help showcase the viewpoints of all players in the legislative debate.

On that note, one of the most interesting items we've featured this session was the news conference the House Democrats held to announce their agenda. I think you were there.

In that case, as in the case of the news conference you referenced from Wednesday evening, I followed up the video work by sending a link of the video to a press aide. Bill Holmes in Speaker Hackney's office received an e-mail with that link May 28. I don't know that he used the link for any purpose, but he could have downloaded the clip to save for archiving purposes.

Watch that video if you'd like (http://www.johnlocke.org/lockerroom/lockerroom.html?id=15973) to search for any nefarious, anti-Democratic camera work. Other than a different room, I think you'll find this news conference looks much like others on our blog. I would be happy to place similar Democratic caucus news conferences on our blog. People of all political persuasions want to know what the members of the majority party are saying about the issues of the day.

The video clip Sen. Phil Berger's used for its release Wednesday night is the same video used for our blog entry. We took no special efforts to put together something for the Senate Republicans that we weren't already planning to use.

I would be happy to do the same for a Democratic legislator if we had a video clip of a news conference that legislator wanted to highlight.

Thanks again, Mark, for the opportunity to clear up the confusion. Good luck keeping track of all of the work taking place at the Legislative Building. I'll be happy to share video/audio with you if I happen to cover a public event that your schedule does not permit you to attend.

Mark,

Please. I just watched the video footage. You are crashing into trees and not seeing the forest here. If the media would report what happened at that press conference, we wouldn't need to see the video.

However, when the media spins the travesty that happened on the senate floor like it did yesterday (Excepting Dan Kane's N&O article) we need video to know what happened. Berger's staff was pretty prescient to figure out they needed to get the press conference footage in a bunch of citizens hands.

IF you would do your job instead of whining about someone posting an uncensored link of what happened yesterday, North Carolina would be better off. What you're really pissed about is the fact that thanks to the new media, the public now has the source documents so to speak and isn't reliant on the old media's Cliff Notes.

It is liberating feeling to know that the public now has video of a few legislative news conferences available so we don't have to rely on folks like you to tell us what is going on.

C'mon, you start this blog post saying the GOP has "some fairly strong arguments on their side". But the N&R story on the budget's passage bends over backwards to accomodate the Democrats explaining away their unsavory behavior.

Anyone still wondering why paper circulation is in decline and layoffs abound?

Mark: Are you going all "AP" on us? Is it really that big of a deal if a politician sends out an email with a hyperlink? How is that different from they way most bloggers say see this link "here"

Also, why are you paying so much attention to Berger and Stam and their little stylistic habits?

I for one, do not appreciate the way you refer to their efforts as the "Skip and Phil" show. I think it is smarmy and to the point of belittling Republicans.

I have been a fan of your work for a time now, but I think you are beginning to show some blue favoritism.

I know personally Sen. Berger and Rep. Stam and they are very fine gentlemen both.

I have also gotten to know John Hood and can tell you without question that I have asked him to speak at a Republican function and he made it clear to me that he could not take sides because his organization was non-partisan.

I think we should remain focused on the party that has controlled the legislature for the last 110 years and at least give the minority some respect for their hard work against a stacked deck.

Wait a minute...are we really debating whether or not the JLF is a partisan entity? :)

Next week: "Is breathing air really necessary?"