'Wash Post' Ombud Vows to Stay on Job Despite Uproar

[Jon8503]

Deborah Howell - By E&P Staff - Published: January 22, 2006 12:45 AM ET

NEW YORK Responding to the furor that started exactly one week ago, Deborah Howell, ombudsman at The Washington Post since just last autumn, writes today, "Nothing in my 50-year career prepared me for the thousands of flaming e-mails I got last week over my last column, e-mails so abusive and many so obscene that part of The Post's Web site was shut down." As Howell notes, that column claimed that indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave campaign money to both political parties and their members of Congress. Angry reaction reached such a pitch that the Post shut off comments on one of its blogs on Thursday--which drew another round of criticism from some quarters.

Today Howell repeats a statement she made three days ago, admitting that Abramoff did not give money directly to Democrats, but rather "directed his client Indian tribes to make campaign contributions to members of Congress from both parties." Liberal groups have contested even this description.
Reflecting on the Howell-bashing, she observes, "I heard that I was lying, that Democrats never got a penny of Abramoff-tainted money, that I was trying to say it was a bipartisan scandal, as some Republicans claim. I didn't say that. It's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal, and that's why the Republicans are scurrying around trying to enact lobbying reforms.

"But there is no doubt about the campaign contributions that were directed to lawmakers of both parties. Records from the Federal Election Commission and the Center for Public Integrity show that Abramoff's Indian clients contributed money to 195 Republicans and 88 Democrats between 1999 and 2004. ...These facts have been reported many times in The Post and elsewhere. So why would it cause me to be called a 'right-wing whore' and much worse?" She adds: "There is no more fervent believer in the First Amendment than I am, and I will fight for those e-mailers' right to call me a liar and Republican shill with salt for brains. But I am none of those....(I)t is profoundly distressing if political discourse has sunk to a level where abusive name-calling and the crudest of sexual language are the norm, where facts have no place in an argument. This unbounded, unreasoning rage is not going to help this newspaper, this country or democracy. "I didn't ask washingtonpost.com to shut down an area reserved for comments about me, as it did on Thursday night. And I know the decision is being greeted with great disdain....

"To all of those who wanted me fired, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I have a contract. For the next two years, I will continue to speak my mind." Reaction to the new column came quickly. At the FireDogLake blog, for example, came this response:

"What you should have said was that although Abramoff's victims, the Indian tribes, gave money to Democrats it was much less than they did before Abramoff appeared on the scene and there is no indication that there was anything quid-pro-quo about it. Unlike the Republicans, who are up to their eyeballs in shit over this. To say anything else provides improper context and implies that legitimate contributions and illegal influence peddling are one, which they most certainly are not."

And Armando at DailyKos weighed in: "Abramoff pushed his Indian tribe clients AWAY from Dems and TO Republicans. That is, Abramoff DIRECTED his Indian tribe clients to give LESS or NOT AT ALL to Democrats and to give MORE OR ALL of their contributions to Republicans. Only a simpleton can not understand that."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001882875

[robbedvoter]

1. Good stuff. Link?

[Jon8503]

8. Thanks, forgot to put the link to the story in there.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001882875

[NJCher]

2. she's hiding behind "obscenities"

Let's hold her feet to the fire. Let's make her produce the "obscenities."

She is unfairly characterizing our criticism and this cannot be allowed.

How can we do this? One way might be a response to the E & P story, which I will compose sometime today. But there needs to be other ways to show that what they did is react to facts presented correctly, NOT "obscenities."




Cher

[Zenlitened]

12. Try Skinner's thread? He saved responses before the were disappeared.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=185787&mesg_id=185787

[cal04]

3. and she still doesn't tell the truth

I wrote that he gave campaign money to both parties and their members of Congress. He didn't. I should have said he directed his client Indian tribes to make campaign contributions to members of Congress from both parties.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012100907.html

In an e-mail to Reed on Feb. 11, 2002, Abramoff did not mention he had been in contact with the Tiguas. He wrote: "I wish those moronic Tiguas were smarter in their political contributions. I'd love us to get our mitts on that moolah!! Oh well, stupid folks get wiped out."

[Kurovski]

4. I have one question about the following statement by Debbie,

"For the next two years, I will continue to speak my mind."

Will that be with or without the obfuscation?

[tsuki]

7. She needs to report "facts," unless she is one of the RNC's

payola pundits. I don't care anything about her "mind."

[Solly Mack]

5. She must really like her shovel

or the hole she's digging....

can't seem to put one down to stop the other...

[Bob3]

6. Can you say "bring it on"?

She has no idea what is about to happen to her. She wears mismatched socks she is going to hear about it.

[MrPrax]

9. Howell still doesn't get it...

"political discourse has sunk to a level where abusive name-calling and the crudest of sexual language are the norm, where facts have no place in an argument."

Total cop-out...it's like running over a kid and then refusing to give your name because the mother is too hysterical.

Earth to Howell: The problem is that you didn't recognize FACTS in the first place. The critics are ONLY ones using the FACTS in this argument. They're 'emotional' state or lack of grammar, etiquette,is irrelevent.

Political discourse has sunk so low that even distinguished newspapers like the WaPo dont' rise above talk radio observations. ("They are all crooks!!") and blatant partisanship, more becoming of the 'facts' depicted in cmapaign literature.

Then again, who hire her? She can't write and apparantly has no understanding of journalism either...the perfect corp ombudsman, I guess

[Zenlitened]

10. Well, there you go. Howell is the victim here.

:eyes:

This pretty much proves to me that she's a repuke. She screws up royally, refuses to acknowledge reality, and instead whines that people are being mean to her. Then adds a "you can't do a thing about it" taunt, for good measure.

What a piece of filth. She's a perfect example of what's poisoning our country today.

:puke:

[robbedvoter]

11. makes me miss Steno Sue...