Fargo Forum Attacks Oil And Gas Political Contributions

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Written By:
Rob Port

Jul 16, 2012
9:08am

There is no doubt that the editorial slant of Forum Communications’ media outlets is anti-oil, but that slant may not have manifested itself in a more obvious way than the state’s most biased reporter Kristen Daum’s “story” (more like harangue) about oil and gas contributions to Republican campaigns.

Daum, who isn’t using the latest FEC data for her report, spends an entire article dwelling on Republicans taking money from oil and gas interests, something timed nicely with liberal governor candidate Ryan Taylor’s demand that his opponent, Jack Dalrymple, give back oil and gas contributions.

It’s almost like they’re coordinating talking points, isn’t it?

The Forum even created an ugly graphic with the Republican candidates’ faces on gas pumps and is running an online poll asking, “Is it a conflict of interest for North Dakota politicians to take contributions from oil and gas companies?”

You probably won’t ever see them ask if it’s a “conflict of interest” for the state’s politicians to take contributions from the teachers’ or public employee unions though. And both that poll question, and the article itself, consistently refer to contributions “from oil and gas companies,” but those companies can’t make contributions because corporate campaign contributions are illegal.

These contributions came from individuals who work in the oil/gas industries. That’s a serious mistake by Daum that will, no doubt, go uncorrected.

Is it valid to talk about the amount of money Republicans get from oil interests? Absolutely. But one thing you won’t see is a lengthy look into the amount of money Democrats like Ryan Taylor get from organized labor. Or the amount of money someone like liberal Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp gets from trial lawyers, including those at the law firm of the man she gave a lucrative political appointment to, representing North Dakota in the tobacco class action lawsuits.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the folks at Forum Communications find political money from oil and gas interests so inherently suspicious, but they aren’t inclined to spill any ink over other special interests.

That, my friends, is called “bias.” Which wouldn’t be so bad if the folks there would just admit that they have a bias and an agenda instead of pretending to objectivity.

I wonder if Forum Communications would care so much if the oil/gas money were going to Democrats?