The Reed fiasco

The good folks in the Athens blogosphere have already touched on this - particularly Publius at Athens Politics - but I think the snafu involving the Athens Banner-Herald's recent 'In The Loop' item claiming Republican Lt. Governor candidate Ralph Reed bears a little more discussion.

As most of you know by now, this past Sunday (Nov. 27) ABH reporter Blake Aued wrote that the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce would be hosting a fundraiser for the controversial Reed, with proceeds benefitting his campaign. Aued lambasted the Chamber for such a move, accusing them of hypocrisy (among other things) and saying it would be interesting to see if the organization would invite leaders like Casey Cagle, the GOP challenger to Reed in next year's primary, or even Democratic candidates for the office.

It turns out, however, that Aued almost completely misrepresented the entire event. An email from the Chamber to the ABH shows that, and the paper quickly backpedaled by removing that item from its online archives and running the following correction on Tuesday (Nov. 29):

An item originally published in this column incorrectly reported that Republican lieutenant governor candidate Ralph Reed would benefit from a fundraiser sponsored by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. The "Energizing the Leaders and Rallying the Troops" event, which has since been canceled due to low interest, was designed to raise money for the chamber. Reed was scheduled to give the keynote address.

The email sent from the Chamber, which I have a copy of, offers a considerable amount of explanation of what this event really was about. This 'fundraiser' was actually the first of a series of 'Executive Lectures' designed to bring in successful business owners or managers to speak to the Chamber membership. While I fundamentally disagree with the vast majority of Reed's ideological views - and hold serious questions about his ethics - it's hard to argue that he's been an effective leader, serving at the helm of of the Republican takeover of this state.

No proceeds from the event were to go to him, his organization or his political campaign.

As for the accusation that the Chamber was now in the pocket of Reed and shunning other candidates, revealing its true stripes as a Republican outfit - turns out the organization held a meeting with Cagle during a mid-year event with 300 of its members in attendance. The Chamber also sponsored a table honoring Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irwin last month. Furthermore - and I knew this from previous discussions with folks I know in the Chamber - the organization is planning to invite all political candidates for local and state office to meet with its membership (the email lists Mark Taylor, Cathy Cox and Sonny Perdue).

Aued's article also implied the Chamber had done nothing as far as offering a plan on how to address the problems facing Athens-Clarke County, but the email revealed otherwise and even showed some members were to appear on a local radio show Thursday (Dec. 1) to discuss those very things.

So, it appears the ABH got it almost wholly wrong, and that's bad. Being out of that circle these days, I can't even begin to suggest how that happened, but my guess is it was probably merely an oversight - an awful one for sure, but not intentional. What probably happened was an overzealous reporter either saw the names 'Ralph Reed' and 'Fundraiser' on a Chamber invitation and jumped the gun or someone who has quarrels with the organization fed him faulty information.

Should he be fired? Absolutely not. He should face some sort of disciplinary action - particularly in light of a recent front-page article (concerning the dismissal of an ABH reporter who lifted quotes from other publications) which featured a statement from the paper's management stating they wouldn't tolerate this kind of behavior or irresponsible journalism.

I've had my professional and ideological disagreements with some folks at the ABH, but they're good people who try hard to put out the best product possible. They've struggled recently, no doubt, but such struggles can be expected with a youthful staff which has endured numerous amounts of turnover in the past year.

Is this excusing them of this mistake? Absolutely not. But it does attempt to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Now, all of that said, I'm also not letting the Chamber off the hook here. While this event is not a fundraiser for Ralph Reed's campaign, let me also say that for an organization striving to be taken seriously in town and seen as non-partisan, inviting the most controversial conservative in the state to speak to you about leadership is terribly unwise. While I'm not excusing the ABH of its error, it's also easy to see how one could make such a leap.

And while the Chamber's email says they have an active PAC which handles its political affairs, that's merely splitting hairs. In print endorsement ads the organization ran during the 2004 election, there is little, if any, mention of the PAC anywhere. Rather the ads stated this was who the Chamber was endorsing (it's worth noting that all of the endorsed candidates who ran in a contested race lost). The PAC and the Chamber are, for all practical purposes, one in the same so an attempt to say they're different is foolish and a tad misleading.

With regard to the Chamber's ideas for the community, there actually has been quite few. I've heard from more than one person involved with that organization that the lack of positive ideas is very frustrating and hurting them in the public eye.

And, the final point raised in the email defends the selection of Chateau Elan as the caterer for the now-canceled event. Aued, in my opinion, was right to chastize the organization for tabbing a business not located in Athens-Clarke County (Chateau Elan is in Jackson County). The email states that 'Chateau Elan is a Chamber member in good standing ... as a regional Chamber of Commerce with 1143 members throughout Northeast Georgia, we are committed to improving the regional economy, growing and improving job opportunities, and bringing members access to the leaders shaping public policy throughout our state.'

OK, that's fine and dandy ... but why does the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce serve all of Northeast Georgia? As far as I know, Oconee County, Jackson County and other Northeast Georgia counties have their own Chambers, so why does this particular one feel the need to serve the whole region?

And what does that say to the businesses in Athens-Clarke County about their own Chamber when it opts to go outside the city limits to bring in a caterer for what would have been a premiere event? How can places like Five & Ten and Mia Madonna expect the Chamber to defend them when the very organization designed to promote their interests looks outside the community for business?

Of course, this is nothing new for the Chamber of Larry McKinney. McKinney, the organization's president, made an unceremonious splash in the community when it was revealed he had purchased a home in Oconee County, thus meaning he would pay taxes in that county as well as do much of his shopping for groceries, gas and other items outside of Athens-Clarke County.

So I don't buy the whole argument that it's OK for the Chamber to go elsewhere for its services. It's mission is to promote business in Athens-Clarke County, and that means spending dollars in this community. So far, the Chamber hasn't done a bang-up job doing that.