Eclectablog recently published an article attacking Michigan Progressive over how we send out emails about our articles. They got most of the facts wrong, which is unfortunate.
That said, we do appreciate the publicity. There’s nothing like a media feud to generate some increased exposure for our site. Perhaps people will read more about what started this issue: Our series of articles exposing how Patrick Miles claims to be a progressive, but isn’t.
Earlier this week, we were also recognized by the Truth Squad for our reporting on AG Candidate Patrick Miles as a frequent “flip-flopper” on the death penalty, medical marijuana, civil asset forfeiture, marijuana legalization, and LGBTQ rights.
We find it curious that Eclectablog, which features a Patrick Miles campaign staffer as a contributor on its site, chose to start writing a negative piece about Michigan Progressive literally hours after we were recognized by Bridge for our reporting on Pat Miles’ flip-flopping. The same Pat Miles staffer began sharing this article to the various Democratic Party groups on Facebook in a clear attempt to undermine our factual reporting on Patrick Miles.
Setting that aside for a moment, Eclectablog makes a number of other claims that are factually inaccurate:
- Michigan Progressive was not “booted” from our email service. We take the comments and complaints of our readers seriously. Having received multiple complaints about our email program, and despite the fact we believe many of these complaints originate with Miles partisans to server partisan purposes, we voluntarily suspended the program and initiated a review. We are taking the opportunity to make a change in our service provider. We closed our account for that purpose.
- Michigan Progressive sends email updates on a number of different topics. Eclectablog claims we only send emails about Miles. This is simply false. Given the proximity of the convention, we have made an effort to inform people about Patrick Miles’ faux-progressive candidacy.
- Many groups, organizations, and campaigns that have politically related content share email lists. In fact, many candidates running for office do this. Check your email inbox. If you subscribe to one, you usually end up getting many more. This is a result of the 1st amendment and current law which provides broad protection for political speech, including for email messages. Political speech, generally speaking, is afforded the strongest protections under the US Constitution, along with protections for the media.
Attacking a publication the day after they are recognized for the factual accuracy of their reporting suggests facts are not an Ecclectablog priority – at least not in this instance. If they had written something before or even a week after our recent flip-flopping piece, it would be more credible. Hours after our reporting on Miles was corroborated? We’ll be counting the number of times the Patrick Miles campaign shares the Eclectablog piece. But you be the judge.
Eclectablog seems more interested in distracting from the facts than doing substantive reporting on politics in this instance. Patrick Miles is a major flip-flopper and has a very troubling record on a number of different issues.
But Chris Savage from Eclectablog dismisses the position changes of Miles as just “evolution”. (He originally referred to our articles as “anti-Miles propaganda,” before backing off that claim after he was challenged on it).
The facts suggest otherwise. Miles has made several serious policy position changes in rapid succession, with no intelligible explanation. Listen to the Michigan Radio interview again. Miles outright admits he changed his position because he thought up “a better sound bite”. Recently, he started claiming that he voted for the 2008 Medical Marijuana Act. This came many months after a major backlash to his comments on “Off the Record” with Tim Skubick for claiming that people can get high off the ear of a gummy bear. During the interview, he also questioned the efficacy of medical marijuana, and refused to state how he voted on medical marijuana in 2008.
As the 2016 election shows, attacking someone for their emails is the last resort of those aiming to avoid the real issues. As Bernie Sanders said to Hillary Clinton, “we’re sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!’
We agree.
Update:
Eclectablog is claiming we are not telling the truth about voluntarily closing our account. Here are the email screenshots to prove it. Generally speaking, it’s important to have evidence before making claims in the headline of your articles. Taking a minute to do some fact checking is usually best before calling someone a liar.
