Kentucky's maniac Republican Gov. Matt Bevin is publicly freaking out over the news that ProPublica, what he calls "a left-wing activist group funded by the likes of George Soros" (yes, that's the sound of a dog whistle) is partnering with the Louisville Courier-Journal for a year-long investigative reporting project into a state government program. The best part (besides the ratio Bevin racked up with his tweet) is the response from ProPublica.
"You asked who @ProPublica is," they respond. "We thought we’d give you some answers. Like everything we do, they are, you know, actually accurate." They start out saying that they're "thrilled to be partnering w/ the fine folks" at the Courier Journal, one of 14 newsrooms they'll be partnering with over the next year. And they say the "paper's reporting project is [very] promising." That'll trigger Bevin. They also don't let his calling out of Soros slide, saying "We noticed you mentioned two of our donors – who just happen to be Jewish." As for those donors, they had 34,000 of them last year, and Soros's Open Society Foundations provided "less than 2 percent of our revenue." They go on to point out that "we believe in evidence. Hard, indisputable evidence. Carefully gathered and precisely told." That's perhaps why, they say, "our peers have given us 4 Pulitzers, 3 Peabodys, 2 Emmys, 6 Polks, a duPont and a National Magazine Award." Zing.
They also let Bevin know that "We'll be in touch with questions and would love *your* answers." In a P.S., they point out how the Courier Journal has "been doing lots of good work, like this recent story about how @GovMattBevin hired a buddy for a govt job and then gave him a $215,000 raise." That points to this investigation into the hiring and massive salary hike for his "old army buddy and longtime business associate" Charles E. Grindle, who got the 134 percent increase in his salary in August, after he'd been in the job for less than a year. Note, his annual salary isn't $215,000. That's how much his raise was, coming "four months after the passage of a state budget that included no pay increases for more than 42,000 Kentucky public school teachers and most of the state's nearly 30,000 state workers."
The Courier Journal seems committed to covering Bevin, like with this week's story: "Is Bevin's road show informing Kentuckians or an early campaign lap?" It seems Bevin's suddenly decided that he has to get out and about in the state, "a new feature of Bevin's schedule this year, the year before he says he will seek re-election as governor," the paper points out. They actually have the gall to talk to a Democrat, Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Ben Self who says the forums are "obviously politicking on the taxpayer dime."
Sounds like Bevin might have an awful lot to worry about with ProPublica and the Courier Journal teaming up. No wonder he had such a public freak-out.