When it Comes to His Confederates, Eric Crafton Always Has Someone to Hide

Not too much surprise in these quarters after reading that Eric Crafton is not going to file his English Only group's financial disclosure before the election.  The group has inquired into the penalties for failing to disclose on time: a limp slap on the wrist. Last summer Crafton refused to disclose that almost all of his contributions came from a group lead by a Jew-hating racist. We are probably going to find out the same if not worse after this election.

It is interesting that reporter Nate Rau described Crafton and English Only as "accessible," when Crafton has been savvy at playing the City Paper for a publicity instrument. From Rau's perspective Crafton may have been accessible, but by no measure has Crafton ever been transparent. There is a profound difference that seems to elude media grasp. And the City Paper has generally reported what Crafton wanted them to.  Wasn't the Tennessean first to disclose Crafton's direct financial connections to racist John Tanton? And that was August 2008, months after journalists should have been digging around and exhuming the connections.

Some of us had been screaming about the possible ties since early 2007 and it was clear media-wise that Crafton had something to hide by early summer 2008. Apparently, the local media will fail to produce Crafton's latest connections until he hands it to them after the polls close on January 22, when it will be too late to have any effect on this election. And we'll be left to wonder once again: if they aren't exposing any vital information before their subjects choose to release it when it could have the most impact, then what good are journalists to us? There must be better ways to gain employment on politicians' communications staffs than merely covering the local politics beat while performing little public service.