Capitol Hill Blue didn't come to my attention for the yellowcake story. I first bumped up against this site during the Wellstone Memorial when they wrote a long piece about Democratic National Committee involvment in turning a memorial service into a political rally. This spin point, ably and artfully developed and spun by Vin Weber, turned into a key element of the Republican November 2002 election victory. The folks at Capitol Hill Blue weren't the first to publish the vicious bile of Vin Weber. That distinction belongs to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. They assigned a junior, non-political writer to the story, and she printed Vin Weber's reckless accusations verbatim.

However, CHB was the first and most quoted site to charge that the political masterminds of the Democratic Party were behind a "plot" to turn the memorial service into a political event. They even got Glenn Reynolds to buy into their version of the story. Anybody with a beating heart who watched the service saw a beautiful and moving tribute to a political man and his colleagues. Just one bereaved speaker went way over the top in pleading for electoral victory for Democrats as a tribute to Senator Wellstone. If you only read the news reports, some monstrous three hour abuse of the dead took place that evening, fully scripted by Washington. The spin was obvious, vile, and it worked.

Capitol Hill Blue was a key player in the effort and I have asked them to review their role in it based on Mr. Thompson's obvious integrity and candor in the Wilkinson uranium episode. He wouldn't reveal his sources before, but perhaps public interest and a newly administered dose of humility might encourage him towards candor.
posted by Dave on 9:18 AM | 0 comments link

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