Journalism or stenography

The Washington Post did a story on the economic distress in Georgia. Terrence Heath is convinced they traded journalism for stenography. The Post story focused on Tom Hackett, Tea Party supporter. Hackett had to close his butcher shop because the economy was so bad. And Hackett blamed Obama for his difficulties. That's the stenography part.

But, Heath says, the Post didn't do the journalism part and explore whether what Hackett said was accurate. Heath lists the actions the GOP has done since Obama took office that have reduced the number of jobs in Georgia, which played a part in reducing the customers in Hackett's shop.

Then Heath goes on to document the results of the GOP Southern Strategy over the last 30 years. First there was significant offshoring that decimated the textile industry. Then there was the opening of foreign auto plants across the South that paid non-union wages and diverted so much tax money into corporate subsidies that gov't services were slashed. (After driving out one industry, the GOP brought in another industry? The jobs that left were union. The jobs that came were not -- and also competed directly with union jobs in Detroit.)