The Political Whore

It’s just like the old days for campaign consultant Peter Schorsch, a favorite whipping boy for some on the St. Petersburg Times‘ blogs. Before disappearing from the local scene for a few years after getting into legal troubles, Schorsch was very active in the blogosphere and a favorite target for critics, who he regularly engaged in comment wars on various blogs. Now Schorsch, who is helping manage St. Petersburg City Councilman Jamie Bennett’s camapign for mayor, writes on his own blog that he will no longer comment on or read the Times‘ Bay Buzz:

I am not giving up the BB because of what is written about me, although no one would be surprised by my decision if that was the reason. The libelous, offensive comments that are posted by anonymous writers are so hurtful that I would be lying if I said they did not effect me. There are also several pricks on there who do nothing but re-post my mugshot from when I am was in trouble. And there are the douchebags, like Jim Donnelon, on there who do nothing but tear everyone down. And that’s his and their right, but I would never sit next to them at a bar. I would never have them over to my house. They’re losers. They’re dorks. I would beat the shit out of them, in a heartbeat, if there were no repercussions. I don’t want to be associated with anonymous dorks.

Because that is why I will no longer post on the Bay Buzz blog. Here is this great institution, the St. Petersburg Times. A newspaper I grew up admiring. There were moments in my youth when my proudest achievement was seeing one of my letters-to-the-editor in print. I subscribed to the Times when I went to FSU. I read it online everyday while I was in New York or overseas. But it is becoming a disgrace.

It is a cunt of a newspaper. An old lady drunk on its own influence, leaning on the memories of its better days. And the Bay Buzz blog is just one of its worst features. Not the coverage, not the writing, but to allow anonymous commentary on the most important issues facing a city, thereby giving the commenter the imprimatur of my once beloved newspaper, is the worst form of journalism. It will not be long before someone’s life is damaged or even taken because of what is said, mostly in anonymity, by the posters on the Bay Buzz and Buzz blogs. A friend of mine in politics has already lost his job because of what was said about him and his boss (although I blame his boss as much for not defending him against what was said). And yet, the editors of these blogs continue to allow anonymous posters to write libelous, offensive comments about not just me, but Charlie Crist’s sexuality and Jeb Bush’s children and Rick Baker’s wife and so on and so on.

The Times‘ Christina Silva responds:

We here at Bay Buzz are very saddened by the news that one of our frequent commentators has decided we are no longer worth his time.

Political activist Peter Schorsch, who serves as the co-campaign manager for mayoral hopeful Jamie Bennett, has decided to give up Bay Buzz. Oh, no!

Unconnected to his disagreement with Bay Buzz’s comments policy and general tone, Schorsch is no longer a contributor to this blog, as well. A few weeks ago, I decided I did not want to feature blog posts from Peter on any subject in this blog at the same time I was covering a race in which he was deeply involved. He had previously agreed not to post anything about the mayor’s race and was writing other articles on local politics. My decision was to put his work here on hold until after the election.

Schorsch was gracious if disagreeing about my decision and asked me to reconsider, as he wanted to continue to write for PoHo blog. I told him before I went on vacation last week that I would indeed reconsider and speak with another editor here about my rationale (an editor other than Editor David Warner, as Warner has a conflict of interest in the mayor’s race because his domestic partner Larry Biddle is a paid consultant to candidate Scott Wagman).

I had not had the chance to consult any of my other colleagues here when, this morning, Schorsch wrote to withdraw as a PoHo contributor after I declined his request to meet personally with him this week to discuss my decision.

Last week, while I was out of town, Schorsch lambasted a post by Joe Bardi on this blog for a piece Bardi wrote about the mayoral fundraising totals. Schorsch wrote:

Joe:

I know the editorial staff of CL is close to Wagman, but let’s not slurp too much. Look at the numbers:

It’s not 74K, it’s 54K, the 20K is a loan.

He’s already spent 50K of that money, meaning he has less than 4K in the bank. Not a concern for a bizillionaire, but it is when:

He’s paying Larry Biddle 7.5K a month and Mitch Kates 4K a month and the rest of his so-called staff another 4K a month. 150 a year or so for a team that just lost all of the Vote Local measures.

But not bad for a guy that wants to bring in the sheriff, bulldoze the pier, let the Rays leave, cut any and all new park spending.

Slurp, slurp.

I didn’t read Schorsch’s comments in that post until after he and I traded e-mails last night and this morning, but it certainly reinforces my decision that it is a slippery slope to have an active political consultant blogging in PoHo at the same time a major race in which he/she is involved is going on. I know Schorsch disagrees with me and cites other blogs where folks with various conflicts write, as well as the fact that just about everybody who contributes to political blogs has a horse in one race or another, or an issue they are flogging or being paid to flog.

But for the record, as I have disclosed on numerous occasions in our mayoral coverage, I do not discuss with or consult David Warner on any of my coverage of the mayor’s race because of his conflict. Nobody here beyond Warner is “close” to Wagman. It is certainly an unusual situation to have the spouse of an editor so closely involved in a big story that your newspaper is covering but it is not unheard of. My goal is to be as complete and transparent in my coverage as possible, but when I fall short of that mark, I hope you all will call me out, as you often do.

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