OKPNS Analysis: Press Covering-Up Roth Record/DUI Mess

Nobody knows better than Oklahoma GOP Chairman about the damage that results from the press failing to inform the public of corrupt politicians at election time. Could it be another similar pattern is emerging in this year’s election between Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth and challenger Dana Murphy.

The media screw-job by a man Jones kept repeating was a crook points out that a crooked politician’s best friend is a press corps that looks the other way. This past week, we watched as the media breathlessly examined every detail of the now-discredited slime Jim Roth threw against Dana Murphy, but they’ve been struck deaf, dumb and blind to Roth’s misbehavior, and the suspect gang surrounding Roth that was once connected to McMahan.

Readers will remember the 2006 auditor and inspector race was stolen from Jones by the convicted Jeff McMahan despite Jones making virtually all the information available the press during that campaign. The lazy and indolent (and liberal) press ignored Jones’ evidence, and McMahan was re-elected. Witnesses in the trial testified that they had “stolen” the election from Jones, and most observers believe the press was negligent since they ignored Jones and the allegations later proven to be true in court. Incredibly, last week the central figure in the McMahan corruption probe said he could implicate at least 34 more people in the political corruption probe. But the press still is looking the other way regarding the crowd that surrounded McMahan and that now surrounds Roth.

One need to look no further for evidence of press neglect than KFOR’s Sunday television program in which both Roth and Murphy were interviewed. Murphy was repeatedly questioned about the details of a divorce that occurred in the early 1990’s by Roth and the clownish Mike Turpen, a co-host of the program who is connected with organizations and individuals that support Roth. Turpen’s outrageous behavior and journalistic prostitution continues unabated: none of Murphy’s allegations were given any hearing, and nobody in the Oklahoma press has complained. As usual, viewers weren’t not told of Turpen’s multiple conflicts of interest, and Murphy’s points about Jim Roth’s personal and professional misbehavior were ignored, especially the details of Roth’s DUI arrest, which has been virtually hidden by the press from the public with the press’ contrivance.

With time running out, voters must go elsewhere if they want the truth about Roth. In 2006, the voters didn’t have the luxury of so many blogs and other internet news outlets, and the people of Oklahoma paid the price. So once again in 2008, with very few exceptions, the main stream Oklahoma media is in the tank for a politician with a highly questionable background, and the ’see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil’ press corps is working hard to elect another politician who was on the ropes until the press ran in to help him.