Scott issues statement saying white nationalism post was intended to ‘promote conversation’
Rep. Heather Scott has sent a scathing statement to the Bonner Daily Bee denouncing me, by name, for having written an article last week about her Facebook post defending white nationalists. Scott didn’t send me the statement; but you can read her full statement as sent to the Daily Bee online here. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.
The Bee, in a story today, reported that Scott said her intent in posting a quote that defended white nationalism, along with a link to the article by Dave Hodges on “The Common Sense Show.com” that contained the quote, was to “promote conversation.”
“I post many different items on my Facebook in an effort to educate and engage citizens of our district and our state,” the Bee reported that Scott said in her statement. “We can no longer afford to be apathetic about where our country is heading with the continued attacks on our freedoms and God-given rights.” The Bee also reported that Scott said she posted the item “to promote conversation about language and the trend by many liberals to change the meaning of words hoping to change the reaction of people.” But her post didn’t say that; it merely repeated the quote, which said that a white nationalist “is no more than a Caucasian who (is) for the Constitution and making America great again,” and that the media is “confusing it with the term white supremacist.”
I did call Scott for comment before writing my article; she didn’t return the call.
“The quote was from the article’s author and not me,” Scott wrote. “It highlighted his views on how terms can be changed by the media or mean different things to different people. I find it ironic this is exactly what Betsy Russell and others in the media did concerning my post. … The real story headline should be ‘Boise media once again tries to get it wrong.’”
She added, “Ms. Russell is a known Boise gossip column writer. Many see her views leaning toward socialism. Her choice to print that Rep. Heather Scott defended white nationalism is a complete lie and shows her sad lack of any kind of professional journalism standards.”
Here’s my response: We stand by our story.
