Blackwell Donor President of Common Sense Ohio

First the juicy bit, then the background. 

A big Blackwell contributor and media plant, Mr. Nathan Estruth, has now been outed as the President of Common Sense Ohio.

So, there's been a little storm over Blackwell's plants for the media. There was the supposedly-independent political operative in Dayton, Felicia Hill (and she showed up in some previous reporting on the 04 election, too!).

Then Blackwell financial backer Nathan Estruth showed up at a Turn Around Ohio event in Clermont Co, claiming that he was fence-sitting...after giving Blackwell thousands of dollars.

Turns out Mr. Estruth is the gift that keeps on giving.  He is now listed as the President of Common Sense Ohio.   Mr. Nathan Estruth is a Marketing Director for Proctor & Gamble, who has also maxed out contributions to Rick Santorum.

So, a big contributor linked to the biggest corporate dealmaker in Cincinnati is the President of a supposedly-independent group supporting Blackwell.

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p.s.,

Not sure what their amended filing means, but they changed the scope and definition of their organizational purpose days before they made their first contribution to Common Sense 2006 for the electioneering ads.

Feh

And while the papers are using these folks as "regular citizens" to interview the blogs are blazing the trail uncovering just who is part of this shady group.

ridiculous.

Great digging buddy.

What I still want to know

is how Estruth and Hill were quoted in the first place. It's positively mind-boggling that no one in the editorial structure took a second to google the names or do some other archival search.

Instead we get a fence sitting and a person who was very impressed with his Lordship? Pathetic.

I hope to God those two didn't seek out the reporters and tell them their "opinions" which were slobbered upon and inserted into the stories. You want to know why? B/c the quotes fit a pre-conceived notion of what the storyline was, and that's terrible reporting.

i talked to the Reporter

I had an email convo with the reporter. I don't want to disclose the contents of that right now because I havent talked to him about doing that and clearly this breaking news may cause him to modify some of the things he told me.

All i will say is that i was told that the fence sitter was a "reluctant interviewee".

This story is going to get deep real quick.

hint, hint

an enterprising reporter might do an ohio foia request for these amended articles, as they must be signed by all the directors of the non-profit. i believe the board of trustees is also a matter of public record.

Are you talking about the PD reporter?

has the paper issued a correction yet?

Mark Naymik

The sad part about this story is that I really like Mark Naymik and his political reporting. This immediate correction makes me like him a little more (staff -- note the love for buckeyestateblog).

That was stand up

...and fast. Kudos Mr. Naymick for publically admitting Estruth mislead you.

esTRUTH

Is no one else seeing the irony in that name?

commonsenseohio.org

 When the first commercial hit the air, I went to their website andfound it was the most banal, no-information site I ever saw! No specifics, no reasons to oppose Strickland, no nothing!

Doing my best to pi$$ off the religious reicht!