By Simon NevilleVice President Joe Biden confined an Orlando Sentinel reporter in a closet this week to keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Democratic fundraiser.
Reporter Scott Powers was the designated "pool reporter" for the vice president's Wednesday visit to the massive Winter Park, Fla., home of developer and philanthropist Alan Ginsburg. The veep hadn't arrived yet but most of the 150 guests (minimum $500 donation) had. They were busy noshing on caprese crostini with oven-dried mozzarella and basil, rosemary flatbread with grapes honey and gorgonzola cheese and bacon deviled eggs, before a lunch of grilled chicken Caesar and garden vegetable wraps.
He made do with a bottle of water to sip as he sat at a tiny makeshift desk, right next to a bag marked "consignment." Powers was closeted at about 11:30 a.m., held for about an hour and 15 minutes, came out for 35 minutes of remarks by Biden and Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida Democrat, and then returned to his jail for the remainder of the event.
Powers' phone didn't work in the closet, but his Blackberry did, so he fired a picture of his impromptu prison to his editors, who posted a short blog item on the lack of freedom of the press under the veep's control.
Just Imagine if Dick Cheney had done this. They kept him in the closet to “keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Democratic fundraiser.” The newspaper should demand to know exactly who these “high-powered” guests were, and if one of them spoke Hungarian with a smattering of Nazi.
But, The White House website proudly says ‘President Obama is committed to creating the most open and accessible administration in American history.’
Locking a Reporter in a closet for 90 minutes, is another low-blow for free speech and more civility in political discourse, and a liberals way example of controlling the media wouldn't you say? Is this what they call Transparency? I'd even call it Kidnapping!