In Which We Find Ron Williams Losing All Journalistic Integrity He Had Left
Sunday’s editorial page had another piece from Williams, this one not just carrying water for the Insurance Commissioner, but inexplicably injects her current round of excuses into the debate without a single comment from Matt Denn. The appalling thing is that Williams is using the editorial page to try to alter the mood of the current debate and concerns swirling around the ICs office (and concerns that are a year old) — rather than get his reporters to actually try to do some , you know, reporting on this thing. And in the process, stoops to the despicable two-facedness of the WSJ editorial page.
Williams lets Stewart — via his editorial page — make the accusation that Matt Denn didn’t leave any of the records from his tenure at the office. Now if this were true, this would be serious news — and a story you’d think the NJ would want to report. But there is no reporting — just a recitation of Stewart’s litany of excuses.
But let’s think about files and records for a minute. Stewart tells Williams that only Denn’s records are missing, all of the others from previous ICs are intact. There is alot about this that makes no sense whatsoever — as in if Denn’s records were this crucial, the office would have come close to a dead stop long ago. But it didn’t — they certainly had enough information to be able to terminate the contract of the previous Captive Insurance leadership (they wouldn’t have known when his tenure was up otherwise, right?); they could find enough information on a lease that Denn signed to be able to come back to try to defect that bit of business back to him. In short — it doesn’t hold up. And are you wondering why she decided to make a big deal of this NOW — rather than a year or so ago? When the need for these records would have been URGENT? Yep, me too. But right now, Stewart is in some real hot water and apparently doesn’t have the character to honestly address her issues — she spins up a story for Ron Williams that he reprints hook, line and sinker. Even the part about taking the records as an act of revenge for primarying Denn — a primary that he won pretty handily (58-42) — Williams just repeats even though this may be where you see the real flop sweat by Stewart. Of course it is entirely possible that Stewart’s story is correct — unlikely though once you start thinking through the handwaving being done by Stewart.
The hearings being held by Byron Short are set for April 13 in Dover starting at one. Given the inept spin and blame that Williams so helpfully previewed, this ought to be a meeting for the recordbooks.
Excellent, top notch post, except the excuses and other b.s. wRONg Williams printed were conjured up by Elliott Jacobson. Remember KWS is nearly illiterate and abysmally stupid. Just look at her emails Lee Williams included in his expose on the CRI site. She could never come up with the concept, let alone summarize the excuses in writing.
Second, Jacobson claims KWS asked Rep. Short for the joint hearings herself after the coverage denial issue came up and she had no answers. That is so ludicrous as to not deserve any comment at all.
Also, the primary in which Denn defeated KWS was in 2004. I seem to remember that part of the reason was that he’d uncovered her resume was falsified and she was working in a mimimum wage retail job. In the 2008 election she ran against Gene Reed and some guy named Savage no one ever heard of, and John Brady as the Republican candidate. The 2004 primary has no bearing on the sad fact that this obvious crook is now actually Delaware’s IC. Looks like wRONg Williams and KWS are about in the same league when it comes to intelligence or rather lack thereof.
Check out the comments after Williams’ piece. Some people obviously have KWS’s number.
If Matt had not left any files or records as KWS claims, why did she wait until now to air this, instead of saying some LAST year when she “discovered” the records were “missing.” This is so much “the dog ate my homework,” from KWS, except her dog (Jacobson) is rabid and is as stupid as she is.
Ron’s history of defending the ethically-challenged is indeed curious.
First, petit pauvre Tommy Gordon and now petite pauvre KWS.
What he has regurgitated from Stewart demonstrates just how much trouble she gets into when she actually has to try to explain what the bleep she’s not doing. Were I chairing the committee, I’d make clear that, while the IC can lean on others for info, she is the one expected to answer the questions. She won’t be able to.
As for Williams, just seems like he’s losing it.
Love that dog analogy. Remember her campaign slogan? “Karen Weldin Stewart Will Set a Higher Standard With the Experience She Has to Create the Change We Need!” There was also a TV commercial for her that said at the end “Don’t let them stop her from helping you.” She forgot to add that she really only intended to help herself and her cronies.
KWS sure did bring us “change”. Besides being a rip off from the Obama campaign, every time she mentioned that slogan it was a kick in the pants to Matt Denn. I guess the fact that Denn had done an outstanding job didn’t make it to the public any more than that her claimed qualifications were just lies.
I read that article 4 times and it still didn’t make sense to me. KWS’s excuses are that 1) it’s a hit job by CRI (no addressing the fact that Delaware Liberal had made similar accusations earlier) and 2) it’s Matt Denn’s fault. I can see from the article that Ron Williams is not an investigative reporter. He really needs to assign somebody to get to the bottom of things. I really think that the KWS hearing in Dover should be interesting.
Will Matt Denn attend that hearing on April 13?
Our motto should be, “We exist because Ron Williams does”
If we can come to a consensus, that the Crusades were all Christ’s fault, then I guess I could accept that using a similar argument, Matt could have some culpability here as well..
Otherwise, this has to be the most ridiculous argument used in Delaware that I have yet heard.
Actually, the most ridiculous argument ever in Delaware was when KWS claimed before the election that she hadn’t been able to pay her bills and got default judgments against her because she was in mourning from having lost co-workers in the 9/11 attacks. Problem was she never worked where she claimed she did and of course didn’t know any of the people who died.
This news couldn’t be better. I’m happy to see the imminent demise of KWS’s carefully constructed vehicle for massive fraud that I warned about many times before and after the elections. Like other media outlets I contacted with the adverse information about KWS, the WNJ predictably attacked me and defended KWS when I wrote to them with conclusive proof, “them” being Dan Shortridge and Ron Williams.
At least it took only 15 months for her and Jacobson to be revealed as the con artists they are, despite the Delaware media’s refusal to print or say anything negative about KWS at any time. Imagine the damage they could do in a full four-year term.
Ron can’t assign anyone to report on anything. He’s on the editorial board, which is separate from the newsroom.
That’s no excuse. He could have passed the information along to the right people.
Maybe not, Geezer, but you can be sure if he went to an assignment editor or managing editor, he’s have their ear. I’ve worked in newspapers, and even as a pimple-faced 21-year-old I had the ear of the editors if they thought an idea had merit.
Karen told me about the mess with Denn last year. I personally didn’t think that he needed to be ‘outed’ but I thought it was mighty strange. Plus, it wasn’t her wish to do so. But what Ron didn’t mention is that she did have to take the entire matter to the Attorney General to get it straightened out.
When I read what CRI quoted Denn saying I thought to myself, why the hell is she still covering for him now that he had gotten himself in the middle of the Caesar Rodney Insititute ‘expose’ (in which Lee Williams whole-heartedly misrepresented my relationship with Karen as if I were on a ‘team’ of consultants}.
I look forward to the Leg Hall hearings – boy-oh-boy will that be a day for Delaware’s Democratic Party fuck-doodle. This shit will all fall out one way or the other – the truth will out and I don’t think Matt Denn is a happy camper right about now. I just wonder if public pressure will bear on what the committee chairs will allow as the quesitons and answers proceed.
Geezer, I misstated then what I think that Williams’ responsibility is here, then. He can — certainly — pass this info on to an assignment editor who whoever the right person is to suss out the real story. Just passing on unmediated or untested spin (especially spin that makes a serious charge) from a politician who is feeling beseiged and looking for a way to make herself look better doesn’t strike me as a good use of editorial page real estate.
Oh good — KWS’s advisor and blogging shill shows up to do her bit.
BTW – Is anyone going to out Gabriel as a sockpuppet with several different anony identities on this very blog? Isn’t that ‘out of bounds’. One identity per person please. She is all over the WNJ with several other handles. A one-person KWS hater tidal wave, huh.
CAssandra – the truth only hurts those who would shun it. You are the party hack shill of record on the DE blogosphere matched only by DD.
Who couldn’t choke up with tears after your heart-felt SHOCK and CONCERN reported in the WNJ about how horrible Jim Baker was for suggesting a %15 percent property tax – when it is still fresh in our minds how you wrote your fluff piece for Coons (on his facebook still) to OK and condone a %25 property tax increase.
Nancy, there is little more despicable than being a shill for the incompetence that you continually attach yourself too.
Unless it is lying about other people’s positions so you can pretend to have some point. In which case, you will need to confine that bullshit to your own blog, where people expect to see it.
What makes you assume the assignment editors are unaware of this story without input from Ron Williams?
Nancy: You gave her advice, right? Did she take any of it? If so, then you’re an “adviser.” Remember how Bob Byrd was always described as an “adviser” to Ruth Ann Minner? Same deal.
“Denn didn’t leave any records” = failed to put a copy of “Insurance for Dummies” in the middle of her desk.
What makes you assume the assignment editors are unaware of this story without input from Ron Williams?
We are talking about the NJ, right? Seriously, they may indeed know, but that still doesn’t make it any less contemptible (to me at least) that he would do this piece of stenography as an editorial.
AND I’ll add that there is similar stenography going on for the editorial this AM about the City Council turning down funds for a marine police unit.
Column, not editorial. I think he was just trying to give KWS equal time after his column summarizing the CRI report.
Geezer, you’re delusional.
On what basis do you conclude that?
Ok, call it naive then.
Whoooooo Lee is going to publish ‘my emails’ huh? And I am going to publish how Shaun Fink graduated with the latest ‘class’ of DE GOPerheads’ and his ‘class’ photo op with Pete duPont! Yeah, CRI is fair n’ balanced and all. WHAT A CROCK! I have all my emails so if Lee missed any I will be sure to let him know.
I met Karen a few years ago and we became friends. When a-holes here and elsewhere were using her likeness to wipe their asses I told her to tell her side of the story and to use my blog to do it if she liked. She never took any of my advice. She never fought back. I was particularly infuriated with her for not taking a stand during the health care debate since she ran on expanded Medicare and could have helped to advocate for good legislation and single payer. But nooooooooo.
I still believe that she is a good Commissioner and knows what she is doing but that she isn’t good at articulating it in public forums nor does she have the kind of guile that is useful for most politicians. It allows fuckwads plenty of room for mounting an unanswered attack. I tried to get her to go on the offensive. But IMHO Elliott has proved inept at best and I long ago formally requested that he stop corresponding with me. I am sure Lee has all the juicy details. WOWSA!
What I have always maintained, on this blog and elsewhere, is that KWS put herself out on a limb with her expensive restructuring of the Captive Insurance group and it would be up to her to establish its success and take the hit for its lack thereof. She was supported by both DEDO and Markell in this effort as I recall.
Oh, and yes, I am a tax delinquent now but I always pay eventually – with interest! My ability to pay taxes has nothing to do with Cass and her hypocrasy.
Sorry, hypocrisy…
Cass, are you calling me a liar that your statements were published in the WNJ for bemoaning how unfair and impossibly hard the Mayor’s tax increase would be and that you also were published on Chris Coons facebook saying how wonderful his tax increases were and how everyone was a GO!! Bring it on, woman.
Hey, I would welcome KWS finally speaking and writing for herself, which she’s never done either during the campaign or since she took office. That way, the whole state would find out that she’s a mentally deficient fraud, which is precisely why Jacobson has done all the talking and writing for her.
Willing’s IQ is apparently lower than even KWS’s because she never argues on the merits but just attacks people. Not too impressive. Those two are a good pair. The up side is that she’ll go down with that whole worthless lot at the IC’s office, and good riddance.
KWS is at the Bear library tonite at 7pm. I heard she’s speaking–don’t know about what.
She’s just going to read Jacobson’s prepared script as she always does. Ask her some questions she won’t expect and see what happens. Have fun.
Funny how KWS suddenly mobilizes her lazy ass that’s never at work but out shopping when she thinks she could get kicked out of office and her very lucrative cash cow could dry up. I don’t recall her ever speaking to “the people” before, just out of state insurance industry groups and lawyers when she does the ‘Captive Road Show’. Too bad these people didn’t know that was all a scam.
Wonder how many people will show up at the Bear library for her obvious attempt to save herself from herself.
Prediction: Jacobson is going to have his ass handed to him.
Willing’s IQ is apparently lower than even KWS’s because she never argues on the merits but just attacks people.
You got that right. And like everyone else who is quick to jerk their knee, Willing has no bloody clue what she is talking about. Especially since Coons cut back on County government in addition to his tax hikes. Baker and crew have hiked taxes two times in two years and have cut back on NOTHING. I haven’t had a chance to check this out yet, but the City government is only 100 or 200 people less than the county. And Coons went to every councilmanic district to get input on what people wanted in terms of cuts to services or revenue raisers. Baker just thinks that there are piles of money available to keep that spectacularly huge government operational.
But Nancy collects bits of info on people to try to attack them with it. Too bad that she can’t keep the thread of the arguments being discussed. All she cares about is keeping tabs on the Coons supporters vs everybody else. And then trying to attach to those people her own discredited and confused reputation.
Mind your own business, Nancy. Because that seems to need alot more of your time than trying to track down mine.
I know of two people who are investigating your professional association with possible financial ties to county contracts Cass. I got the phone call yesterday when you and the anony crowd here started to attack me. Stay tuned. I don’t know if your hands are clean but time will tell.
What you do in meatspace under one identity may chaff under what you do here under your anonymous handle as it should be.
When an anonymous persona chooses to pursue vicious and often partisan lines of attack on local individuals while at the same time it can potentially be established that that person may have something material to gain from these attacks in their non-anonymous realtime lives, what would you call it? Ethically challenged or something far more sinister… some curious individuals are looking into it – people with far more time and resources than little old me.
And my point about your Coonsie fluff piece is that there are so very many, many, many people who did not experience the listening meetings with any resemblence to what you reported.
So it was painful to see that Coons had planted your piece as a justification –as a fair representation of the public response to his raising taxes. A representations many have claimed is pure bunk.
There is also the proffered, bullied choices: do you want less police protection? You libraries closed?
That Coons threatened essential services and employed fear tactics may have roused some support. But most people would ask him to reduce his crony count of high paid and pensioned first-stringer campaign workers on the payroll. That would at least show his stepping half-way toward compromise. No. He goes and hires even more cronies that are part of his political machine. Why aren’t you ever anything but rose-colored glasses? Your blind partisanship begs for someone like me to offer the alternative reality every chance we get.
And people are now beginning to question what you may be getting out of your rabid Coonsie lovin’. Angie got herself a 78K per annum with perks for regurgitating his fluffy pressers all these years while the guy she replaced stayed on the payroll.
You ought to dial it back, Nancy. I don’t see where you’ve been accused of anything beyond giving advice to Karen Weldin Stewart, whose qualifications for office have been seriously questioned for much longer than this blog has existed.
Meanwhile, the innuendoes you are spreading above reek of the same sort of thing you are accusing others of — unnamed “curious people,” allegations of wrongdoing without any facts to hang it on, etc. I have dealt with that sort of thing from certain quarters. I know a guy who built his entire career on whispered ugliness, until it all came crashing down. You know him, too. I’d hate to see you go down that road.
She already has gone down that road. Every person who I have ever mentioned her name to rolls their eyes and starts chuckling. Credibility isn’t something that Nancy has possession of these days — if ever.
I know of two people who are investigating your professional association with possible financial ties to county contracts Cass.
This, of course, is a LIE. Why do I know that? Because if there was such an investigation, it would have been over in about 30 seconds. But it is part of your usual pattern — can’t browbeat people into taking your side? Then create your conspiracy theory as to why that person may in fact have differing views than you. You’ve been throwing a fair amount of these stupid conspiracy threats towards me — anyone remember her accusations that I was part of some gay cabal? And while she was spectacularly wrong on every bit of that creation (and I do have all of the original posts that Mike put into moderation), she has never, ever admitted she was wrong or apologized. But here she is — making up more BS to try to smear somebody with.
Geezer has good advice for you Nancy — dial it back. You should do yourself a favor and listen to him. But if you think you got something — you better come correct. But don’t threaten me in this space again.
Chill out both Cassandra and Nancy, seriously.
Cass should be able to defend herself, particularly when threatened in this Ari Fleischer-like manner.
Both your time would be much better spent sticking to the topic. As posted on the CRI website today, KWS had the unmitigated balls to “invite” the legislators to come to the DOI office for a closed door private meeting at 10 am on April 13, three hours before the public hearing at Leg Hall on the same day.
That what KWS doing is against the law is almost outweighed by the breathtaking arrogance of it all. This is the advice she’s getting for the millions of Delaware taxpayer money she’s funneled to out of state law firms since she took office. No doubt she expected all her fraudulent activities to be discovered one day as they have been, and now she’s getting the finest legal advice taxpayers’ money can buy.
If anyone remembers KWS getting canned from her no show job at the DOI “under” her then-boyfriend David Levinson, Donna Lee Williams couldn’t get her out of there for a few weeks although she tried as soon as she took office, because KWS mobilized all her political connections she’d made through Levinson. Looks like we’re in for more of the same. She’ll be well prepared for the public hearing because no doubt her bud Harris McDowell has already passed the line of questioning on to her so Jacobson can feed her the answers and get her started on memorizing them. This is positively nauseating.
Likewise, this nonsense linking KWS to David Levinson needs to be smacked down immediately. I was no DNL fan, but I knew and followed him well enough that this calumny needs to be immolated immediately.
Maybe DNL didn’t share all his activities with you, John. It’s possible. And that relationship has no bearing on what’s going on with KWS now, anyway. All it does is demonstrate her M.O.
Anon2: Your comments only detract from your other points. [“Maybe … It’s possible … has no bearing.”] I suggest you recede from this insipid nonsense or all your future posts will be discounted in value.
I am convinced that Nancy thinks she knows who Cassandra is, yet doesn’t. Heck, Nancy knows me, yet she spreads lies about me from time to time that have no basis in truth, only some grand conspiracy that she thinks I am complicit in.
It would be pretty funny if it didn’t have potential implications to unrelated real-world relationships (like jobs, friendships and charitable endeavors).
Ah… I, too, have had a bite out of the Nancy Willing poison apple. She had me attending church with Chris Coons – completely false, since I don’t go to church. Not that facts matter to Nancy.
Hey, John Manifold, save your righteous indignation. “It’s possible” referred to the fact that DNL might not have told you about KWS. They had a relationship alright. He gave her a job in the DOI without any experience whatsoever because she bankrupted the fabric business she had on Rt. 202 and hadn’t had any income in a while. Much the same situation as when she was elected, before which she’d been unemployed for years except for some minimum wage retail sales jobs. She was so broke she didn’t even own a car. In fact, the job DNL gave her was the only one she ever had in insurance besides the brief tenure a friend got her with a subsidiary of Cigna until they fired her for incompetence. There are not a lot of places you can go to work when you can’t read and write very well.
DNL also hired Gene Reed, Sr., who had a comparable resume, for much the same reasons that he hired Stewart.
Frankly I don’t really care about this elected position. I don’t see any real effect it has on me. But so many people on this site (and else where)seem so willing to believe the worst about Stewart,regardless of whether anything has actually been proven, makes me wonder. So many people who regularly post anti-Stewart messages, defend others who either have had allegations proven, or at least have had more serious allegations made against them. I personally think one should wait for the out come of investigations, and not trust the word of people who are bias or have a motive to slant the facts.
I say set back, and ask yourself if the allegations against Stewart were made against Chris Coons, Beau Biden or _____(insert the name of some elected official you respect) would you be so quick to judge? I think not, more likely you would defend the office holder, until the allegations were proven, and then you might even claim it was a set up. The point is, who really cares about the insurance commissioner position? Does it really have an effect on you? That isn’t to say if a crook is in the office it is ok, but judging from the posts against Stewart you’d think she was Bush invading Iraq!
Also, if Stewart is as dumb, crooked, incompetent, and lazy as so many people posting indicate then how come she won the Democratic primary against Tom Savage and Gene Reed, and won the general election against Brady and Savage (again). Either Delaware voters are stupid, lazy, etc, to be fooled by an idiot, or possibly Stewart is not as bad as some people claim, but for other reasons is hated.
The one thing I have learned after living in Delaware for 6 years is not to run for office. In most states, minor offices are ignored, and people say their venom for the big offices. Here in Delaware there is no such thing as a minor public office, and when people don’t like you (whether it’s because you beat their chioce of candidate, you’re in the “wrong” political party, or you slighted them) they don’t forgive or forget, and them make it their goal to destroy you. It really is unattractive. I mean really, many posts complain that Stewart’s pictures old, as if that is a big crime. Does that really matter? When I read posts that harp on her picture, I have a hard time caring about the substance of their compliants, that of course assumes they have any actual compliants.
I assume the Insurance Commission pretty much runs itself, and I doubt the head has a huge difference, maybe I’m wrong. If Stewart is a crook, I hope it’s proven, but if she’s subject of a witch hunt, by people with an agenda, I feel sorry for her. Until anything is proven I’ll with hold judgement, and continue on with life unaffected by Stewarts competence or incompetence!