I didn’t start out with the idea of being a fact checker/scold for journalists covering Maryland politics, but the state of affairs is not good. I am startled by how often I see basic, demonstrably provable facts misstated by one media outlet or another. Part of this is that I am an obsessive nerd who has around 25 politics and election-related Google alerts frequently pinging, and am constantly on the alert for other interesting news and gossip. But part of it is that facts get misstated entirely too often by those who are supposed to be sources of accurate information.
So when I read in a Maryland Reporter article yesterday that the “primary election is scheduled for April 5, 2016,” when both the House (HB396) and Senate (SB204) have passed an identical bill to move the primary to April 26, it does not sit well. I also disagree with the premise of the article that Anne Arundel Dems could decide the CD4 primary, but I digress - that’s a different question.
The fact that I gave this date change its very own post on April 7 (two weeks ago!), however, amuses me endlessly, as it allows me to get all righteously indignant and say “now if you read Maryland Scramble, you wouldn’t have made this mistake.” My work here is done. The fact that I am enjoying this so much does not exactly present me in the best light. But someone’s gotta keep ’em honest, right? Right?