YAF rebuts ... nothing
| By halperindavid - Jul 17th, 2006 at 7:09 pm EDT |
| Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog |
YAF'S public reaction re the Jason Mattera thing, courtesy of our new best friends at National Review. It's always awesome to read a statement that aggressively and indignantly rebuts something you never said. We never said Jason Mattera actually attended our conferences -- maybe actually read Julie Siegel's article. We know an intern from the National Review did attend at least this summer (and maybe last summer) -- we gave him a press pass -- and Jason Mattera wrote pieces each time for National Review.
Frankly, it wouldn't really matter to us whether Jason Mattera attended our conference in person or not. The point is that Campus Progress allows reporters from the publication he writes for, National Review, and other conservative media, to cover our National Student Conference, while Jason Mattera not only has refused press credentials to YAF's Conservative Student Conference for a CampusProgress.org reporter, but also says he would refuse press credentials to older publications like The Nation (founded 1863) and Alternet. YAF has an ideology test for covering their conference; we don't, because we're proud of our events and have nothing to hide.
By the way, Sara Gordon, a student who is a fellow with the Independent Women's Forum, also attended our conference, wrote about it, and gets props for (1) correctly quoting Fat Joe (unlike the Washington Post) and (2) enthusiastically posing for a picture with Joe. By the way, Sara applied as a student, and we admitted her. We certainly don't agree with her assessment of the conference speakers, but we're glad to link to her piece. Thanks for coming, Sara!
Here's the YAF release, courtesy National Review:
re: Jason Mattera
[Kathryn Jean Lopez 07/17 05:43 PM]
Our friends at the Young America's Foundation clarify what happened at the Campus Progress conference:
Jason Mattera didn't infiltrate a Campus Progress conference to report on its event. He wrote commentary on it based upon published reports.
Young America's Foundation programs are open to legitimate reporters and C-SPAN usually carries our college conference. We are under no obligation, of any sort, to make room for George Soros' front group. They have a track record of distorting our activities. Indeed, that's what they have done by suggesting Jason Mattera attended their conference and therefore we are hypocrites if we do not admit their organizers as though they are reporters.
Ron Robinson
President,
Young America's Foundation
Frankly, it wouldn't really matter to us whether Jason Mattera attended our conference in person or not. The point is that Campus Progress allows reporters from the publication he writes for, National Review, and other conservative media, to cover our National Student Conference, while Jason Mattera not only has refused press credentials to YAF's Conservative Student Conference for a CampusProgress.org reporter, but also says he would refuse press credentials to older publications like The Nation (founded 1863) and Alternet. YAF has an ideology test for covering their conference; we don't, because we're proud of our events and have nothing to hide.
By the way, Sara Gordon, a student who is a fellow with the Independent Women's Forum, also attended our conference, wrote about it, and gets props for (1) correctly quoting Fat Joe (unlike the Washington Post) and (2) enthusiastically posing for a picture with Joe. By the way, Sara applied as a student, and we admitted her. We certainly don't agree with her assessment of the conference speakers, but we're glad to link to her piece. Thanks for coming, Sara!
Here's the YAF release, courtesy National Review:
re: Jason Mattera
[Kathryn Jean Lopez 07/17 05:43 PM]
Our friends at the Young America's Foundation clarify what happened at the Campus Progress conference:
Jason Mattera didn't infiltrate a Campus Progress conference to report on its event. He wrote commentary on it based upon published reports.
Young America's Foundation programs are open to legitimate reporters and C-SPAN usually carries our college conference. We are under no obligation, of any sort, to make room for George Soros' front group. They have a track record of distorting our activities. Indeed, that's what they have done by suggesting Jason Mattera attended their conference and therefore we are hypocrites if we do not admit their organizers as though they are reporters.
Ron Robinson
President,
Young America's Foundation
!
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