[Cross-posted at Broadsides.org]

Geez, Shay Totten’s love affair with Congressman Peter Welch is the blogging gift that keeps giving this week. Less than forty-eight hours after his fawning print piece on Welch hit the newsstands, Totten went to the Seven Days blog to make sure that we all know that his journalistic pimpmanship will be there for the good congressman whenever he calls (or issues a news release).

Totten’s blog piece was little more than a full-throated rehash of the news release that Welch’s office issued regarding the education bill that the House voted to past last week. But what’s not mentioned in the blog entry is that the education bill in question also contained the amendment to de-fund ACORN – an amendment that – unlike Leahy and Sanders – Welch voted in favor of. Yes, Welch voted with the rightwing lunatics and wishy-washy middle to de-fund ACORN based on the very serious (and well-publicized) allegations of wrongdoing by its staff members. Again, Totten didn’t do his homework. Because while the rest of the media across the nation focused on the very newsworthy ACORN section of the education bill, Totten completely ignored it. Instead, letting Welch all but hijack his keyboard so that lines like this could be delivered to his Vermont readers:

Vermont students will receive $60 million more in Pell Grants, and an additional 2,985 students will be eligible over the next 10 years, according to figures released by US Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT). Welch successfully amended the bill Thursday morning to ensure that non-profit lenders like VSAC can continue providing ancillary services such as college counseling, career placement, financial aid and financial literacy. It also ensures that borrower services – for example, delinquency prevention and default aversion – are allowed uses of the new State Innovation Completion Grants. “I am pleased that my amendment will help VSAC continue its critical outreach services, which have helped so many Vermonters take advantage of higher education and the opportunities that come with it,” said Welch in a statement.

Great. But what about the ACORN part of the bill? It wasn’t even mentioned. I guess that can happened when you’re too dizzy from all that spin, huh Shay?

Interestingly, Totten made quite the story out of the fact that Vermont’s Senators Leahy and Sanders did the right thing earlier in the week by voting against the Senate version of the bill to de-fund ACORN. So, in case you’re keeping track at home, Totten’s rules on covering Vermont incumbents goes something like this: Promote, promote, promote. And never criticize.

While going back to check Totten’s story about the Leahy/Sanders “no” votes, I noticed that he had gone back to “update” it to include the news of the Welch ACORN vote. Thus, buried deep down below several other blog posts and at the bottom of that particular post was this “update:”

After several requests from Seven Days, Rep. Peter Welch today explained his vote to ban the low-income advocacy group ACORN from receiving federal funds. “The actions taken by ACORN employees reveal a disturbing and intolerable pattern of abuse of taxpayer dollars. The organization must be held accountable – and Congress must get back to work on reforming our health care system so that all Americans have access to quality and affordable health care.”

And that’s it. No further comment from Totten on the matter. Sorry, but this is getting weird. If Totten and Seven Days are going to get all fawning over Leahy and Sanders’ votes to stop the de-funding of ACORN, one would expect a finely honed jab or two toward Welch for his completely wrong-headed opposite vote. Instead, all we get is a reprint of a Welch statement. Worse, it’s a statement that would be about as easy as watching the weather change in Vermont to pick apart.

Here, let me show you: If Welch believes that “a disturbing and intolerable pattern of abuse of taxpayer dollars” is reason to cut off federal funding to an organization without even a hearing, why doesn’t Welch cut off funding for the Abu Ghraib-occupying Department of Defense? Just saying.

And why let Welch get away with his topic-changing nonsense about getting “back to work on reforming health care”? Ever chew gum and walk at the same time, Congressman? Besides, Welch has already announced that he’s not going to fight for single-payer or universal health care coverage, so why let him get away with a statement that pretends he’s in favor of full “access to quality and affordable health care”? Because supporting a health insurance corporation reform plan – which he’s hinted at doing – is anything but accessible or affordable. Been there, done that.

If Totten and Seven Days had any alternative gumption left in them, the headline today should have been: Welch Sides with Glenn Beck Nation, Votes to De-fund ACORN. Shame on them all.

[Addendum: A reader wrote in earlier today to Broadsides to draw attention to a story by Anne Galloway at VTDigger.org regarding Welch’s propensity to secure military contracts for Vermont businesses. It is, indeed, a great story. In fact, it’s a great contrast to Totten’s fawning coverage of Welch. Read it.]