By Adam Pagnucco.
The John Delaney for President story was started by a blog. It was kept alive by blogs. And now the bloggers, irresponsible rascals that they are, have been proven right.
Ryan Miner of A Miner Detail kicked off the Delaney for President story on May 3. He had two pieces of information: a prediction by former Attorney General Doug Gansler that Delaney would be running for President and a claim by MSNBC host Chris Matthews that Delaney had opened an office in Iowa. That was enough to get The Daily Record’s Bryan Sears to investigate. Sears wrote:
Will McDonald, a spokesman for Delaney’s campaign, said Delaney is not considering a run for president or opening an office in Iowa.
“Congressman Delaney does not have an office in Iowa or any other place other than Maryland and Washington, D.C.,” McDonald said in an email. “As he has said before, the Congressman and his wife plan to make an announcement regarding a possible run for Maryland’s governor by the end of June.”
The Sun followed up:
Rumors have swirled recently that Delaney is also taking a look at a run for president in 2020 — talk that was amplified when MSNBC host Chris Matthews, Kathleen’s husband, said during his program last week the congressman was setting up an office in Iowa. A Delaney spokesman denied that his boss had office space in the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state.
On May 11, MCM asked Delaney directly if he was running for President. Delaney said, “It was as ridiculous then as it is now… I’m not running for President.”
So the story was dead, yeah? The problem was that the blogs wouldn’t let it die.
Right after Miner’s story, Seventh State noted that Delaney had three federal fundraisers scheduled in May and June. If Delaney were running for Governor, why was he still raising federal money? It did not seem necessary for a Congressional run as he could self-fund such a race. Miner followed up on May 8 with a statement from Delaney’s spokesman shooting down speculation about his wife running for office and emphasizing his consideration of a race for Governor. And on June 15, Seventh State noted even more federal fundraising by Delaney.
And now we have it: John Delaney ‘s Washington Post op-ed Why I’m Running for President.
Hail to the Great Big Mouths of Doug Gansler and Chris Matthews. Hail to Ryan Miner for being first and sticking with his scoop even though few other outlets bothered to link to his work. Hail to John Delaney for saying it was “ridiculous” that he was running for President and then confirming the rumor in his own words in the Washington Post. And above all, hail to irresponsible rogue blogs. Where would we be without them?