Will Folks: A Mysterious Man

There�s been a lot of talk about the Senate Healthcare Bill this week and how the vote got pushed back and how it will supposedly leave 22 million people uninsured if passed and that it is universally unpopular and blah blah blah. There�s nothing really exciting me about that story. It feels like a repeat of March with the failure of the House Healthcare Bill. I�ve already covered that so it�s nothing new.

            I saw an interesting headline today: �South Carolina political blogger faces potential jail time for refusing to reveal his sources.� My first reaction to reading that was, �There�s more of me?� I thought I was the only controversial political blogger in this state. Now I�ve got competition. I decided to look more into this political blogger to see what I am up against. Will Folks, the subject of my analysis, refused to reveal his sources in court after being sued for defamation by former State representative Kenny Bingham. Folks was sued for pushing a story stating that Bingham was the subject of an ethics scandal and that he would even receive an indictment. As of right now, I do not know if Bingham is involved in an ethics scandal. But Folks is standing by his article and the South Carolina Press Association is backing him as well.

            This case is not meaningless as I first thought it to be. It might actually have serious ramifications. If Bingham wins, it opens the door for others to sue journalists for using confidential sources. If a journalist used a confidential source to uncover a serious corruption scandal, that journalist could plausibly get sued for not revealing his source. And that source could be in danger if he or she is revealed to the public. So, it�s a checkmate. It allows somebody caught red handed to walk free. But if Folks is lying, it will be a big blow to the credibility of confidential sources and journalists nationwide.  

            On another note, I would definitely recommend checking out Folks� website at fitsnews.com. It�s an interesting experience. The man refers to himself as �Sic Willie.� A name I can only respond to with a sarcastic, �Cool.� However, I do like his slogan, �Unfair. Imbalanced.� It�s a dig at Fox News but it lets me know that this guy is going to be pretty open with his beliefs. On the front page, there�s a passive aggressive and very awkward picture of Folks making eye contact with the camera and holding the butt of a rifle. Is he trying to show off his masculinity? Is he trying to impress the audience with his gun and cold expression? Is he simply joking? I do not know but I find it amusing.

            I don�t think the man takes himself very seriously based on the bio written in the third person (but you can definitely tell he wrote it). The bio refers to him as, �the benevolent ruler of all he surveys,� and, �a sensational dancer.� He also touts his career in the, �modestly successful alternative rock band Dead Agent Caper.� His career consists of being on a series of political campaigns (including Mark Sanford�s run for governor in 2002). He then worked for Sanford until 2005 when he moved to Charleston with, �One of his many TV anchor girlfriends.�

            I am impressed by this man, in an amused way. He�s oddly respectable. Up until a few hours ago, I didn�t know that there were other political bloggers around here. I learn new things everyday it seems. However, my respect for Folks will drastically decrease if it turns out his confidential source was lying and he was trying to smear the representative he accused. We shall see.