The Daily Caller came out with a scandalous piece this morning, titled: True stories of bloggers who secretly feed on partisan cash, except, it cites one blogger, Red County, which is an old story. The scandal is not the payola, but the sheer ineptidue of the reporting. Here’s the important coverage and response commentary, and enjoy them now, or enjoy them after you go through my short comments after:

• Jimmie Bise at the Sundries Shack asks the most important question: where’s everyone who’s on the take?
• Melissa Clouthier notes that the Daily Caller is losing focus and forgetting priorities.
• Robert Stacy McCain comments on the strategic mistake of big donors like Meg Whitman, and that donations “buy” good will (from a writer) (which by the way, is not unethical, more on that).
• Finally, the real subject of the shoddy hit piece himself, Dan Riehl, responds.

Read them all if you will, as better minds have posted opinions earlier already. That said, my two cents: The Daily Caller’s Jonathan Strong did an absolute terrible, terrible job by sewing together Dan Riehl’s underpriced consulting activity for the RNC with an unnamed source claiming half of bloggers being on the take, and an outdated—but relevant and truly distasteful—story about Red County. This is just absolutely terrible reporting, one that is offered with two winks and a nod and not much else.

Financial disclosure is not that hard. I am certain of this and I have disclosed my party invitations, free books and meals. Getting invited to parties gets me to schmooze with potential design clients and to hang out, in real life, with friends I have made online. Sometimes, this congeniality leads to a favorable opinion of my hosts, as does food and swag, but mostly food, because I end up giving swag away. What is hard for others, though, is keeping track of our disclosures. Sometimes, inept journalists like Mr. Strong fail to do his homework about potential subjects like Mr. Riehl.

I admit that when I first read the hit piece—which at the time I thought was news—I was apoplectic. I thought, Mr. Riehl would know better, and after his response, we know he’s done his due dilligence and his work for the RNC is kosher. Less than twelve hours after the story came out, the facts no longer matter. The Daily Caller’s inept story has fed into the hands of the Left, and they will use this as a club with which to beat us.

At first, I was furious that I would have to face regulations because a few bloggers made a mistake, until I realized that the people who made the worst mistakes in all this is The Daily Caller itself.