(Updated to reflect report that Rose has resigned from the newspaper, more details from lawsuit and a link to an email from Rose to senator’s staffer)
The Kansas Senate majority leader on Monday sued The Kansas City Star over a column in which the lawmaker purportedly said he opposed the creation of Medicaid.
The column by prominent Johnson Countian Steve Rose explored Sen. Jim Denning’s reasons for not wanting to expand Medicaid, an issue that will be hotly debated this legislative session.
The lawsuit, filed against Rose and the newspaper, says the column “falsely attributes numerous statements to Sen. Denning despite the fact that Rose did not interview Sen. Denning for the article.”
The lawsuit says Rose and Denning haven’t spoken for 2 1/2 years.
“The false information communicated by Rose and The Kansas City Star exposed
Sen. Denning to public hatred, contempt and ridicule,” the lawsuit states.
“Rose and The Kansas City Star knew the statements attributed to Sen. Denning
were false and /or were made with reckless disregard,” it stated.
Neither The Star nor Rose responded to questions about the lawsuit, which was filed in Johnson County District Court.
However, Rose told KCUR that he resigned his positon from the newspaper on Saturday.
Among other things, Rose’s column — which contains no direct quotes — paraphrases Denning as saying he opposed expansion of Medicaid because patients abuse the system by taking free care while refusing to work.
Denning has said he has opposed expanding Medicaid until he sees a plan that is financially feasible. He is up for re-election in two years.
Democrats seized on the column, posting it on the state party’s Facebook page, where it was shared 182 times with 73 comments as of Monday afternoon.
The column cites a list of what the headline called “excuses” about why Denning opposed expanding Medicaid.
The column, published online at 8:34 p.m. Friday, paraphrases Denning as saying that America didn’t need another entitlement program and that Medicaid should never have been enacted.
It portrays Denning as believing that Medicaid patients don’t show up for their appointments, stealing others of the chance to see a physician.
The lawsuit says when Rose was confronted with questions about the column and the statements attributed to Denning, the columnist offered to conceal his “wrongdoing” by agreeing to resign from the newspaper if the senator’s staff dropped the issue.
The lawsuit says Rose turned in the column without citing any sources. When an editor demanded a source, Rose allegedly added Denning’s name knowing that the senator was not the source for the material in the column.
“In retrospect, Rose has admitted he should have ‘killed the column,’ ” the lawsuit states. “Rose and The Kansas City Star knowingly and recklessly disseminated the article containing statements they falsely attributed to Sen. Denning.”
