McCain-Obama battle over Missouri “Truth Squad”
With the Missouri polls showing a dead heat between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, every campaign move is igniting scrutiny.
That’s the backdrop over a two-day dust-up that is attracting local TV coverage, and has even ignited a Web fight between the Drudge Report and the Daily Kos.
At issue is a new Obama “Truth Squad” formed in the state.
(As an aside, please note that both sides have “Truth Squads” in numerous states, under numerous titles. McCain’s campaign has an Honest and Open Election Committee, whose Missouri members include former Sen. John Danforth and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, and another state McCain group monitoring any Democratic jabs at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.)
Obama’s Missouri Truth Squad members include St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, among others.
The inclusion of such officials has led to Gov. Matt Blunt, among other Republicans, to accuse the Obama camp of planning “to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.”
That tack was repeated in a conference call Saturday, where Republican National Committee deputy chairman Frank Donatelli said that the issue was the inclusion of law-enforcement officials on Obama’s squad. He called for Joyce, McCulloch, et al to step down.
In a statement Saturday (issued from the governor’s office), Blunt went further and contended that the state Obama campaign and its allies, including U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill “have attached the stench of police state tactics…”
His assertion was that the squad might prosecute people deemed to have made inaccurate or inappropriate claims against Obama.
“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them,” Blunt said in the statement. “Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”
Obama’s national campaign manager David Plouffe said Saturday that Truth Squads simply monitor attacks and refute them.
Later, state communications director Debbie Mesloh issued a statement that called it “the height of absurdity” for the GOP to contend that the Obama squad planned to go to court or jail critics.
She contended that Blunt, Donatelli, et al are out “to deceive voters about the role of respected Missourians across the state who want to see this election be about the truth, not false attacks like the ones we’ve seen today.
“Barack Obama’s Truth Squad is comprised of members of the community who – on their own time – are dedicated to raising the level of discourse in this campaign…,” she added.
By the way, a quick surf of the Internet found a McCain Truth Squad in New Hampshire, formed last January, that included several public officials with prosecutorial powers, including the state attorney general.
However, state Republicans have sent out a list of dozens of officeholders — who are lawmakers, not law enforcers — who they said make up the bulk of McCain’s Truth Squads around the country.
This is disingenuous. McCain has not tried to intimidate anyone with prosecution, as Obama is doing.
This sounds like an abuse of power by Gov Blunt.
On Their Own Time - NOT Illegal
Blunt said he has “exposed plans.” He does not site any incident of actual treats to anyone.
Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee:
http://tinyurl.com/4anoxc
I watched the video. There was no statement from the interviewed individuals to indicate they planned to doing anything in their official capacity of enforcing laws.
Matt Blunt is a sleaze looking for a job in the McCain administration.
Sen. Claire McCaskill is too smart to do anything that stupid.
So many Right Wing Rowdie (RWR) wackos hurling unfounded accusations like children throwing rocks.
o An influx of new handles.
o Most likely out of town’ers helping our local RWR’s.
o Nothing sticks, the rocks just bounce off because they have no basis of fact.
o Phony outrage, phony posts, phony posters
Zero impact
o The Right Wing Rowdie Groundhog Day
For Day = Today to 5Nov2008
- Get new rocks
- Throw rocks
- See rocks bounce off
- Bang head on ground
Next Day
Cheer President Elect Obama
Didn’t Obama start this trend in Jan. 2008 with his Truth Squads looking at HIllary Clinton’s disinformation. Propaganda is alive and well in America. Truth is a particularly slippery subject for all these people and Obama is front and center in his spin campaign. The guy’s a Chicago Machine puppet with a Campaign Manager from the Soprano State. Who are the fools here?
I think the real issue is what is the appropriate place for a public servant as in sheriff or prosecutor. Can these people place party politics above the good of the whole? And if the good of the whole to hear the truth is what they are after, then under no circumstances are they going to play favorites. There are plenty of organizations out there who look for the “truth”. politifact.com factcheck.org and the fact checker at Washington Post http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/ Communicate these to people and encourage them to hold all politicians accountable. Or is it really about choosing the better Liar over the other?
I’d like to see some control of the lies and inuendo on both sides so that voters can actually get the truth. Not interested in intimidation but some regulation for both would be nice. Obama certainly isn’t shy to tell falsehoods about McCain either. This would make more sense if he weren’t telling falsehoods himself.
THIS BULL IS TO BE EXPECTED HERE IN MISSOURI. THIS CONFEDERATE STATE WILL NEVER GIVE UP ITS BIASES. WELL GUESS WHAT, YOUR 8 YEAR PRESIDENT AND HIS REPUBLICAN CONGRESS HAS LIED TO YOU FOR HIS WHOLE ADMINISTRATION. I GUESS THAT IS WHAT YOU REPUBS HERE IN MISSOURI LIKE. AS LONG AS THEY ARE WHITE, THEY CAN LIE ALL DAY..
These lawyers, who took an oath to uphold the constitution, should be disbarred for their tactics and fascist leanings.
— Mary F. posted at 4:04 am September 29th, 2008
My hunch is you are a paid poster - paid to post the slime you and your fellow posters vomit, consume and regurgitate.
I searched through about 60 forums from the last 30 days of posting at these PD political forums
o Surprise, surprise - This is your first post - at 4:04 am September 29th, 2008 - 2:04 am pst. In another forum your posted again at 6:03 am September 29th, claiming you were posting from San Diego. That post would have been made at 4:03am San Diego time.
o Hmm, posting from San Diego at 2:04am and 4:03am.
o Kinda fishy
o I guess you start your day job mighty early or your short bio is bunk, just like the trash you post.
— Mary F. - whoever you really are, and where ever you really are
o It’s pretty obvious that you are a new name here posting with many news names solely for profit by executing your orders from the slime wing of the Republican Party.
Fellow posters
o - Mary follows about 35 1st time posters from yesterday, all of whom spouted the same rhetoric and phony outrage of the Right Wing Rowdies(RWR) - A band of posters that increase the noise-to-signal ratio in an effort to drown out and discourage legitimate posters on this board by repetition of derogatory unsubstantiated accusations over and over - a technique commonly known as propaganda.
o Tip - the new posters do not engage in any discussion with other posters, they just post garbage, over and over. No attempt to legitimize any of their vile, just stuff their handlers have puked up for them to post on a forum
I know, right? What kind of fascist tries to sue people just because they’re making provably false, defamatory statements?
Oh, right. That’s called “slander”, and it has a long history of being legally actionable in this country.
Look, no one is going to sue you if you say “Barack Obama’s policies are wrong, and here’s why!” No one is going to sue you if you trot out some stupid line about “experience”.
If you start -making things up-, like him being a “secret Muslim” or…I dunno, what IS the right-wing talking point now? That he secret feeds on the blood of infants?…anyway, if you make up stuff like that, then yeah, there should be consequences. “Truth” is not something you simply get to define as it suits your whims.
— Erin
“I know, right? ‘
Gold star example of a post from the radical right masturading as a post from the left.
Sneaky way to insert their sleazy code words they want to remind the undecided voters about.
No desire to engage in a real exchange of ideas
Just wants to insert toxic ideas in a subtle way.
Won’t work, but you they can keep beating their heads on the ground in frustration, no hair off my chin.