Washington Times columnist joins “Truth Squad” frenzy
Chalk it up to irony that the flap over Barack Obama’s local “Truth Squad” could probably use a truth squad of its own.
Last month, the Obama campaign tapped a pair of local prosecutors — Jennifer Joyce in St. Louis city, and Bob McCulloch in the county — to join a group of local elected officials to keep tabs on the opposition’s claims.
But when KMOV-TV (Channel 4) aired the story, anchorman Russell Kinsaul introduced the piece as Obama “asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading TV ad during the presidential campaign.”
Both Joyce and McCulloch have adamantly denied that interpretation, saying they were not asked, and will not, prosecute individuals for political advertising.
As Jo Mannies recently reported, even KMOV’s news director says the story has been “misinterpreted.”
The station later posted a follow-up story on its website in which the reporter noted that John McCain has truth squads, too.
Even so, the story continues to reverberate as the presidential contest heads into the home stretch.
The latest to weigh-in is Michael Barone, a columnist for the Washington Times, which generally tilts towards the right. Barone cited the flap today in a column titled “The coming liberal thugocracy.”
“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce warned citizens that they would bring criminal libel prosecutions against anyone who made statements against Mr. Obama that were ‘false,’” Barone said. “I had been under the impression that the Alien and Sedition Acts had gone out of existence in 1801-’02. Not so, apparently, in metropolitan St. Louis.”
Michael Barone and his comments are not surprising given the right-wing-conspiracy nuts’ penchant for throwing wild accusations and intentional misrepresentations into the Faux-News/Conservative”ThinkTank”/Limbaugh echo chamber where they bang around…artfully avoiding facts that may cling to them should they get too close.
It’s sad that the editorial pages have moved from varying degrees of forthrightness shaded by right/left bias to outright lies.