It’s common as elections draw near that desperate politicians utilize the hit piece against opponents. The article, ad, mailing or social media post aims to sway public opinion by presenting false or biased information in a way that appears objective and truthful. Or, it can also be used to derail a movement or candidate early in the campaign.
Democrat presidential candidate George McGovern in 1972 chose U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton as his Vice Presidential choice. Highly-educated with a stellar record of public service Eagleton had struggled with bouts of depression and an irritable gut in the past. As this confidential health information was leaked, the Mc Govern campaign dropped Eagleton even though 77% of those surveyed said the issue would not affect their vote. McGovern was embarrassed.
McGovern was in favor of amnesty for Vietnam War resisters. He believed that the right to abortion should be decided by the states and not the federal government. He also favored decriminalization of marijuana. McGovern’s democrat opponents reported this to conservative Catholic columnist Robert Novak.
Novak then wrote that George McGovern was for “amnesty, abortion, and acid (LSD).” This hit piece and the Eagleton discovery doomed the McGovern run for President.
In the 2010 California gubernatorial race, liberal lawyer Gloria Allred accused Republican candidate Meg Whitman of employing an illegal alien.
Female housekeeper, Nicky Diaz, was employed by the Whitmans for about nine years and was paid $23 an hour. She was hired from an employment agency and Diaz said that she was then fired by Whitman once the campaign for governor got underway.
Whitman denied any wrongdoing, saying she thought Ms. Diaz was legit. The issue was center stage during the debate with Jerry Brown. Brown was for open borders but hypocritically attacked Whitman for the supposed labor miscue nonetheless.
Last week, Marysville Councilmember Brad Hudson sent a mailer via Tampa, Fla using the return address of his bar, Stassi’s Fourth Ward, to attack mayoral candidate Chris Branscum’s character. The barkeep is hoping Mayor Samayoa will be re-elected but if not him, then Councilmember Stephanie McKenzie, anyone but the ‘outsider.’
This smacks of the “elect anyone but Trump movement” in 2016 unifying liberal and conservative members of the swamp. Maybe just government employees are preferred by council members. For years, more than 80% of the city council has been former or current government workers.
Who paid for this flier – Hudson, Samayoa, McKenzie? If Hudson, he recently announced the closing of his bar, laying-off 16 employees after the governor’s Covid rules shut his doors. Then local officials awarded Hudson taxpayer money to stay open. Only a handful of struggling businesses were so fortunate.
Hudson writes that he’s never heard a good thing from his bar patrons about Branscum or his family. The flyer talks of looking for dirt on Branscum’s family but Hudson says he has never actually talked to the candidate.
Hudson, who was not raised here, seems to fault Branscum who was, for leaving the community. He avoids the fact that Branscum as a youngster left for the Navy during the Vietnam War. After the service he attended four-year colleges to acquire accounting and law degrees, neither of which could be obtained in Yuba-Sutter.
Sadly, few of our young graduates return here after going away to school. Yuba-Sutter lags behind other larger communities in opportunities for young people who achieve higher education degrees.
Hudson seems jealous of Branscum’s life, mockingly saying Branscum left Marysville “to seek his personal fortune decades ago.” Is there something wrong with success? Is the word “fortune” politically incorrect? Is the word “fortune” now racist?
Would Hudson rather Branscum have declined the mandatory draft and not attend college? Would this mayoral candidate be more acceptable on the council if he had failed in business or ran out of money?
Hudson sounds like a blowhard when saying --- “It’s clear he (Branscum) doesn’t know what it took to get where we are. He lacks integrity, character, virtue and questionable leadership skills (sic)! Hudson says Branscum does not pay taxes.
Hudson’s target is someone he knows little about and has never talked with though the city is only 3.6 miles square with phones everywhere. The bar owner appears to be a gossip and hearsay monger willing to slander and libel a candidate for his favorite to win.
This is a classic hit piece full of factual, grammatical and spelling errors. It is sad that this is the best that a Marysville City Councilmember can do.
(Get Lou’s podcast at “No Hostages Radio” and his articles at nohostagesradio.com)
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