Gov. Blunt Statement on Obama Campaign’s Abusive Use of Missouri Law Enforcement

[Fluffdaddy]

Source: Press release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.


“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.


“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.


“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.


“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. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”




Read more: http://governor.mo.gov/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=EkkkVFulkpOzXqGMaj&style=Default+News+Style&tmpl=newsitem

---

New round of Rove bag of tricks.

They looked at today polls an are getting desperate

This was up on rightwing Drudge report also. They are running scared and pulling out all the stops

[sharp_stick]

1. If Governor Blunt

weren't a pathological lying sack of shit somebody may pay attention to this but as everyone knows if his mouth is moving bullshit is all that's coming out. Fuck him and his entire staff.

[Demeter]

13. He's Officially Insane

The man needs intervention and hospitalization.

[Dr.Phool]

25. My niece's husband is a republican lobbyist in Jefferson City.

And he can't stand Blunt or his staff or his cronies anymore. He wants to move and switch party affiliation.

We've had some long discussions, the last couple of times he's been down here.

[Frisbee]

27. Hopefully he flies there...

on a small single engine plane. He is scum, as sadly, too many of my MO elected officials are.

[Faygo Kid]

2. Worst. Writing. Ever. Somebody hammered wrote this.

I posted about it, too, an hour ago. Glad to see it getting notice. This is written either by somebody blasted, high on meth, or Sarah Palin.

[Fluffdaddy]

10. You think it's BS?

[iandhr]

11. same here

[wildflower]

45. Yeah, I can't even figure out what it's saying

I'll look at DUer comments to try and figure it out.

[Eric J in MN]

3. Exactly what did Obama supposedly do? NT

NT

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. How could Obama, from Illinois,have any influence over

Missouri law enforcement?

[Inkyfuzzbottom]

5. delete

/

[kestrel91316]

6. Exactly WHAT prompted this insane rant? Please provide some background so

we don't all think you're just some sort of troublemaker.

[WePurrsevere]

8. Perhaps this will help...

Blogslut posted this link with a bit more detail in the faygokids thread on this.

From Blogslut's link:

On Wednesday, Obama’s Missouri campaign announced U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill would lead a group of Democratic lawmakers, prosecutors and one sheriff “who will be proactive in letting voters in the Show-Me State know the truth in the face of the distortions by the McCain campaign,” according to a news release.

The group includes prosecutors from St. Louis, Dunklin, Lafayette, Cass, Clay, Ripley, Audrain and Jackson counties volunteering to be surrogates for Obama on their own time.

The Missouri Truth Squad will “respond quickly, forcefully, and aggressively when John McCain or his allies launch inaccurate claims or character attacks about Barack Obama, or when they distort Barack Obama’s record or plans.”

In a conference call Saturday with reporters from battleground states, Obama national campaign manager David Plouffe said those who spread lies and mistruths about the Illinois senator have to be “held accountable,” but did not elaborate how.

Despite having law enforcement officials on the truth squad, none of them have publicly said they will invoke their official powers to enforce facts about Obama’s record.

[kestrel91316]

12. Oh, I see. It appears that the governor objects to MO citizens exercising

their free speech rights. Figures.

[WePurrsevere]

38. Yeah, he doesn't want anyone to help maintain free speech either. He's such a sleezeball.

Hopefully the vast majority of Americans will see it for what it really is.... just another very obvious political stunt by increasingly desperate RePIGliCONs.

[BlueIdaho]

48. What a bunch of liars and cowards - nm.

[Lucinda]

69. Link to a video report about the Obama Truth Squad

http://www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1

I posted below before I saw your post...

[Fluffdaddy]

7. Look for all the right wing radio hosts and Foxnews to start pushing this hard first thing Monday

You know how they do it. I hope Obama's people are already on this. They been good at fighting back this GOP shit, unlike Kerry

[Telly Savalas]

32. So what? Right wing radio hosts and Fox News pushed the tire gauge mockery hard.

But it didn't resonate with normal Americans because it was fucking stupid. Same thing here.

[girl gone mad]

39. tire gauges, flags next to trash cans, lipstick on pigs..

they've constantly got their panties in a bunch over some inane bullshit.

No one with two brain cells to rub together takes these people seriously. I say it's good that they're occupied with such folly as long as it keeps them from creating another right wing think tank to foist new batshit insane policy agendas on unsuspecting Americans.

[Metta]

9. Witw is he talking about? He offers no specifics. This is just another dirty trick rant.

Happy karma, governor.

[protect our future]

14. What a crock of BS.

"Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics."

That's how Blunt's press release begins: by misstating the facts.

"To threaten and intimidate his critics," says Blunt.

But here's what actually happened:

Certain Obama supporters are threatening to bring libel charges against those who are guilty of lying and issuing slanderous statements about Barack. It's my understanding the lies and slander were in TV ads, but I could be wrong about that.

Quite a difference, yes?

[DustyJoe]

15. Total Crock is so true

Attorney says its about getting 'correct' info out, not prosecution

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/09/joyce-on-truth-squad-not-about-prosecuting-people/


edit mispelling 'coorect'

[protect our future]

16. Baby Blunt is enraged 'cuz McCain is going to lose Missouri. heheh.

[Frisbee]

28. I wish you were right...

but I can't possibly see that happening. We just have too many rural rednecks here. I'm hoping his ethanol comments during the debate hurt him here, but I can't imagine them costing him the state.

[protect our future]

44. We'll get some of those rural votes! AND we'll get more votes in

and around Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis than Kerry did in '04.
For sure. Obama votes in these three cities will be enough to determine the outcome of the election.

[protect our future]

46. AND new polls show a virtual tie in MO. MO no longer leans McCain.

[RayOfHope]

74. Polling is looking good. Check the Missouri forum here.

Looks like Obama is at least tied, if not leading.

There are rural rednecks, but KC and STL always manage to counter that quite a bit, thank goodness.

[Wizard777]

21. Defamation can be pursued criminally and civilly. Even if the defamation is against public officials

But slander and libel can only be pursued in civil suit. But in slander, libel, and defamation. You have to prove the person knew the statements to be false before making them. They are very hard cases to prove. The only real defense to the charges is truth. If Obama ever had to raise taxes on any the groups he said he wouldn't. If 95% of America doesn't get their tax cut. The claim becomes truth and they can go back to court to get their money back.

But I saw a news clip that says this was based on a Mo. Ethics law. They said the law was passed to keep politics on the issues. They followed that with a clip of McCain in Mo. McCain was sticking to the issues and didn't toss out a single lie about Obama.

http://www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1">News 4 Report

[amandabeech]

34. This law sounds like it needs a First Amendment challenge.

Proving actual malice is tough, by the way.

The best way to combat campaign lies is to call the liar a liar and show the truth.

Resorting to the courts to stifle raucous, crazed speech is not the way to go, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't like this one bit, and I hope that Obama tells these minor leaguers that he's a big boy and can fight his own political fights.

[protect our future]

43. I heard the lies were in TV ads airing in rural areas. Is this correct?

[protect our future]

55. Members of the Obama "truth squad" are reminding everyone that Obama

is a Christian who will cut taxes for anyone making less than $250,000 per year. They will respond immediately to any ads or statements that might violate Missouri ethics laws.

(I parsed the above from the News 4 Report. Thanks for the link, Wizard777.)

So, in translation, it appears that the bad guys are attempting to convince Missourians that Obama is a Muslim and that he'll raise yer taxes, y'all, and the Obama "truth squad" is simply correcting the lies.

No wonder Baby Blunt is so angry!

[amandabeech]

33. Obama is a public figure--the ultimate public figure as the nominee of one of the two major

political parties.

As such, IIRC, he can only prevail in libel or slander suits by showing "actual malice" which means knowingly publishing untruthful information or publishing with reckless disregard for the truth. It is an incredibly high standard to meet as freedom of speech, particularly political speech, is highly favored.

Also, in a civil suit, I believe that only Sen. Obama himself would have standing to commence a suit, not just a bunch of supporters.

As a practical matter, I believe than any politician who relies on the courts to keep his or her opponents honest, rather than battling it out in public, doesn't belong in politics.

In addition, I have watched the Joyce interview, and I see a real chilling effect on speech whether she acts in her personal capacity as a Dem or in her official capacity in any way.

If in fact she attempts to prosecute (and under what statute I don't know) this will go to the Supreme Court, and I suspect that she will have a great chance of losing.

Obama doesn't need to give his critics any more ammo in their "Obama campaign as brownshirts" meme, and he should stop this right now if he has any respect for the First Amendment and the principles behind it.

[davidinalameda]

35. showing that he's willing to fight lies and smears is showing disrespect for the 1st Amendment?

if Kerry had shown the same backbone, we'd be gearing up for his re-election

[amandabeech]

36. Obama is fighting with the wrong weapons, IMHO.

What he's doing here is either chilling free political speech with threats by prosecutors and sheriffs or using a Constitutionally questionable statute to suppress free political speech.

I think that Obama should just get up there and call the McCain camp a bunch of liars and put the truth out there. NO resorting to lawyers.

It makes him look like a wimp.

And it is embarrassing for a professor of Constitutional Law.

Sometimes lawyers think that lawsuits solve all problems. It is true professional hubris. I speak as an attorney here.

[elkston]

52. You're actually taking the Gov. Side? WTF? (eom)

[elkston]

56. ...and besides, no lawsuits have been filed. You're getting riled up over nothing.

...and Obama is no wimp, as has been demonstrated time and time again.

[Hansel]

59. It's call a "truth squad" and every campaign uses them.

These people, no matter what their profession, have the right to their opinions as private citizens and a right to express them publicly. It is not Sen. Obama doing the intimidating here. It is Gov. Blunt. And he is using government resources and his public office to do so, no less. Thus is he doing exactly what he is accusing Obama of doing.

[MadHound]

17. Lovely, my insane, inane governor at "work" again

Deliver this state from anymore Blunt trauma.

The man is insane, corrupt, and under investigation. Since he essentially fucked up the state to the point where even he knows that he wouldn't be re-elected, I guess he figures he'll get his shots in while he's still relevant.

[protect our future]

18. MadHound, you reminded me of something else that is going wrong

for Baby Blunt and the MO GOP.

MO is going to elect a Democratic governor in November!

heh.

[MadHound]

23. Can't wait,

Once again a Dem is going to have to come in and clean up after the slash and burn 'Pugs. Ashcroft, Bond, Blunt, they've all come in and wrecked the state and amazingly gotten promoted up, so to speak. As always, people like Carnahan and Teasdale. Nixon is going to have a lot of work ahead of him.

[protect our future]

49. I received a glossy Hulshof flyer in the mail. It was all about oil.

Let's drill for oil in Missouri! Let's build a refinery in Missouri!

That was basically it.

Nothing about the hundreds of thousands without health care. Nothing about thousands of children being thrown off the Medicaid rolls. Nothing about our education system hurtling downhill. Nothing about help for homeowners who are losing their homes.

It appears drill baby drill is Hulshof's new favorite slogan.

[dudewheresmycountry]

19. Look I think

after all this is Missouri, that they meant to say McCain not Obama....I mean really it´s more fitting...

[rzemanfl]

20. "Show Me State?" Show me something asshole, or shut the

fuck up.

[McCamy Taylor]

22. Poorly worded OP about a serious topic. Needs more info less RW propoganda in the OP

[Wizard777]

24. I don't think is any different than the Obama Truth Squad patroling the internet.

Except this truth squad is going face to face. Not screen to screen like the internet squad.

[Wizard777]

26. McCain has a truth squad in Mo. too NH also SAG working on that one.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/09/mccain-obama-battle-over-missouri-truth-squad/">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.

------snip-------

(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.)

------snip--------

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.

[joewicker_TX]

29. Law enforcement didn't seem to care

When it came to trumping up false charges and arresting Dem's. Wonder why that is???

[zeek 463]

30. HMMMMMMM UM

what happen at the g.o.p convention didn't the cop's round up protester's and have pre_emtive raid's on Independent new's reporter's? I guess being repuke's it's ok.
Bill of Rights
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

[glinda]

31. Rove Crap Again

Whaddya trying to do. Blunt?.. deflect what McCain's legal team is doing in Alaska????? Gosh...maybe if people hear it once the public will be numb to hearing it a second time when it comes out on your Party's tactics. THE ONLY ANSWER IS THAT THE DEMS HAVE TO GET ON THE REPUBS DOINGS BEFORE THEY "USE PROJECTION" EACH TIME AS A WEAPON.

[LynnTheDem]

37. There they go...projecting again. Blunt wants to prevent US citizens

from exercising their right to free speech.

Can't have FACTS showing up the rightwingnuttery's LIES!

[WePurrsevere]

40. Something about this has been bugging me...

Obama taught/lectured on Constitution Law and was a Civil Rights lawyer so how much sense does it make that he would even potentially stifle free speech with even a vague threat of prosecution? Maybe I'm missing something but this just doesn't sound like him to me... fighting spin and lies with facts and truth does.

Doesn't it seem more likely that a group has formed on it's own either with good intentions or not (are these prosecutors, etc actually known to be real Democrats?)and is doing this? It's either that or Blunt has developed a major persecution complex, is mentally unstable (as evidenced in his oddly disjointed PR) perhaps from the stress of the investigation he's under and is over dramatizing the role of Obama's Truth Squad.

Like I said... maybe I'm missing something .. if so please elucidate.

[AngryAmish]

41. If this fucker doesn't shut his goddamn mouth he belongs in jail

Toss his family in there, too. Assholes.

[Ian David]

42. Talk about the pot calling the kettle Republican. n/t

[deadparrot]

47. Ah, Mr. Blunt.

The one-term, "I'm so unpopular that my decision not to run again actually HELPED my party in the polls" governor? Mmmhmm.

[elkston]

50. Umm... What? WTF is he talking about? (eom)

[kevinds13]

51. As someone from Missouri...

No one gives a shit about what Blunt says.

[Hansel]

53. Is this an appropriate use of a tax payer funded website?

Seems like this crosses the line. Maybe Obama should use the legal system to point this out.

:sarcasm:

Edited to denote sarcasm.

[kenny blankenship]

54. Insane in the membrane. The McBatshit virus has gone airborne.

McBatshit is contagious. Hope you all stocked up on respirators, plastic sheeting, and duct tape because the BEAST is going down once and for all and it won't die pretty. You can expect the BEAST's handlers and feeders like Gov. Blunt to lead an all out assault on the people's choice and their right to vote. He and other Governors and their corrupt Secretaries of State will be "standing in the schoolhouse door" to stop Obama from passing through.

[BlooInBloo]

57. (snarfle)

[mrreowwr_kittty]

58. WTF? What a weirdo. Paranoid much, Governor? nt

[frickaline]

60. i know, i know i shouldn't read crazy things but i can't help my morbid curiosity

I was reading about this on the freep site. They sited this crazy article from Canada (http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5230) and proceeded to scream Marxism at the top of their lungs in each successive ranting post.

I don't get this whole thing. I assume this is all made up?

[protect our future]

61. It's Orwellian, frickaline.

From the nutty Canadian article:

"The Barack Obama Truth Squad is an initiative based on pure unadulterated Marxism, a Marxism where the end justifies the means. Through the Marxist dialectic, Marxists are taught to lie and to accuse their detractors of lying."

And day is night, and up is down, and truth is lies.

It's also projection as well as Orwellian. Replace "Barack Obama Truth Squad" with the words "John McCain Truth Squad," and you'll get a better understanding of what Republicans are up to and what John McCain's presidential bid is all about.

[frickaline]

62. I see ...

very sneaky and kind of sick at the same time. They must be pretty desperate if someone out there thinks this is the way to improve things in their campaign.

[protect our future]

63. They're so desperate that they're screwing up, and voters are

catching a glimpse of the disgusting, slinking, oozing evil lurking under the mask worn by a smiling, well-groomed GOP operative.

[frickaline]

65. yeah that is a good thing, maybe we're getting wiser

but I think what I still find frightening is the lemmings that will read the word Marxist and scream it repeatedly without even understanding the context. It is confusion as the mouth and ignorance as the megaphone.

[protect our future]

67. I know, frickaline. The GOP counts on ignorance and fosters its spread.

Sometimes I think Missouri is the guinea pig for an experiment to see how quickly a state can be thrown into complete poverty where lack of schooling is the desirable norm.

Fortunately Blunt made such a mess that this experiment has failed.

[protect our future]

64. Please recommend this thread.

[samsingh]

66. more repug crying - they're such babies - let's talk about their corruption

in Florida and ohio.

[Lucinda]

68. Video clip of KMOV report on Obamas Truth Squad operating in Missouri

I think this is what the Gov was referring to:

http://www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1

[protect our future]

70. Gov. Blunt misinterpreted and misrepresented what the Truth Squad is doing.

[LibGranny]

71. WRITE LTTEs to

Kansas City Star at [email protected] - include your name & phone # so they call for confirmation. The Star is pretty much liberal - I've written LTTEs re McCain's presumptuousness and others that weren't published. On the whole, pro-Obama letters outnumber pro-McSame letters about 2-1.

[protect our future]

72. Blunt's viewpoint concerning the Truth Squad is the prevailing one on the internet.

So writing LTTEs is a good idea to help get the truth out.

[RayOfHope]

73. Reporter: Obama 'truth squad' story got twisted (update to story from MO)

I posted on it here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7233409&mesg_id=7233409

The original reporter said the story got twisted as it was retold.

[BlooInBloo]

75. Ah - that's what crazyman is talking about.

[okieinpain]

76. this news article says that mccain has a truth squad that uses

prosecutors too, so why isn't anyone upset about that.

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/kmov_election_092808_truthsquad.bec69e89.html