Carol Moseley Braun: Just the Facts

[gottaB]

The Braun campaign has put "the nasties" online. These are documents that show that certain oft-repeated allegations against Braun are completely unfounded. If you have run across such allegations and have questions, please consult these documents before forming an opinion.

http://www.carolforpresident.com/content.php?page=newsroom_justthefacts">Just the Facts


Personally speaking, it's a little bit shocking that some major journalists and news sources have repeated such deciets. For instance, the allegation that Braun skipped the Senate orientation session. Tim Russert on Meet the Press raked her over the coals for that one, trying to put on her on the defensive, totally dismissing her statements. Well, who didn't do their homework on that one?--or did they? You really have to wonder why a guy in his profession and in his position would insist on leveling charges that a simple lexis-nexus search could show were completely false.

Or take the business of medicaire "fraud." The facts are somewhat complicated--read it for yourself--but the essential relevant conclusion from the Illinois Department of Public Aid was that "the Department did not believe that any referral of the matter for fraud to the Attorney General, U.S. Attorney, or Cook County States Attorney was warranted or appropriate." Most reputable journalists have long since dropped this particular tale, but it is kept alive by the freeper/dittohead crowd, and it does crop up from time to time--even here at DU. Well, enough is enough. I just don't see how any reasonable person can spin "not warranted or appropriate" into "probably guilty as sin."

I've been pretty vehement in my defense of Braun against some of these attacks. The political reasons for that are transparent. The smears Braun has had to endure undermine her ability to raise funds. That's the intention behind them of course, but I see no reason to tolerate that kind of garbage coming from the news media or especially from avowed Democrats. It is by now well known that Braun has had trouble raising money-- a recurring meme in the media, especially from outfits who can't be troubled to assign reporters to cover Braun's campaign. Ahem. (Implication being they are slighting Braun and other candidates unfairly because they would rather pennypinch than fulfill any sort of public trust.) It is perhaps less well-known that Braun finds fundraising somewhat unpleasant and perhaps unseemly, or that nearly a third of the funds she's raised so far have gone to paying a law firm to ensure FEC compliance. In other words, these lies are particularly damaging to Braun.

So, read the FEC report, practice your own due diligence, weigh the facts, but don't for a minute go around repeating Karl Rove's lies, doing the Republicans' dirty work, and expect to get a pass because you happen to call yourself a Democrat. I will continue to be vigilant and forceful in my defense of Braun against such malicious accusations, and I will argue until the only questions remaining touch on matters of policy and governance, which are my primary interests, and I feel ought to be everybody's first priority here at DU.

Peace,

gB